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Immigration to Finland

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Number of Allophones, i.e. residents with another native language than Finnish, Swedish or Sami, in Finland, 1980–2011, according to Statistics Finland.[1]
Population pyramid segmented by background. Finnish background in colour, foreign background in grey.

Immigration to Finland is the process by which people migrate to Finland to reside in the country. Some, but not all, become Finnish citizens. Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of Finland. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, impact on upward social mobility, crime, and voting behaviour.

As of 2021, there are 469,633 foreigners residing in Finland, which corresponds to around 8.5% of the population. Numerous polls in 2010 indicated that the majority of the Finnish people want to limit immigration to the country in order to preserve its regional and native cultural diversity.[2] It was estimated in 2016 that by 2050, there will be 1–1.2 million foreigners in Finland.[3]

History

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Further information: History of Finland

Under Swedish control

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Under Swedish control, soldiers, priests and officers from Sweden started to arrive in Finland. With them came also Walloons. During this time Romanis migrated from Sweden to Finland. Nowadays there are around 10,000 Finnish Kale in Finland.[4] Many Germans, Norwegians, Danes, Swiss people, Poles, Dutch people and Scottish people settled in Finland during this period. Many big modern-day companies in Finland were started by these emigrants, including Finlayson, Fazer, Fiskars, Stockmann, Sinebrychoff, Stora Enso and Paulig.[5]

Under Russian control

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A political cartoon against the immigration of Jews, which appeared in 1897 Matti Meikäläinen issue 15.

When Finland became under Russian rule in the 1800s, Russians, Jews, Tatars and during World War I Chinese people started moving to Finland. This established small Jewish and Tatar communities in Finland. There are around 1,800 Jews and 1,000 Tatars living in Finland. When Finland gained independence in 1917, majority of the Russians and Chinese left Finland.[6]

After independence and WW1

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Stepan Petrichenko, the leader of the Kronstadt rebellion, and other Russians that arrived in Finland, 1921.

Finland's first immigrants arrived in the years 1917–1922, thousands of Russians escaped to Finland as a result of the Russian Revolution. Many of them died in the Finnish Civil War. In the beginning of 1919, statistics showed there were 15,457 Russians in Finland, however the actual number was likely higher. The largest refugee flow was in 1922, when 33,500 crossed over the eastern border to Finland. The refugees were St. Petersburg Finns, Ingrian Finns, Karelians, officers, factory owners and nobles, among them was the cousin of the Romanov Family, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich. In 1921, after the Kronstadt rebellion, 6,400 seamen escaped over the frozen Gulf of Finland to Finland. Many of them integrated to the Finnish society, while others continued to Continental Europe. Between 1917 and 1939, 44,000 refugees sought asylum in Finland. In other estimates, between 1917 and 1939 as many as 100,000 sought security in Finland.[7]

Immigrant statistics from 1924:

Foreign citizens
Country 1924
Soviet Union Soviet Union 16,921
Sweden Sweden 4,080
Germany Germany 1,645
Norway Norway 457
Denmark Denmark 379
Switzerland Switzerland 269
Total 24,451

World War II

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Immigrants from opposing sides of the war were sent to Internment camps and Nazi concentration camps in Nazi Germany. During the war, Ingrian Finns and Estonians migrated to Finland. Most of the people that did not manage to escape to the west were sent to the Soviet Union.[8] When Finland ceded parts of its territory to the Soviet Union, 430,000 people from there had to be evacuated. This was 12% of Finland's population at the time. When Finland annexed these parts back in the Continuation War, 260,000 of them returned home. After the Soviet Union annexed these parts again, the population there had to be evacuated yet again. These evacuees were housed and settled to the remaining parts of Finland by the state.[9]

After WW2

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Immigration after the war stopped. The geopolitical state of the country and difficult economic situation did not attract immigrants. The number of foreign citizens during this time stayed stable, at 10,000. Between 1950 and 1975 it only grew by 1,000.

