Knowledge base

More than 55% of residents in the Havukoski district are foreign-language speakers, an example of rapid demographic change in the Helsinki region.

There were 660,800 people with foreign background at the end of 2025, or 11.7% of the population. According to calculations by Professor Matti Viren, the current growth rate would produce 11.8 million by 2060, more than the estimated 4.5 million with Finnish background.

At Kirsti school in Espoo, 92% of the roughly 450 pupils speak a foreign first language, and 55 different native languages are spoken (Albanian the most common, then English). Across Espoo about 32% of pupils speak something other than Finnish, Swedish or Sámi as their first language, and in eight Espoo schools the foreign-language share exceeds 50%. The principal calls the school's multiculturalism a genuine asset, but also notes that once the share of foreign-language children passed 40–50%, Finnish-speaking parents began considering moving their child to another school.

In 2025 a record 14,168 foreigners were granted Finnish citizenship — an all-time high, +23% on the previous year. The largest group was Iraqis (14% of the total). Naturalisation was tightened at the same time: the required residence period was extended from 5 to 8 years.

Helsingin Sanomat published a calculation suggesting the number of descendants of today's Finnish-background population could fall from about 5 million to under 1 million by 2113 at the current fertility rate (1.25). It was a thought experiment by Heikki Bergholm — not a scientific study — based on 2022 birth data (~38,600 births to the native-background population) and an unchanged 81-year life expectancy.

Statistics Finland population projection 2021 (medium scenario): the foreign-language population share is projected to grow from its current ~11–12% to approximately 18–20% by 2040. Since actual net migration in 2022–2025 significantly exceeded the medium-scenario assumptions, the real share may be higher.

Independent statistics site tracking Finland's population change. It functions independently and is not a link to the main site.

Suomi · PISA 2022: 58 % ensimmäisen sukupolven maahanmuuttajaoppilaista jäi alle matematiikan perustason (kantaväestö 22 %). Lukemisessa 61 % alle perustason. Kuilu näkyy myös toisessa sukupolvessa (43 % / 39 %).

First-generation immigrants in Finland fall about 105 points behind the native population on the PIAAC literacy scale — the largest gap of any PIAAC participating country. The gap narrows to about 51 points when the immigrant speaks Finnish or Swedish at home and has lived in Finland for at least 5 years. 83% of TE-services experts say poor literacy has led to a jobseeker being rejected.

Peer-reviewed study: ethnic and socioeconomic segregation has grown in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area during the 2000s. Children's segregation is stronger than that of their parents. Helsinki has sought to prevent slum formation by mixing housing stock, but the trend in segregation is nonetheless upward.

A tool published by Suomen Perusta presenting area-level figures based on Statistics Finland register data for Helsinki (77 primary-school catchment areas), Espoo and Vantaa: foreign-background population share, ARA subsidised rental housing, uptake of income support and housing assistance, employment, income levels, municipal tax paid, and education level — broken down by origin group (e.g. major refugee-origin countries, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western countries) versus the native population. Population trends go back to 1990, other indicators mostly to 2022. Illustrates how segregation and integration gaps are distributed geographically at the neighbourhood level.

Vantaa: 25% of residents are foreign-background — the highest in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Espoo: 22%. Helsinki: about 19–20% (over 134,000 people). Across Finland, foreign-background residents are about 9–10% of the population.

According to Captain Lauri J. Mattila, 75% of Somali-speaking and 57% of Arabic-speaking conscripts failed to attend call-ups in the Uusimaa region, and 70% of these groups received exemptions on health grounds. The Defence Forces deny breaking down conscripts by mother tongue. The Conscripts' Union considers the underrepresentation worrying for both national defence capability and fairness.

Ilta-Sanomat article on the avoidance of military service among foreign-language men in Finland. Foreign-language men miss call-ups or seek exemption more often than Finnish-speakers.

Sotilasaikakauslehti article examines the situation of foreign-language conscripts, call-up participation and integration challenges from the perspective of the Defence Forces.

Refers to the same Suomen Perusta report used in the page's own chart. Finland is described as the clearest European case showing that immigration does not economically compensate for population ageing. The article says Finland now gets about 50,000 new arrivals a year, and per the OECD, about half of 2024 arrivals came for family reunification. As a comparison it cites Minnesota, where 81% of Somali-immigrant households use some federal welfare vs. 21% of native households.

Yle article on the economic effects of immigration in Finland.

54% of Arabic speakers receive basic social assistance — Kela's last-resort benefit. Among Finnish or Swedish speakers the rate is only 3.7%. Foreign-language speakers make up roughly 9–10% of the population but account for around 30% of all social assistance recipients.

Last year Kela detected more than 1,000 suspected benefit misuses worth about €7 million. 471 investigation requests were filed with police. In Sweden Försäkringskassan prevented incorrect payments worth €877.5 million in 2024; Finland recovers about €110 million in incorrect payments. Minister Grahn-Laasonen: 'what is possible in Sweden is possible in Finland' — organised crime systematically exploits social security.

