BACKGROUND: Changing patterns of Finnish emigration
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By Kirsi Alanen
There have been two main streams in Finnish emigration. Before the Second World War, the flow was mainly toward North America. After the war, 80% of Finnish emigrants went to Sweden.
Before World War II about 370,000 Finns emigrated to America. Some were fleeing the Russian oppression before Finnish independence, but another important factor involved the rules of inheritance. When the first-born son inherited the farm, younger siblings had to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
Others emigrated in hopes of getting rich quick. The dream was to make lots of money while abroad, come back home, and buy a house or a farm with the earnings. Emigration to North America was greatest from Ostrobothnia.
Emigration to Sweden began in the 1950s, and the wave continued into the early 1970s. The trend was prompted by the rapid change in Finnish economic structures. Young people moved from the countryside to look for work in the cities. The generation that was born after the war was large, and there was not enough work or housing available for everyone.
Sweden was a very attractive alternative, with its high wages and plentiful housing and work opportunities. Another factor making the move easy was the common labour market in the Nordic Countries, which allowed immigration into Sweden with a minimum of bureaucracy. Most of the jobs available to immigrants did not require extensive linguistic skills.
Emigration has traditionally been seen as a move dictated by economic necessity. Many emigrants have typically had a fairly low level of education or professional skill.
Nowadays people move abroad to improve their language skills, to study, and to gain new experiences. Emigration no longer means a permanent change of residence. Increasing numbers of people go abroad for short periods of time. Those who go tend to be well educated, as it is no longer as easy to get unskilled jobs in other countries as it used to be.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 15.8.2005
More on this subject:
 Emigrant history being recorded in Seinäjoki
KIRSI ALANEN / Helsingin Sanomat
kirsi.alanen@sanoma.fi
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