The share of foreign-language speakers of the population of Helsinki stood at 13.5 per cent at the beginning of this year, with Russian, Estonian, Somali and English speakers being the largest groups foreign-language speakers.
Arabic, in particular, is projected to become a greater feature of the urban landscape. Helsinki will according to the forecast be home to as many as 32,000 people who speak Middle Eastern or Northern African languages – such as Arabic or Kurdish – as their mother tongue by 2030, representing a three-fold increase from the current situation.