Research on trends in childlessness by educational attainment tends to focus on the level of lifetime
childlessness estimated at age 40 or 45. Less is known about childlessness at younger ages. In advanced low fertility societies, childlessness among people in their early 30s largely reflects the postponement of childbearing to a later age. Nevertheless, the postponement of childbearing to well beyond the age of 30 may have an impact on completed fertility. This is particularly important in the light of recent fertility decline. This study describes trends in childlessness by educational attainment for men and women in Finland over the period1987–2022. We use total population register data and focus on
childlessness levels at ages 30, 35, 40, and 45. The results show a marked increase in childlessness at
most observed ages, which has accelerated in the last decade. In 2022, the childlessness levels at the
ages of 30, 35, 40 and 45 are 60, 35, 23 and 19 per cent for women, and 74, 49, 34 and 28 per cent for
men born in Finland. At ages 40 and 45, men show a consistent negative association between
childlessness and educational attainment, while for women, the association has shifted from positive to
negative. At age 30, education is positively associated with childlessness for both men and women,
reflecting the later entry into parenthood of the highly educated. Educationaldifferences in
childlessness at age 35 are less uniform. Over the past decade, childlessness at age 35 has increased for both men and women regardless of educational attainment, notably including men and women with
tertiary education. The trends observed suggest that the increase in childlessness in Finland is
continuing, accelerating and becoming more widespread.