Integration

Approximately 8% of the Finnish population are of foreign origin. In 2019, 33 000 people immigrated to to Finland and 17 000 people emigrated from Finland. Three out of four immigrants are foreign nationals and 40% of those moving away from Finland are foreign nationals.

The three top reasons for moving to Finland are family, work and education. One in ten migrants come for international protection. The largest countries of origin for migrants to Finland are the neighbouring countries of Russia and Estonia. Migration is set to increase in the future, with Finland becoming an increasingly diverse society. Väestöliitto aims to build humane and inclusive society, in which integration is a holistic process. Väestöliitto supports family-centered immigrant integration and labour market inclusion.

Integration is the process through which migrants become equal participants in society.

Integration means being an equal resident in Finland, feeling like a part of the surrounding society, having the knowledge, skills and ability to organize one’s life in Finland and having a stable livelihood.

An immigrant’s own agency – and support for strengthening that agency –  as well as dialogue are important for integration.

Immigrants generally wish to be employed and to earn their own livelihood. Networks and capacity building to increase employability, improved language skills, further education and increased receptivity from the labour market to wider skill sets all contribute to improving the employment of migrants.

Family ties are the most common reason for moving to Finland

Every migrant has a family, which greatly influences the reasons for, forms of, and consequences of migration. This family may accompany the migrant or it may be elsewhere. Families and extended families are motivators of migration and they influence where people move to and how successful integration is. By family we mean not only the nuclear family, but family may contain also parents, grandparents, siblings and other important and lasting relationships- all of those, whom a person considers to be members of their family.

Services and resources available at Väestöliitto on the topics of integration and immigration.

Information on the Womento career mentoring programme.

Information on the Recognizing international talent initiative.

Information on gender equality and sexual rights.

Guides and publications on topics related to integration, for professionals (in Finnish).

Väestöliitto blog posts on integration and inclusion, in English: Supporting integration and inclusion.