The immigration during the 1970s and 1980s consisted mainly by returning Finnish expats. Between 1981 and 1989, 70% of all immigration were Finns returning. In 1980, there were 12,843 foreign citizens. The largest groups were from Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and Denmark.[5]

Foreign citizens in 1980[10]
Country 1980
 Sweden 3,105
 Germany 1,493
 UK 980
 Soviet Union 858
 Denmark 403
 Norway 306
 Poland 290
  Switzerland 282
 Italy 275
 France 262
 Netherlands 252
 Spain 240
 Austria 162
 Greece 123
 Turkey 114
 Hungary 81
 Ireland 44
 Yugoslavia 42
 Bulgaria 38
 Portugal 34
 Belgium 31
 Romania 25
 Iceland 20
Other Europe 53
Americas 1,650
Asia 833
Africa 349
Oceania 157
No citizenship 340
Unknown 1

Refugee waves

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The first refugee wave to Finland after the wars happened when the 1973 Chilean coup d'état started. 200 Chilean refugees arrived in Finland during the 1970s. They were not welcomed warmly, as they were one of Finland's very first non-white minorities. Most of the original 200 refugees returned to Chile. In 2017 there were 1,000 Chileans in Finland.[11]

The second, and much larger refugee wave happened when Vietnamese boat people came to Finland in the 1980s. Around 800 of them arrived. The Vietnamese community has grown into 10,817 by 2017.[12] In 1990 after the Breakup of Yugoslavia, thousands of refugees came to Finland, with most being Kosovars and Bosniaks. Immigrants from Yugoslavia now constitute the fourth or third largest immigrant group in Finland. They have established huge communities in Vantaa, Turku, Espoo and Närpes.[13]

The most notable refugee waves are from Somalia and Iraq. The first Somalis arrived to Finland via the Soviet Union. Somali speaking population in Finland has grown from zero to 21,000 between 1990 and 2018. 55% of Somalis in Finland are unemployed, the highest of any ethnic group in Finland.

In 2014, Finland took 1,030 quota refugees, and an additional 3,651 people sought asylum. Of the asylum seekers, 1,346 were positive and 2,050 negative. Nearly one in two asylum seekers identity is not verified, mainly due to lack of passports. In 2008, 4,000 asylum seekers arrived in Finland. This grew to 6,000 in 2009, though it dropped to 4,000 in 2010. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 3,000 asylum seekers arrived in each year. The number grew to 32,400 in 2015, which was Europe's fourth largest in terms of population. It then dropped to 5,600 in 2016 and 5,100 in 2017.

On 13 September 2015, it was reported that the local authorities had estimated the flow of 300 asylum seekers per day entering via the northern land border from Sweden into Tornio, which is the main route of migration flow into Finland.[14] The total number of asylum seekers for the year was reported to be over 2.6 times the total amount for the whole of the previous year.[15] During October 2015, 7,058 new asylum seekers arrived in Finland. In mid-October the number of asylum seekers entering Finland during 2015 reached 27,000, which is, in relation to the country's size, the fourth-largest in Europe.[16] In late November, the number passed 30,000, nearly ten-fold increase compared to the previous year.[17][18]

More than 60% of asylum seekers who arrived during 2015 came from Iraq.[19] In late October, The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) changed its guidelines about areas in Iraq which are recognised as safe by the Finnish authorities,[20] putting Iraqi asylum seekers under closer scrutiny.[21] The Interior Minister Petteri Orpo estimated that two in three of recent asylum seekers come to Finland in hopes of higher standard of living. In November, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry stated that approximately 60–65% of the recent applications for asylum will be denied.