The unemployment rate of the foreign-background population (aged 20–64) was 16.7% in 2024, while for Finnish-background residents it was 6.6%. The ratio is 2.5×. Foreign-background unemployment was at its highest after the pandemic in 2022, when it briefly dropped to 11.5%.

Kelan virallisen tilaston mukaan vieraskielisten osuus perustoimeentulotuen saajista oli 29,4 % vuonna 2024 (2017: noin 19 %). Vieraskielisille maksettiin noin 37 % tuesta — yli 300 miljoonaa euroa, kun perustoimeentulotukea maksettiin kaikkiaan noin 825 miljoonaa euroa. Kela raportoi vieraskieliset yhtenä ryhmänä eikä julkaise kielikohtaisia osuuksia virallisesti; kielikohtainen erittely (ks. seuraava lähde) perustuu Kelan erillistoimitukseen.

54% of Arabic speakers receive basic social assistance — Kela's last-resort benefit. Among Finnish or Swedish speakers the rate is only 3.7%. Foreign-language speakers make up roughly 9–10% of the population but account for around 30% of all social assistance recipients.

Unofficial transfers remain hidden.

On 8 Feb 2024 the Finnish Government adopted a resolution (VM/2024/27) partially updating the national money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk assessment and action plan. Unregistered hawala operators were added to the action plan for the first time, with the associated money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk assessed as significant. The Financial Intelligence Unit, supervisors, reporting-obligated entities and other authorities are cooperating to identify unregistered hawala operators and pursue criminal liability. This is Finland's own official assessment, unlike the page's other hawala sources, which cover Swedish authorities' risk classification.

According to the Rikollisuustilanne 2024 review, non-traffic crime committed by immigrants (foreign nationals resident in Finland) has grown roughly 70% since 2015, mostly explained by growth in the foreign-background population — the population-adjusted rate has grown far more modestly. Theft offences rose 40% and assault offences 50% (raw counts, not standardised). In 2024, people with a foreign background made up 19% of non-traffic crime suspects and 17% of traffic offence suspects. By crime type, the foreign-background share was highest in smuggling (32%), rape (32%) and tax offences (30%).

Between 2015 and 2024, police recorded over 77,000 crime victims with a foreign background in total; the annual count grew from 5,400 (2015) to 11,439 (2024). Averaged over the decade, people with a foreign background made up about 14% of all police-recorded crime victims. The share was highest in violence and threat offences: assault and unlawful threats averaged 15%, stalking 15%, robbery and rape 12%.

The share of foreign suspects and offenders in serious narcotics cases investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) rose from 53% in 2024 to 79% in 2025, KRP intelligence chief Jaakko Christensen said in a Rikospaikka interview. The figures cover the most serious cases KRP investigates, often linked to organised crime — not all drug offences. By nationality, Swedes have risen to the top of KRP's drug cases and are the second-largest group across all serious drug crimes, after Estonians. KRP's priorities include organised crime, street gangs and Swedish organised crime; youth violent crime has also been rising since 2015.

In 2018, 297,600 crime suspects were identified, of whom 34,200 were foreign nationals. Age- and gender-standardised suspicion index: foreign nationals were suspected 1.2x more often than Finnish nationals. Iraqi men were suspected of sexual offences 12.8x more often than Finnish men (2017–2018 combined). Somali men were suspected of drug offences 3.4x more often; Swedish women of property crimes 3.1x more often. Iraqis overall 2.0x, Swedes 2.3x. Figures represent suspicions, not convictions.

Statistics Finland's analysis of crime suspects by nationality, age- and sex-standardised (2017–2018): foreigners were suspected of criminal-code offences at 1.2× the rate of Finns. Iraqi men: 12.8× overrepresentation in sexual offences. Somali men: 3.4× overrepresentation in narcotics offences. Iraqi-background persons: 2.0× in overall criminality.

Peer-reviewed study: immigrant youth have a higher crime rate in 14 of 17 measured offence types. The gap is smallest for shoplifting, vandalism and bullying. No significant difference in substance use.

The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) report on youth violent crime highlights an increase in aggravated robberies and homicides committed by minors after 2015. Between 2015 and 2020, youths with a foreign background were suspected of violent crimes 2.8 times more often than those with a native background (7.0 vs. 2.5 suspects per 1,000 residents). For 15–17-year-olds, the suspect rate was 28.3 for the foreign-born, 21.1 for Finland-born youths with a foreign background, and 7.9 for native-background youths per 1,000 residents. The share of foreign-background suspects among all minors suspected of violent crimes rose from 18% in 2015 to 23% in 2020.

Yle discusses the criteria for reporting the ethnic background of suspects. According to the police, a subset of foreign-background youths in the Helsinki metropolitan area carry weapons and are quick to use them. Statistics Finland reports that approximately one in five (20%) suspects in aggravated robberies under the age of 21 has a foreign background.

Violent crimes committed by persons with a foreign background are common in Helsinki, with the group being clearly overrepresented in police statistics. In the 2000s, suspects with a foreign background accounted for over 40% of rapes and nearly a third of robberies and extortions reported to the Helsinki police.

