The minor baby boom seen in Finland over the last couple of years appears to have come to an end, according to Statistics Finland.

But as more people are immigrating than leaving the country, the country's population continued to grow despite an uptick in deaths.

During the first half of this year, the country saw the lowest-ever number of births on record.

From January to June, there were 22,180 recorded births in Finland, which according to preliminary figures from Statistics Finland, is 2,453 fewer than during the first half of 2021.

The brief uptick in Finland's birth rate over the past couple of years does not seem to be a continuing trend, according to the number-crunching agency's senior statistician, Joonas Toivola.

"The total fertility rate was at its lowest in 2019 (1.35), after which it rose for two consecutive years. However, based on figures from the beginning of this year, it does not seem like that growth will continue," Toivola said in a statement.

Deaths rose, net immigration at record high

Regarding mortality, there were 30,854 deaths recorded during the first half of the year, which is 3,166 more fatalities than during the same period in 2021.

The statistics agency said it estimates that the country's natural population increase was at a record low during the first six months of this year.

However, net immigration - the difference between immigration and emigration - has continued to be strong in Finland, according to senior statistician Joni Rantakari.

"Last year, the net immigration gain was the highest in 30 years. In the beginning of this year the figure was even higher than the same period last year," Rantakari said in the statement, noting that Finland's population has continued to grow despite the country's natural population decline.

According to preliminary figures, Finland's population stood at 5,552,550 in June, according to the agency.