In 2017, hundreds Muslim asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan converted to Christianity after having had their first asylum application rejected by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), in order to re-apply for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.[22]

Asylum seekers 1990–2019[23][24]
Country 1990–2019
Iraq Iraq 33,448
Somalia Somalia 11,007
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia 10,708
Afghanistan Afghanistan 9,504
Russia Russia 8,101
Bulgaria Bulgaria 3,504
Syria Syria 3,235
Iran Iran incl. (Kurdistan province) 3,172
Slovakia Slovakia 2,896
Turkey Turkey 2,813
Nigeria Nigeria 1,960
Romania Romania 1,953
Poland Poland 1,603
Albania Albania 1,569
Ukraine Ukraine 1,088
Belarus Belarus 1,034
Algeria Algeria 1,030
Other 18,403
Total 117,028

Other refugee groups have arrived from Eritrea, Lebanon, DR Congo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Georgia and Pakistan.

EU membership and the 1990s

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The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Since then immigration into Finland has greatly increased. By joining the Schengen Area, immigration to Finland has been easier. Finland allowed Ingrian Finns to migrate back to Finland as returnees. Since then, around 35,000 Ingrians have moved to Finland.

Finland joined the EU in 1995. This enabled freedom of movement. This has brought construction workers from France, Estonia and Poland.[25]

Change in immigrant population of the EU 2004 and 2007 enlargement countries between 2003 and 2021:

  1.  Estonia +41,837
  2.  Romania +4,721
  3.  Poland +4,464
  4.  Latvia +3,234
  5.  Bulgaria +2,524
  6.  Hungary +1,789
  7.  Lithuania +1,499
  8.  Czech Republic +751
  9.  Slovakia +419
  10.  Slovenia +92
  11.  Cyprus +63
  12.  Malta +29
  • Total +61,422

During 2021, 2,368 Estonian citizens, 655 Romanian citizens, 604 Latvian citizens and 453 Polish citizens immigrated to Finland. A total of 4,954 people immigrated from the Eastern EU member states, 61% of all incoming EU immigrants and 18% of all immigrants.[26]

Around 30,000 people migrate to Finland annually, with most coming from Iraq, Syria and Russia. While most immigrants are from Europe, 108,000 are from Asia and 50,000 from Africa.

Modern day

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Pro-Palestinian protest in Helsinki, 21 October 2023

The most common reasons to immigrate to Finland were family reasons (32%), work (30%) and studying (21%).

In 2017, hundreds of Muslim asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan converted to Christianity after having had their first asylum application rejected by the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri), in order to re-apply for asylum on the grounds of religious persecution.[27]

In September 2022, Finland announced that it would not offer asylum to Russians fleeing mobilization.[28]

Chronology of 2015

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  • On 13 September 2015, it was reported that the local authorities had estimated the flow of 300 asylum seekers per day entering via the northern land border from Sweden into Tornio, which is the main route of migration flow into Finland.[29] The total number of asylum seekers for the year was reported to be over 2.6 times the total amount for the whole of the previous year.[30]
  • During October 2015, 7,058 new asylum seekers arrived in Finland. In mid-October the number of asylum seekers entering Finland during 2015 reached 27,000, which is, in relation to the country's size, the fourth-largest in Europe.[31] In late November, the number passed 30,000, nearly ten-fold increase compared to the previous year.[32] In September, The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) estimated that processing time of an asylum application may be extended from normal six months up to two years.[33] In late November, the reception centers were reported to be rapidly running out of space, forcing the authorities resorting to refurbished shipping containers and tents to house new asylum seekers.[32][34] The Interior Minister Petteri Orpo estimated that two in three asylum seekers come to Finland in hopes of higher standard of living.
  • In November, the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry stated that approximately 60–65% of the recent applications for asylum will be denied.[31] More than 60% of asylum seekers who arrived during 2015 came from Iraq.[20]
  • In late October, The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) changed its guidelines about areas in Iraq which are recognised as safe by the Finnish authorities,[20] putting Iraqi asylum seekers under closer scrutiny.[35]
  • In late November, it was reported that more than 700 Iraqis had voluntarily cancelled their asylum applications during September and October. According to the officials of Migri, some of the Iraqi asylum seekers have had erroneous assumptions about the country's asylum policy.[20]
  • On 22 November 2015, it was reported that Finland had appealed to Russia with a proposal to prohibit the crossings at some of the land borders by bicycle.[36]
  • On 27 December 2015, it was reported that Finland had blocked access for people to cross over two Russian border crossings (Raja-Jooseppi and Salla) by bicycles. Many asylum seekers were reported to have earlier crossed the border by bicycles.[37]
  • On 3 December, the Interior Minister Petteri Orpo announced that special repatriation centers would be established. These centers would be inhabited by the asylum seekers whose applications were declined. While he stressed that these camps would not be prisons, he described the inhabitants would be under strict surveillance.[38]
  • On 4 December 2015, Finland reportedly closed one of its northern border checkpoints before the scheduled time along the Finnish–Russian border. According to Russian media, due to the closure, asylum seekers could not enter the country.[39]
  • On 12 December 2015, Finnish Interior Minister Petteri Orpo announced that if the external borders of EU cannot be secured, then Schengen, Dublin and in a way the whole EU is under serious threat. Further he noted that Finland has imprisoned two asylum seekers, charging them with 11 cases of murder. According to Orpo, because of the failure in registering asylum seekers at the external borders, they can travel all the way to Finland via northern Sweden. He noted that border controls have been improved in harbours, airports and land border crossings with Sweden.[40][41][42]

