Infant mortality in Finland 1749–1865

Abstract

Between 1749 and 1865 the deaths of some 889,400 infants below the age of one year were registered in Finland. Set against the 4,457,400 live births for the same period this results in a rate of infant mortality approaching 200, which means that on average one out of every five children died before its first birthday. The extent of infant mortali ty during this period is also indicated by the fact that 27.5 per cent of all deaths between 1749 and 1865 occurred at under one year of age. By present-day standards this may seem a high figure, but in fact this level of infant mortality was typical of pre-industrial societies.

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Oiva Turpeinen

Oiva Turpeinen, born 1942, Lie.Phil. in history, Research assistant at the Institute of History, University of Helsinki. Studies in social and demographic history.