Finland

1. Official institutions

• Tilastokeskus (Statistics Finland) — national statistical institute: https://www.stat.fi
• Migri (Maahanmuuttovirasto) — Finnish Immigration Service
• VATT (government economic research institute, under the Ministry of Finance) — studies on economic impact

2. Key datasets

• Tilastokeskus, StatFin database: population by origin (syntyperä) and background country (taustamaa), employment by country of birth, crime by origin
• Migri: asylum and residence permit statistics
• VATT: one-off studies on fiscal cost/contribution (ongoing study expected 2027)

3. Demographics

3.1 Current population composition

• As of December 31, 2025, Finland’s population stood at 5,652,881; people with a foreign background (“ulkomaalaistaustainen,” including 1st and 2nd generation) numbered 660,800, or 11.7% of the total population. This share has risen continuously and sharply since the 2010s.
• Population growth in 2025 was +16,910, nearly half the rate of 2023–2024 (years marked by heavy immigration from Ukraine).
• Second generation born in Finland to immigrant parents: 102,183 people, a figure that has doubled in 11 years. Among this second generation, 43.5% have a European background, 32.1% Asian, and 22.1% African.
• Source: Statistics Finland, “Väkiluvun kasvu hidastui vuonna 2025” — https://stat.fi/fi/julkaisu/cmg6f46k91y0e07w0qtdt6yl7

3.2 Origin breakdown

• At the end of 2020 (the most recent year for which a full regional percentage breakdown was found), 53% of the foreign-background population had a European background, 30% Asian, and 11% African; the remaining share is not detailed in the source consulted, so it is shown above as “other/unspecified” rather than estimated.
• The single largest individual background-country group is Russia/former Soviet Union: 90,801 people at the end of 2020 (one-fifth of the foreign-background population), followed by Estonia (50,590), Iraq (25,439) and Somalia (22,534). At the end of 2024, people with a background in Estonia, Russia, or the former Soviet Union combined numbered approximately 180,000.
• Source: Statistics Finland, “Väestörakenne 2020 — Ulkomaalaistaustainen väestö” — https://stat.fi/til/vaerak/2020/02/vaerak_2020_02_2021-05-28_fi.pdf; Statistics Finland, “Vieraskielisten määrä kasvoi yli 50 000:lla vuonna 2024” — https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/71052757/vieraskielisten-maara-kasvoi-yli-50-000lla-vuonna-2024-uudenmaan-vaestosta-lahes-viidennes-ulkomaista-syntyperaa?publisherId=69818838&lang=fi

3.3 Immigration waves (1990 – present)

• Before 1990, Finland was historically a country of emigration (notably to Sweden and North America), with very low levels of inward immigration compared with the rest of Western Europe.
• 1990–1999: the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Somali civil war, and the Yugoslav wars of dissolution mark the start of sustained immigration. In 1990, President Mauno Koivisto granted Ingrian Finns (inkerinsuomalaiset, descendants of Finnish settlers in the St. Petersburg region) a returnee right, leading to the arrival of about 20,000 people over the following decade. The first Somali refugees arrived in 1990 via the Soviet Union; by the end of the decade, over 4,000 Somalia-born people lived in Finland. The share of immigrants in the population roughly doubled over the decade.
• 1995: Finland joins the European Union, opening intra-EU labor mobility.
• 2000s: EU enlargement (2004, 2007) brings growing labor migration from Estonia and other new member states; Estonia becomes one of the largest single background-country groups.
• 2015–2016: European asylum crisis: Finland received a sharp, temporary spike in asylum applications, mainly from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• 2022 – present: following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland received Ukrainian nationals under temporary protection status; this contributed to the markedly higher population growth recorded in 2023–2024 compared with 2025.
• Sources: Yle, “1990-luvun Suomi maahanmuuttajan silmin” — https://yle.fi/a/20-136249; Finnish Wikipedia, “Suomen somalit” — https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomen_somalit; Statistics Finland, “Väkiluvun kasvu hidastui vuonna 2025” — https://stat.fi/fi/julkaisu/cmg6f46k91y0e07w0qtdt6yl7

3.4 Age structure by origin

• General trend (most recent qualitative description found): the foreign-background population is on average younger than the population of Finnish background, and is more concentrated in working age, while people of Finnish background include a markedly higher share of retirees.

3.5 Long-term projection

4. Public finances — net cost

• VATT (government economic research institute, under the Ministry of Finance) launched a study in February 2025 on the fiscal effects of immigration, broken down by type of residence permit and country of origin; results are expected in the first half of 2027. Source: VATT, “Selvitys maahanmuuton vaikutuksista julkiseen talouteen” — https://vatt.fi/-/selvitys-maahanmuuton-vaikutuksista-julkiseen-talouteen
• No official Nordic comparative study (public institute) with a consolidated Finland/Sweden/Denmark/Norway figure has been identified. Unlike Denmark, Finland does not yet have a regularly published official net-contribution-by-origin calculation.