Chronology of 2016

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  • On 2 January 2016, it was reported that Finland had issued a command for the Finnlines ferry crossing from Germany to Finland to refuse boarding asylum seekers without visa. German NGOs criticised the decision, and it was still unclear how it could be enforced, especially as a direct visa from Germany to Finland is not available.[43]
  • On 23 January 2016, it was reported, that Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini concluded that "closing the eastern border is possible". He stated that if an asylum seeker does not have need for protection, they will lose their money and get themselves deported. As Finland was struggling with a declining economy and increasing unemployment, he noted that resources of police forces, border control, security "need to be organized".[44] On 24 January, YLE, Finland's national public-broadcasting company, reported that a Russian border guard had admitted that the Federal Security Service was enabling migrants to enter Finland.[45]
  • On 23 February, the Finnish press reported that the profile of national origin of asylum seekers had changed, with a rise of Indian and Bangladeshi asylum seekers, so that the third largest group of asylum seekers after Afghans and Iraqis were Indians, the fourth Syrians and the fifth Bangladeshis.[46]

2023

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In November of 2023, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced the closure of all but the northernmost border crossing with Russia, amid a sudden increase in asylum seekers seeking to enter Finland via Russia. Finland accused Russia of deliberately using refugees as weapons as part of its hybrid warfare following worsening relations between the two countries. Frontex subsequently announced that the EU would assist Finland in securing its eastern border.[47][48]

Demographics

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Finnish and foreign born population pyramid in 2021

Sources of immigration

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Further information: Demographics of Finland
Net immigrants in Finland 2021[49]
Rank Country Number Percentage
1  Russia 2,390 10.4
2  Ukraine 1,422 6.2
3  Estonia 1,358 5.9
4  China 1,005 4.4
5  India 1,003 4.4
6  Iraq 890 3.9
7  Vietnam 740 3.2
8  Iran 661 2.9
9  Sweden 651 2.8
10  Turkey 651 2.8
Top 10 total 10,771 47.0
Other 12,134 53.0
Total 22,905 100

Adoption

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Between 1987 and 2021, a total of 5,708 people were adopted in Finland who were born in another country. This comprised 42% of all adoptions during the time period.[50]

Adoptions by country of birth 1987–2021:

  1. China (1,033)
  2.  Russia (860)
  3.  Thailand (785)
  4.  Colombia (594)
  5.  South Africa (541)
  6.  Soviet Union (288)
  7.  Ethiopia (287)
  8.  Philippines (239)
  9.  India (202)
  10.  Estonia (152)

608 were adopted from other countries while for 119 adoptions the country was unknown.

