Number of foreign-born residents in Helsinki region to double by 2030

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Immigration has been s bigger factor in the rise in population in the greater Helsinki region than migration within the country. The Helsinki region currently has 1.3 million inhabitants.
      According to a forecast by the information centres of Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa, the number of residents of foreign background is set to double from the current level to 245,000 by 2030.
     
The number of residents in the Helsinki region who speak a language other than Finnish or Swedish at home exceeded 100,000 last year. Native speakers of foreign languages now constitute about eight per cent of the population of the whole region.
      The number of native speakers of foreign languages in the Helsinki region and 10 nearby municipalities is expected to grow by nearly 40,000 by 2015, and by 73,000 by 2020.
      The growth is expected to continue, and in 2030 there are expected to be nearly 245,000 residents in the region with a foreign linguistic background, which would be 15 per cent of the whole population. By way of comparison, immigrants already form 27 per cent of the populationof the Swedish capital Stockholm.
     
The largest numbers of immigrants in the region have come from areas near Finland - Russia and the Baltic countries - as well as Asia. Growth has been most rapid among speakers of Estonian. The growth has accelerated in recent years.
      More than half of Finland’s native speakers of foreign languages live in the Helsinki region. Especially those with African and Asian backgrounds have concentrated in the Helsinki region. Of Finland’s sixth-largest language group, those speaking the Somali language, 84 per cent live in the Helsinki region, and more than 75 per cent of Finnish residents who speak South Asian languages live in the area.
      The number of speakers of Russian in the region is set to grow to nearly 50,000 by 2030, and those speaking one of the languages of the Baltic region is set to grow to 36,000.
      Growth in the proportion of people speaking foreign languages is set to grow at an even pace in Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa to between 17 and 19 per cent in 2030. The proportion is expected to be significantly lower in surrounding communities.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  An increasingly influential minority (22.4.2007)
  Helsinki: city of immigrants (2.3.2010)
  Apprenticeships - latest weapon against Helsinki bus driver shortage (26.10.2008)

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