Around 50,000 children will start school this August.File photo. Image: Janne Lindroos / YleYle News16:26The number of children starting school in Finland continues to decline. Around 50,000 first-graders will begin basic education this August, according to the Finnish National Agency for Education.That is around 1,000 fewer than last year. As recently as 2020, there were around 60,000 children starting first grade.Every region of Finland has seen a decline in the number of first-graders during the 2020s.Despite the drop in new pupils, the overall number of children in basic education has fallen more gradually. Last year, just over 500,000 students were enrolled in comprehensive schools across Finland.