Countries of origin

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Countries of origin with more than 100 immigrants + EU countries[51]
Country 1990 2000 2010 2021
 Russia 9,987 37,783 63,665 94,304
EstoniaEuropean Union Estonia 0 10,839 29,080 51,805
SwedenEuropean Union Sweden 24,541 28,040 31,160 33,692
 Iraq 203 3,686 9,127 26,653
 Somalia 49 6,256 12,868 23,409
 Yugoslavia 128 5,538 10,340 15,811
 China 441 2,291 6,926 14,339
 Vietnam 1,841 4,079 6,566 13,291
 Afghanistan 5 384 3,421 12,044
 Thailand 387 1,794 6,747 11,974
 Turkey 412 2,323 6,072 11,392
 India 434 1,182 4,306 10,749
 Iran 516 2,650 5,164 10,129
 Syria 38 211 521 9,332
GermanyEuropean Union Germany 2,437 3,582 5,921 7,402
 United Kingdom 1,638 2,731 4,547 7,208
 Ukraine 0 961 2,103 7,202
 Philippines 248 752 1,775 7,087
 United States 2,398 2,903 4,082 6,217
PolandEuropean Union Poland 965 1,193 2,880 5,807
RomaniaEuropean Union Romania 153 760 1,880 5,628
   Nepal 6 89 1,176 5,012
 Pakistan 130 436 1,514 4,882
 Bangladesh 95 479 1,673 4,731
 Nigeria 89 303 1,496 4,607
 Morocco 395 1,151 2,136 4,106
 DR Congo 6 451 1,548 4,068
LatviaEuropean Union Latvia 9 256 1,071 3,626
ItalyEuropean Union Italy 475 958 1,790 3,395
SpainEuropean Union Spain 473 779 1,650 3,371
FranceEuropean Union France 507 1,089 1,936 3,129
BulgariaEuropean Union Bulgaria 248 508 1,169 3,123
 Ethiopia 108 642 1,455 3,100
HungaryEuropean Union Hungary 540 933 1,669 2,777
 Ghana 67 322 1,070 2,611
 Brazil 153 289 980 2,368
 Myanmar 7 73 1,425 2,154
LithuaniaEuropean Union Lithuania 0 204 786 2,130
 Sudan 11 72 1,227 2,080
 Kenya 71 173 881 2,062
 Norway 852 954 1,520 1,971
NetherlandsEuropean Union Netherlands 391 732 1,272 1,874
 Egypt 195 422 808 1,808
GreeceEuropean Union Greece 302 468 698 1,779
 Cameroon 4 33 600 1,773
 Canada 905 1,181 1,453 1,755
 Sri Lanka 107 330 773 1,704
 Eritrea 0 17 94 1,680
 Japan 240 507 997 1,547
 Algeria 210 467 826 1,521
 Albania 0 42 197 1,465
 Australia 426 656 960 1,402
 Colombia 124 418 854 1,380
 Bosnia 0 1,627 1,779 1,329
 Gambia 23 206 492 1,281
  Switzerland 409 615 912 1,247
 Mexico 63 153 518 1,224
 South Africa 108 208 621 1,216
 Tunisia 145 312 671 1,197
DenmarkEuropean Union Denmark 527 708 865 1,167
Czech RepublicEuropean Union Czech Republic 245 342 611 1,139
 Uzbekistan 0 91 159 1,129
PortugalEuropean Union Portugal 54 118 349 937
 Lebanon 109 325 537 903
 South Korea 36 108 348 896
 Indonesia 34 133 332 876
BelgiumEuropean Union Belgium 107 206 452 852
 Israel 330 465 708 795
 Moldova 0 12 100 778
 Belarus 0 167 393 739
Republic of IrelandEuropean Union Ireland 83 200 433 736
AustriaEuropean Union Austria 238 312 512 715
 Serbia 0 0 894 715
SlovakiaEuropean Union Slovakia 0 51 258 711
 Angola 3 143 497 684
 Peru 66 176 402 678
 Chile 183 227 369 668
 Cuba 17 153 359 637
 Tanzania 56 146 424 630
 Saudi Arabia 16 201 243 599
 Malaysia 134 224 372 585
 Rwanda 2 29 238 576
 Argentina 101 157 290 571
 Zambia 42 70 148 547
CroatiaEuropean Union Croatia 0 260 281 535
 Kazakhstan 0 295 318 490
 Jordan 51 135 253 458
 Cambodia 78 149 283 429
 Yemen 3 23 38 423
 Uganda 7 29 145 416
 Venezuela 14 34 107 388
 UAE 13 36 78 353
 Kuwait 3 49 116 330
 Libya 19 68 162 313
 Singapore 29 60 148 308
 New Zealand 34 86 178 294
 Ecuador 15 45 150 292
 Senegal 10 34 123 272
 North Macedonia 0 144 199 270
 Dominican Republic 9 41 121 240
 Azerbaijan 0 10 83 228
CyprusEuropean Union Cyprus 40 76 121 228
 Iceland 74 120 150 199
 Nicaragua 5 49 86 198
 Sierra Leone 20 52 119 194
 Bolivia 15 50 122 191
 Liberia 6 46 138 191
SloveniaEuropean Union Slovenia 0 10 80 184
 Cote d'Ivoire 12 50 98 179
 Congo 17 18 114 172
 Namibia 48 29 71 170
 Zimbabwe 9 23 62 168
 Georgia 0 65 65 163
 Armenia 0 25 85 162
 Burundi 3 6 49 159
 Guinea 4 9 55 153
 Honduras 4 15 37 144
 Uruguay 32 51 80 134
 Kyrgyzstan 0 5 80 133
LuxembourgEuropean Union Luxembourg 18 32 75 122
 Togo 3 14 56 114
 Mongolia 1 16 48 111
 Palestine 1 7 32 108
MaltaEuropean Union Malta 8 21 31 84

