Number of Finland-born residents with foreign roots exceeds 100,000

More than 100,000 people born in Finland now have a foreign background, marking a major milestone in the demographic history of the country.

Statistics Finland reported that by the end of 2025, there were 660,800 people with a foreign background living permanently in Finland. This group now represents 11.7 percent of the total population.

The number of second-generation residents, defined as those born in Finland to parents born abroad, has doubled over the last 11 years. This group currently totals 102,183 individuals.

The second-generation population is notably young. Nearly 38 percent of this group is under school age.

European roots are the most common for the second generation at 43.5 percent. Asian backgrounds account for 32.1 percent, while 22.1 percent have African roots.

The growth of these communities is vital for Finland. The country has one of the oldest populations in Europe and relies on younger generations to support the future labor market.

While Ukrainian citizens became the largest group of foreign nationals in 2025, the linguistic data tells a different story. Russian remains the most spoken foreign language in the country.

There are 102,618 Russian speakers in Finland. Many of these individuals hold Finnish citizenship and do not appear in statistics that only count foreign citizens.

Estonian is the second most common foreign language with 48,495 speakers. Ukrainian follows closely in third place with 46,696 speakers.

The overall population growth in Finland slowed down during 2025. The population grew by 16,910 people, which is only half of the growth seen in the previous year.

This slowdown is linked to a decrease in migration levels. Population increases were concentrated in 77 municipalities, while 227 municipalities saw their numbers decline.