People at the Puhos shopping centre in Helsinki. The number of foreign-language speakers exceeded 600,000 last year. LEHTIKUVA
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The number of people in Finland speaking a language other than Finnish, Swedish or Sámi as their mother tongue increased by nearly 52,000 in 2024, according to Statistics Finland.
By the end of the year, foreign-language speakers made up 10.8 percent of the population, marking an increase of almost one percentage point from the previous year.
“Every region in Finland saw growth in the share of foreign-language speakers in 2024. The highest share was recorded in Uusimaa, where nearly one in five residents is now of foreign origin,” said Markus Rapo, Senior Statistician at Statistics Finland.
Russian remained the most common foreign mother tongue, with the number of Russian speakers surpassing 100,000 for the first time. Over the past ten years, the number of Russian speakers has increased by more than 30,000.
In contrast, Estonian, the second largest foreign-language group, grew by only 3,000 in the same period. In 2024, the number of native Estonian speakers even declined.
Among the ten largest foreign-language groups, Arabic and Persian speakers showed the highest relative growth, apart from Ukrainian. Arabic is now close to overtaking Estonian as Finland’s second most spoken foreign language, with the number of Arabic speakers nearly tripling since 2014.
Population growth still driven by immigration
Despite a decrease in immigration compared to the previous year, Finland’s population grew by 32,120 people in 2024. This represents the second largest increase in 60 years, with 2023 still holding the record at nearly 40,000.
The population rise was largely driven by net migration. In 2024, over 13,000 Ukrainians gained permanent residence in Finland, adding to the population count.
At the end of 2024, almost half of all foreign-background individuals lived in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipalities with the highest shares of foreign-background residents were Vantaa (29.2%), Espoo (25.1%) and Närpiö (23.0%).
In Vantaa, the number of residents who speak Finnish, Swedish or Sámi as their mother tongue declined in 2024, unlike in neighbouring Helsinki and Espoo.
The proportion of older people varies widely between regions. In the South Savo wellbeing services region, one in four residents was aged 70 or older at the end of 2024—the highest share in Finland.
In contrast, the Vantaa and Kerava wellbeing services region had the lowest share of older residents, with only about one in nine aged 70 or above.
In eleven wellbeing services regions, at least one in five residents was aged 70 or older, highlighting the demographic variation across the country.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