Distribution

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Immigrants by municipality in 2021[52]
№ Municipality Immigrants %
1. Helsinki 116,004 17.6
2. Espoo 59,837 20.1
3. Vantaa 56,027 23.4
4. Turku 25,756 13.2
5. Tampere 20,935 8.6
6. Oulu 10,245 4.9
7. Lahti 9,645 8.0
8. Jyväskylä 8,219 5.7
9. Vaasa 6,793 10.0
10. Lappeenranta 6,073 8.4

Immigrants overwhelmingly settle in cities; 85% of immigrants in Finland live in cities and their surroundings. Only 11% live in the countryside, with most of them being from other European countries. Immigrants from the Middle East and Africa are the most heavily concentrated group in cities.[53]

Employment

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The most common job for immigrants in 2017 was real estate cleaner, at 11,328. The second most common was restaurant jobs at 10,696, and the third was labour hire at 8,437. Immigrants make up 26.9% of real estate cleaners, despite only making up 6.3% of the population.[54]

Around 20,000 immigrants in Finland are searching for jobs.[55] Around 70% of net immigrants are in the working age (18–64), and most of them are young adults.[56]

The unemployment rate among Finnish-born was 12.4% in 2020, while it was 23.6% among immigrants born abroad. Immigrants from other EU-countries had the lowest unemployment rate (16.9%), while African immigrants had the highest rate (32.5%).[57]

Immigrant languages

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Immigration has greatly increased the number of languages spoken in Finland. In 1990, there were 6 foreign languages in Finland with over 1,000 speakers. In 2021, that number has jumped to 46. The most spoken immigrant languages are Russian (87,600), Estonian (50,200), Arabic (36,500), English (25,600), Somali (23,700), Persian (16,400) and Kurdish (16,000). In total 458,000 people speak an immigrant language, which is 8.3% of the population.

