 Kim Borg was born in Helsinki.He studied voice with Heikki Teittinen at the Sibelius Academy (1936–1941 and 1945–1947), where he also received training in theory and composition with Leo Funtek and Aarre Merikanto, and then pursued vocal studies with Andrejewa de Skilondz in Stockholm (1950–1959).He also studied biochemistry at the Helsinki University of Technology, and received a diploma in 1946.