The article is from 2008, but the pattern it describes has continued to hold true ever since – see also the more recent National Bureau of Investigation report below.

Per Statistics Finland's crime and coercive measures statistics, 364 of 1,080 (33.7%) rape/aggravated rape suspects in 2025 were of foreign background, up from 281 of 893 (31.5%) in 2024. Over the same period the foreign-background share of the total population was 11.7% — roughly a threefold overrepresentation among suspects, a share that has risen steadily throughout the 2000s.

Suspected sexual offences by taxi drivers in Helsinki multiplied after taxi deregulation (from 2 reports in 2017 to nearly 50 in 2023–2024). According to Helsinki police, the suspected drivers have without exception been of foreign background.

IS investigation of 2018 sexual offence convictions in Helsinki and Oulu: out of 82 convicted individuals, 43 (52.4%) were of foreign background. In Helsinki, 40 foreign-background and 31 native Finns were convicted; in Oulu, 3 foreign-background and 8 native Finns.

Table 2 of the Rikollisuustilanne 2024 review breaks down the crime rate of men aged 18–29 by region of origin (2015–2024 average, suspects per 10,000 population). The lowest property- and violent-crime rates are found among those with East Asian backgrounds, the highest among those with North African backgrounds. For sexual offences, the lowest rates are among East Asian backgrounds and the highest among those representing Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia. Differences in traffic offences are generally small, except for men with Western Asian backgrounds, whose rate is clearly higher than that of other groups. The review cautions that background-country groups are internally heterogeneous and that figures for small groups can be swayed by individual cases.

According to Statistics Finland, youth with a foreign background are overrepresented as suspects in robbery crimes. The share grew significantly in 2019. The statistics highlight backgrounds from Sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia.

Police expressed concern over the rising share of foreign-background domestic violence suspects. In Espoo about 45–50% of domestic violence suspects were of foreign background — while foreign-background residents make up about 22% of Espoo's population.

In 2024 about 13,000 domestic violence offences were recorded; 76% of suspects were men. In cases where the victim was foreign-background, the suspect was also foreign-background in 72.1% of cases (compare: when the victim was Finnish-background the suspect was Finnish-background in 88.8%). Share of foreign-background victims: 19% (2023) and 18% (2024) — clearly above their population share (10%).

When an immigrant living in Finland commits a violent crime, intimate partner violence is statistically the most common type of crime. Published after the Sello mall shooting tragedy in Espoo, the article provides background on domestic and partner violence committed by immigrants.

THL estimates that about 10,000 women and girls living in Finland have undergone female genital mutilation. An estimated 650–3,080 girls living in Finland are at risk. MAAMU study: 69% of Somali-background women and 32% of Kurdish-background women reported having undergone FGM.

EU Institute for Gender Equality report on the situation and trends of FGM in Finland — includes risk-group estimates, legislation and prevention measures.

About 10% of Finns aged 16–74 have witnessed or experienced honour-based violence. More than one in ten people under 35 know at least a victim or perpetrator or have experienced it themselves. About 1% have been married against their will.

Criminal Sanctions Agency statistics 2025: 839 foreign prisoners per day (23.6% of the prison population), 78 nationalities. Growth +22% on the previous year. Largest groups: Estonia (112), Iraq (65), Sweden (64), Albania (44), Lithuania (43), Romania (42), Somalia (29). Narcotics offences 49.1% and sexual offences 20.6% as the principal offence.

Vantaa prison sees 60 nationalities a year; about 50% of remand prisoners are foreign. National trend: about 20 foreign prisoners in 1990 → 839 in 2025. 75% growth in ten years.

Foreign-background residents are about 10% of Finland's population but 23.6% of the prison population. The overrepresentation is 2.5–3×. The number of foreign prisoners rose +22% in a year and +75% in ten years.

A BKA study found that 45.1% of Muslims under 40 in Germany harbour latent or open sympathy for Islamism (Sharia over the constitution); 11.5% hold manifestly Islamist attitudes. Antisemitic attitudes among young Muslims rose sharply from 11.3% (2021) to 29.1% (2025).

According to Finnish Immigration Service data, in early 2018 reception centres recorded 10–15 reports per month of violence or threats against staff, and 20–60 reports per month of violence between residents (including self-harm). The figures covered both verbal threats and physical assaults.

Ylen MOT-toimituksen selvityksen mukaan Maahanmuuttoviraston kilpailuttamatta ostamien vastaanottopalvelujen menot olivat yli 550 miljoonaa euroa vuosina 2022–2023. Hankintoja tehtiin suorahankintoina poikkeustilanteeseen vedoten Ukrainasta paenneiden vastaanoton kasvaessa.

VM:n virkamiesselvitys vuosien 2015–2016 turvapaikanhakija-aallon kustannuksista: vastaanoton menojen ohella arvioidaan kotouttamisen, sosiaaliturvan ja koulutuksen kustannuksia sekä pidemmän aikavälin julkistaloudellisia vaikutuksia. Virallinen kokonaiskatsaus kriisivuosien hintalapusta.