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Published: 12 April 2013

Number of deaths grew slightly from the year before

The number of deaths in 2012 was 51,710, which figure was last higher than this in the 1920s if the war years are not taken into account. The number of deaths was 1,120 higher in 2012 than in 2011. The number of deaths increased by 290 among men and by 830 among women. The number of deaths among women was last higher than this twenty years ago. If the war years are not taken into consideration, the number of deaths among men was last higher than this in 1929.

Life expectancy at birth at age 0 by sex in 1980–2012

Life expectancy at birth at age 0 by sex in 1980–2012

Life expectancy at birth went up for male children and went down fractionally for female children in 2012. Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a person aged 0 would live provided the rate of mortality remains unchanged. The increased life expectancy of men at birth proves that the risen number of deaths has been caused by the growing number of aged men and the ageing of the population rather than by the risen rate of mortality. The growing number of deaths among women was due to ageing as well as to a very slight increase in mortality.

In 2012, the number of children having died during their first year of life was particularly low, at 141. The infant mortality figure for 2012 was the second lowest during Finland’s independence. Infant mortality per 1,000 live births was 2.4.

Annual number of deaths in 2000–2012 by sex and deaths of 0-year-olds in 2000–2012

    Year        Total       Men     Women   0-year-olds
2000      49 339      24 053      25 286      213
2001 48 550 23 783 24 787 181
2002 49 418 23 992 25 426 168
2003 48 996 23 922 25 074 176
2004 47 600 23 802 23 798 191
2005 47 928 24 057 23 871 174
2006 48 065 24 315 23 750 167
2007 49 077 24 809 24 268 161
2008 49 094 24 457 24 637 157
2009 49 883 25 150 24 733 158
2010 50 887 25 539 25 348 140
2011 50 585 25 335 25 250 143
2012 51 707 25 623 26 084 141

The number of deaths was highest in March, as in the previous year. The second highest number of deaths occurred in February, which has last had the highest or second highest number of deaths from 1998 to 1999. The third most common month for dying in 2012 was December, which had the highest number of deaths in 2010.


Source: Population and Cause of Death Statistics. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Matti Saari 09 1734 3401

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Updated 12.4.2013

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Deaths [e-publication].
ISSN=1798-2545. 2012. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 29.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/kuol/2012/kuol_2012_2013-04-12_tie_001_en.html