In 1990, the most spoken ones were Russian (3,900), English (3,600), German (2,400), Vietnamese (1,600), Estonian (1,400) and Arabic (1,100). The total number of foreign language speakers was less than 25,000 (0.5%).[58]

Citizenship

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From 1990 to 2021, a total of 159,342 foreigners have acquired Finnish citizenship. In 2018, 97% of foreigners who were granted Finnish citizenship, kept their previous nationality.[59] Finland had the fourth highest naturalisation rate in the EU in 2020.[60] 16% of Finnish citizenships granted were granted to other EU citizens in 2021.

Finnish citizenships granted by previous nationality since 2015[61]
Country 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
 Russia 1,728 2,028 2,758 1,766 1,946 1,546 1,161
 Iraq 560 534 742 621 589 602 744
 Somalia 955 1,066 957 856 583 541 436
 Estonia 420 459 705 541 658 516 370
 Syria 28 47 118 118 299 205 360
 Sweden 165 206 212 210 248 196 282
 Afghanistan 242 376 469 339 309 264 227
 Thailand 150 193 261 249 281 304 209
 Ukraine 145 163 281 202 255 220 171
 Iran 140 222 309 244 205 156 155
 Vietnam 146 225 249 197 221 148 140
 Turkey 229 264 313 210 260 172 125
 Nepal 74 123 178 125 132 119 106
 India 137 193 245 154 174 181 105
 Philippines 79 106 141 182 225 124 97
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 131 150 223 183 138 100 96
 Serbia and Montenegro 73 108 42 183 214 134 81
 United Kingdom 26 31 147 134 211 126 80
 Bangladesh 100 140 176 105 97 72 80
 Nigeria 179 175 283 157 113 100 67
 Pakistan 135 143 228 110 121 70 59
 Ethiopia 56 87 118 80 53 39 58
 Poland 61 69 111 72 93 64 55
 Morocco 77 67 110 71 77 69 43
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 66 83 87 120 66 84 37
 China 130 140 190 91 89 70 35
 Myanmar 89 129 130 162 105 75 35
 Ghana 63 90 112 80 61 38 20
Total 7,921 9,375 12,219 9,211 9,649 7,816 6,643

Effects of immigration

[edit]

Costs

[edit]

According to a macroeconomic study immigrants, refugees and migrants, arriving Finland benefits its economy within five years of arrival. In the case of asylum seekers the reach positive effect to the economy takes longer, from three to seven years. In Finland, asylum seekers face many restrictions on working that slows down their possibilities to contribute to the economy.[62]

Most of immigration's cost to the society consists of welfare. Because immigrant families have on average more children than their Finnish counterparts, they receive more welfare.[63] Income support, housing benefits and unemployment benefits of immigrants cost nearly 300 million euros in 2009, and the social and health benefits of immigrants cost 200 million euro annually. Around 110–112 million euros goes to refugee quotas.[64]

According to the Ministry of the Interior (Finland) in 2009, asylum seekers in Finland during their asylum process received one of the highest rates of benefits in Europe.[65]

Crime

[edit]
See also: 2017 Turku attack, Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal, and Sello mall shooting

First records of immigrant crime was in 1919–1932, when the Prohibition in Finland started. Most of the alcohol were smuggled from Estonia or other European countries, like Poland and Germany. The smugglers were usually Finns, Germans, Swedes or Estonians.[66] In the late 1990s, Estonia became a transit country for drugs that were brought to Finland. Both Finns and Estonians have managed the trade together.[67]

In the last 10 years immigrant crime has increased by 56%. As high as 90% of burglaries in Finland are done by immigrants.[68]

In 2016, illegal drugs like Rivotril were beginning to be sold in Helsinki Railway Square, Itäkeskus and Kallio by foreigners from Central Europe. Furthermore, seizures of cocaine have been increasing to some extent in recent years.[69]

In 2011, of all the immigrants in prison, 27% were Estonian citizens, 13% Romanian citizens, 10% Russian citizens and 6% Lithuanian citizens.[70]

