Birth rate | The report presents: An incentive of tens of thousands of euros if you have your first child under the age of 30

State could develop a financial incentive to have the first child before a woman’s 30th birthday.

The incentive would correspond to approximately EUR 10,000–30,000. It could concern, for example, a mortgage, a student loan, taxation or pensions or several of these.

Among other things, this is shown in the population policy report published on Thursday.

The report was prepared by a research professor Anna Rotkirch From the Population Association, commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

In the investigation 20 proposals are presented to support wishes for children, only one of which is an incentive.

The background is a development where in Finland both the birth rate and the so-called total fertility rate have clearly decreased.

Total fertility refers to the number of children that women have on average in their lifetime.

In 2011, the total fertility rate was 1.87 and the number was the highest this century. In 2023, the total fertility rate was 1.26, which is the lowest number ever recorded.

Between 2000 and 2010, an average of 58,000 children were born in Finland each year. In 2023, approximately 43,000 babies were born, even though the population had increased in the meantime.

One reason for the development is that children are born late. In this case, we also fall short of the desired number of children.

Finland has the highest age of becoming a mother and father in the Nordic countries and the lowest birth rate in the Nordic countries, Rotkirch said at a press conference on Thursday.

He emphasized that society does not support starting to have children when it would be most favorable.

“We need to move to a society that is in harmony with reproductive biology.”

With an incentive therefore, efforts would be made to have the first child earlier than at present.

Four out of five Finns wish to have at least two children, in which case wishes to have children should be implemented before the woman’s 30th birthday, the report states.

The report refers to experiences from, for example, Norway and Hungary.

In Hungary, a childless couple can take out a loan with subsidized interest rates and a late repayment period. If children are born, part of the loan is forgiven.

“Similarly, in Finland, one could think that the birth of a first child before the age of 30 would entitle one to a 20 percent reduction in housing loans or a 25 percent reduction in student loans,” the report states.

The report states that the effects of the incentive would be investigated in further preparation.

In the investigation it is also suggested, among other things, that families with children and education should be prioritized when public spending is cut.

In addition, among other things, fertility awareness should be increased in the health, sexual and emotional education offered by schools and educational institutions.

Finland should also invest in fertilization treatments by increasing the resources of the public sector, shortening treatment queues and thus guaranteeing the best possible effectiveness of the treatments, the report finds.

Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (kok) pointed out at the press conference that the government is already working in this regard. In the government’s proposal, the Kela reimbursements for fertilization treatments will be returned at an increased rate as part of a larger one Reform regarding Kela compensations.