Widowhood in Finland Is Declining and Occurring Later in Life — Women Now Spend Fewer Years Widowed Than Three Decades Ago

LIFECON News, Press release of University of Helsinki 27 November 2025 (in Finnish) 

Widowhood in Finland has become less common, occurs later in life, and lasts for fewer years, especially among women. Using comprehensive population register data, researchers from the Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health, University of Helsinki and the Max Planck – University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health show that over the past 30 years, women’s widowhood expectancy has declined while men’s has remained constant, reflecting changing mortality, partnership, and educational expansion. These developments point to a reduced social and economic burden of widowhood on individuals, families, and the welfare state.

Over the past three decades, widowhood in Finland has become less frequent and occurs at increasingly older ages. Among women, the number of years spent widowed has decreased, while for men it has remained largely unchanged. These changes reflect declining lifetime risk of widowhood and an increase in the average age at which people become widowed.

Gender differences persist but are narrowing

Women continue to face a higher risk of widowhood, experience widowhood at younger ages than men, and spend more years widowed; however, the gender gap has narrowed over time. In 2018, Finnish women aged 65 could expect to live around six years in widowhood, down from eight years three decades earlier, while for men the expectancy remained at about two years.

Educational inequalities are diminishing

Educational differences in widowhood have also declined for women. In the late 1980s, low-educated women faced markedly longer periods of widowhood than highly educated women, but this gap has narrowed over time. Among men, the educational differences are not so pronounced and are reversed, so that highly educated men now have a slightly higher risk and duration of widowhood.

What drives these changes?

The evolution of widowhood and its inequalities is likely due to changes in mortality (and the evolving gender differences in mortality), changes in partnership dynamics (in line with the second demographic transition), and improvement in education. In particular, three key factors are identified:

• Converging mortality between genders, as men’s life expectancy has increased faster than women’s.
• Shifting partnership dynamics, higher rates of divorce and repartnering, and changes in partnership sorting such as smaller age gaps between partners
• Rising education levels, which improve health and longevity and contribute to decreasing own’s and partners’ mortality.

Implications for ageing societies

Widowhood remains one of the most disruptive life events in later life, affecting individuals’ health, finances, and social well-being. Decrease in the risk of experiencing widowhood and shorter widowhood durations may help ease these challenges, as well as the potential burden on families and strain on social and health services. However, individuals who do experience widowhood still require targeted social and policy support, particularly among vulnerable population groups such as low-educated women, who face higher risks, younger ages at widowhood, and more years in this state. Moreover, widowhood can intersect with other forms of disadvantage, such as limited resources, smaller family networks, and social frailty, placing disadvantaged subpopulations in especially vulnerable situations.

This study has been supported by Strategic Research Funding, DEMOGRAPHY-programme,  LIFECON-project 364414.

Contact:

Dr Margherita Moretti, University of Helsinki – Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health; Max Planck–University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health; Bocconi University, Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy✉️ margherita.moretti [at] helsinki.fi (margherita[dot]moretti[at]helsinki[dot]fi); margherita.moretti [at] unibocconi.it (margherita[dot]moretti[at]unibocconi[dot]it)

Dr. Kaarina Korhonen, University of Helsinki – Helsinki Institute for Demography and Population Health; Max Planck–University of Helsinki Center for Social Inequalities in Population Health;       
tel +358 294124753, kaarina.korhonen [at] helsinki.fi (kaarina[dot]korhonen[at]helsinki[dot]fi)

Citation:

Moretti M., Korhonen K., van Raalte A., Riffe T., & Martikainen P. (2025). Evolution of Widowhood Lifespan and Its Gender and Educational Inequalities in Finland Over Three Decades. Demography, 12269717. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-12269717