Even though less than 5% of the Finnish population consists of foreign citizens, they account for 25% of reported sex crimes. In 2018, 1393 cases of rape were reported to the police.[71] According to official statistics from 2005, 27% of all rapes in Finland were committed by foreigners, even though they only comprised 2.2% of the population back then.[72] Many of them are Afghans, Iraqis and Turks.[73][74]

Illegal immigrants

[edit]

There are around 3,000–10,000 illegal immigrants in Finland living in 42 of the 309 Finnish municipalities, with the highest number living in Helsinki.[75]

Discrimination

[edit]
Main article: Racism in Finland

According to a study done by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in 2017, 60% of Sub-Saharan African immigrants in Finland had experienced discrimination in the past five years. This was significantly higher than the EU average of 39%. Women and first-generation immigrants experienced the most discrimination. Most discrimination was faced in public and private services. It was also experienced during studying, job seeking and at work. Most discrimination goes unreported, though the ones living in Finland reported the most. Roughly a third of respondents had reported their discrimination.[76]

24.1% of Finnish women with a foreign-background and 32.4% of men had experienced physical or psychological abuse over the previous year in 2018. Asian women (excluding West Asia) experienced the least amount of abuse (19.7%) while Sub-Saharan African men experienced the most (49%). Harassment experienced by people with a foreign-background varies depending on the region. Foreigners in Ostrobothnia had the lowest share of people who had experienced abuse (15.2%) while those in Päijät-Häme had the highest share (32.1%). The region which contains the vast majority of foreigners had the second highest share (30.3%).[77]

Public opinion

[edit]

In 1993, Finns were most accepting of Norwegian, Ingrian, British, American and Swedish migrants. They were least accepting of Russian, Yugoslavian, Turkish, African, Vietnamese and Chilean migrants.[13]

In a 2015 online survey by YLE, Finns were most accepting of German, Swedish, Estonian, British and US American immigrants. In the same survey Iran, Iraq and Romania were the least accepted countries of origin of foreign immigrants.[78]

According to a 2016 poll, many Finns were concerned simultaneously about unemployed immigrants and immigrants taking local jobs.[79]

Comparison with other European Union countries 2023

[edit]

According to Eurostat 59.9 million people lived in the European Union in 2023 who were born outside their resident country. This corresponds to 13.35% of the total EU population. Of these, 31.4 million (9.44%) were born outside the EU and 17.5 million (3.91%) were born in another EU member state.[80][81]

Country Total population (1000) Total Foreign-born (1000) % Born in other EU state (1000) % Born in a non EU state (1000) %
EU 27 448,754 59,902 13.3 17,538 3.9 31,368 6.3
Germany 84,359 16,476 19.5 6,274 7.4 10,202 12.1
France 68,173 8,942 13.1 1,989 2.9 6,953 10.2
Spain 48,085 8,204 17.1 1,580 3.3 6,624 13.8
Italy 58,997 6,417 10.9 1,563 2.6 4,854 8.2
Netherlands 17,811 2,777 15.6 748 4.2 2,029 11.4
Greece 10,414 1,173 11.3 235 2.2 938 9.0
Sweden 10,522 2,144 20.4 548 5.2 1,596 15.2
Austria 9,105 1,963 21.6 863 9.5 1,100 12.1
Belgium 11,743 2,247 19.1 938 8.0 1,309 11.1
Portugal 10,467 1,684 16.1 378 3.6 1,306 12.5
Denmark 5,933 804 13.6 263 4.4 541 9.1
Finland 5,564 461 8.3 131 2.4 330 5.9
Poland 36,754 933 2.5 231 0.6 702 1.9
Czech Republic 10,828 764 7.1 139 1.3 625 5.8
Hungary 9,600 644 6.7 342 3.6 302 3.1
Romania 19,055 530 2.8 202 1.1 328 1.7
Slovakia 5,429 213 3.9 156 2.9 57 1.0
Bulgaria 6,448 169 2.6 58 0.9 111 1.7
Ireland 5,271 1,150 21.8 348 6.6 802 15.2

See also

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References

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