4.1 Pension system / dependency ratio

5. Labor market

• In 2016, the employment rate gap between people of foreign background and people of Finnish background was nearly 15 points (approximately 64% versus 79%). By 2022 the gap had narrowed to 6 points, with the foreign-background employment rate exceeding 70% for the first time (a peak year). In 2023 it eased slightly to 70.3%, against a stable 79% for people of Finnish background — a gap of 8.7 points. Source: Statistics Finland, “Ulkomaalaistaustaisten työllisyyden kasvu pysähtyi” — https://stat.fi/tietotrendit/artikkelit/2024/ulkomaalaistaustaisten-tyollisyyden-kasvu-pysahtyi

• In 2023, the highest employment rate among foreign-background groups was found among people with a background in EU/EFTA countries (excluding Finland and Estonia) or North America, at 83% — above the 79% rate for people of Finnish background. The lowest rate was found among people with a background in the Middle East or North Africa, at 53%, though Statistics Finland notes this group’s rate had risen the most strongly of all groups since a lower starting point. People with an “Other Africa” background stood at 66%. Source: Statistics Finland, “Ulkomaalaistaustaisten työllisyyden kasvu pysähtyi” — https://stat.fi/tietotrendit/artikkelit/2024/ulkomaalaistaustaisten-tyollisyyden-kasvu-pysahtyi

6. Security / justice

• Tilastokeskus publishes statistics on crime suspects by origin (“syntyperä”) in its “Rikos- ja pakkokeinotilasto” series. 2023 edition (published May 16, 2024): 310,600 suspects of Finnish background (+19.5% versus 2022) versus 41,100 suspects of foreign background (+17.2% versus 2022) — both groups grew at a similar pace, but these are raw counts, not adjusted for each group’s share of the total population or for age/sex structure. Source: Tilastokeskus, “Rikos- ja pakkokeinotilasto 2023” — https://stat.fi/fi/julkaisu/cln328ikz5bck0bvzrnax22se

7. Education

• PISA 2022 (OECD), national results reported by the Finnish government: in mathematics, 58% of first-generation immigrant students and 43% of second-generation immigrant students score at a low proficiency level, versus 22% of native students. In reading, the low-proficiency shares are 61% (first generation) and 39% (second generation); the corresponding figure for native students in reading is not specified in the summary page consulted. Source: Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto), “Performance of immigrant students in PISA 2022” — https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410845/performance-of-immigrant-students-in-pisa-2022

8. Housing

• The Uusimaa region (including Helsinki) had a foreign-background population share of 19.3% at the end of 2024 (14.2% in 2019), well above the national average of 11.1–11.7%, illustrating a marked geographic concentration of immigration in the capital region. Åland follows at 18.7%. Source: Statistics Finland, “Vieraskielisten määrä kasvoi yli 50 000:lla vuonna 2024” — https://www.sttinfo.fi/tiedote/71052757/vieraskielisten-maara-kasvoi-yli-50-000lla-vuonna-2024-uudenmaan-vaestosta-lahes-viidennes-ulkomaista-syntyperaa?publisherId=69818838&lang=fi

9. Social cohesion

• The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (TEM) publishes a periodic integration monitoring report, “Kotoutumisen kokonaiskatsaus,” whose 2023 edition was published on February 14, 2024. Source: TEM, “Kotoutumisen kokonaiskatsaus 2023 julkaistu” — https://tem.fi/-/kotoutumisen-kokonaiskatsaus-2023-julkaistu

10. Recent political context

• The coalition government led by Petteri Orpo (National Coalition Party, Kokoomus, right-wing), together with the national-conservative Finns Party (Perussuomalaiset), the Swedish People’s Party (RKP) and the Christian Democrats (KD), was appointed on June 20, 2023. Source: Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto), “Prime Minister Orpo’s Government appointed” — https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/10616/prime-minister-orpo-s-government-appointed
• Citizenship law reform, in force since October 1, 2024: the residence period required for naturalization was extended to 8 years (with shorter periods applying in some cases, not fully detailed in the source consulted). Source: Migri, “Longer period of residence required for citizenship as of 1 October 2024” — https://migri.fi/en/-/longer-period-of-residence-required-for-citizenship-as-of-1-october-2024
• Tightening of family reunification conditions: the government held a public consultation from September 11 to October 25, 2024, on a decree setting minimum income thresholds for sponsors wishing to bring family members to Finland. Source: Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto), “Provisions on income thresholds for family reunification to be issued by Government Decree” — https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/1410869/provisions-on-income-thresholds-for-family-reunification-to-be-issued-by-government-decree
• Bill HE 179/2024 vp on revocation of work permits after extended unemployment (the “three-month model”): adopted by the Council of Ministers on October 17, 2024, with entry into force planned for April 1, 2025. A work-based residence permit becomes revocable after more than 3 months of unemployment (or more than 6 months for holders of a combined permit held over 2 years). Source: Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto), Council of Ministers decision of October 17, 2024 — https://valtioneuvosto.fi/paatokset/paatos?decisionId=2254

11. Data limitations and biases

Related FAQ

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