Lahti’s population surpasses 122,000 for first time

Lahti city said, citing Statistics Finland preliminary data, that its population reached 122,031 at the end of February 2026, exceeding the 122,000 mark for the first time in the city’s history.

The city’s population grew by 141 residents between January and February and has increased by 672 compared with a year earlier. In the first two months of 2026, Lahti’s growth ranked fifth among Finland’s large cities, with net migration between municipalities contributing strongly and immigration playing an even larger role than moves from other parts of the country.

In municipal net migration, Lahti was the second-best performer among large cities at the beginning of 2026, behind Helsinki. The city recorded 788 more arrivals than departures from other municipalities during January–February, with arrivals to Lahti from other municipalities totaling 788 versus 639 leaving Lahti. Compared with the same period last year, arrivals were up by 14 while departures were down by 123.

Lahti’s biggest migration gains came from Jyväskylä (+21), Hollola (+12), Jouts a (+12), Heinola (+11) and Orimattila (+10). The city saw losses most notably to Järvenpää (-7), Kouvola (-6), Tampere (-6) and Hartola (-5). Immigration also exceeded emigration: in January, there were 87 more immigration arrivals than emigration departures.

Births were lower than deaths in January, with 82 fewer births than deaths. Over January–February 2026, 165 children were born, 32 more than in the same period of 2025, while the number of deaths was 247, up by five from the previous year. The city also reported that the share of residents speaking a foreign language was 13,687, about 11.1% of the population, increasing by 160 during the first two months while the number of Finnish-language speakers fell by 19.

Across age and activity categories, Lahti’s main migration gains from January to November 2025 came from retirees (+148), the unemployed (+72) and children aged 0–14 (+60), while it lost the most from the employed (-44). By age group, the largest gains were among those aged 0–17 (+121) and 65–74 (+98), while the biggest losses were among 18–24-year-olds (-156).