Afghans in Finland
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Afghans in Finland / Finnish Afghans Afganistanilaiset Suomessa / Suomen afganistanilaiset | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| 11,437 born in Afghanistan; 9,003 Afghan citizens (2025)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Helsinki, Tampere and Turku regions & Jyväskylä | |
| Languages | |
| Finnish · Languages of Afghanistan | |
| Religion | |
| Islam, Christianity[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afghans in the Netherlands, Afghans in Sweden, Afghans in Russia |
Afghans in Finland or Finnish Afghans are people who have a background from Afghanistan and who live in Finland. People can be born in Afghanistan, have Afghan ancestors and/or be citizens of Afghanistan. As of 2025[update], there were 11,437 persons born in Afghanistan living in Finland. Similarly, the number of people with Afghan citizenship was 9,003.[3]
In late 2015, about half of all the asylum seekers in Finland were Afghans, of which most have arrived through Sweden to Tornio.[4] A large portion of Afghans in Finland are ethnic Hazaras. In 2018, Migri temporarily froze all Afghani applications. Deportations of Afghani asylum seekers has drawn criticism in Finland and other European countries.[5] In 2018, 62% of Afghans asylum seekers received an asylum in Finland.[6]
On 9 July 2021, Finland halted deportations to Afghanistan after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.[7] In August 2021, in the aftermath of the 2021 Taliban offensive, Finland evacuated a total of 330 people from Afghanistan to Finland during a ten-day operation. 250 of them were Finnish citizens, people with residence permits in Finland, people who had worked at the Finnish Embassy in Kabul and their family members. 80 of them were Finland's quota evacuees consisting of Afghan workers for the European Union and NATO and their family members.[8] A day after the operation, the total number of evacuees increased to 413 when 83 Finnish Embassy's security guards and their family members were evacuated to Finland with the help of the United States.[9]
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4 | — |
| 1995 | 36 | +55.18% |
| 2000 | 338 | +56.50% |
| 2005 | 1,559 | +35.76% |
| 2010 | 2,613 | +10.88% |
| 2015 | 4,280 | +10.37% |
| 2020 | 7,807 | +12.77% |
| 2025 | 11,437 | +7.94% |
| Born in Afghanistan. Source: Statistics Finland | ||
People born in Afghanistan and living in Finland, according to Statistics Finland.
| Municipality | Population |
|---|---|
| Whole country | 10,936 |
| Helsinki | 2,350 |
| Espoo | 1,566 |
| Vantaa | 1,430 |
| Tampere | 1,379 |
| Turku | 580 |
| Jyväskylä | 383 |
| Hämeenlinna | 207 |
| Lahti | 201 |
| Oulu | 199 |
| Vaasa | 172 |
| Kerava | 153 |
| Järvenpää | 129 |
| Pori | 120 |
| Hyvinkää | 106 |
| Mikkeli | 91 |
| Rovaniemi | 91 |
| Kirkkonummi | 85 |
| Kuopio | 82 |
| Jakobstad | 78 |
| Kotka | 67 |
| Salo | 60 |
| Tuusula | 55 |
| Nokia | 52 |
| Ylöjärvi | 52 |
| Iisalmi | 48 |
| Raisio | 48 |
| Lohja | 46 |
| Pirkkala | 44 |
| Joensuu | 43 |
| Kajaani | 42 |
| Sipoo | 38 |
| Kaarina | 37 |
| Uusikaupunki | 36 |
| Kouvola | 35 |
| Seinäjoki | 35 |
| Pieksämäki | 33 |
| Porvoo | 33 |
| Kangasala | 30 |
| Nurmijärvi | 29 |
| Äänekoski | 29 |
| Lappeenranta | 28 |
| Raahe | 28 |
| Savonlinna | 26 |
| Kauniainen | 25 |
| Kokkola | 25 |
| Mäntsälä | 25 |
| Rauma | 24 |
| Jämsä | 22 |
| Kemi | 22 |
| Karkkila | 19 |
| Tornio | 19 |
| Loimaa | 17 |
| Sotkamo | 16 |
| Heinola | 15 |
| Lempäälä | 13 |
| Valkeakoski | 13 |
| Lieto | 12 |
| Riihimäki | 12 |
| Pudasjärvi | 11 |
| Huittinen | 10 |
| Kristinestad | 10 |
| Korsholm | 10 |
People with Afghan citizenship living in Finland according to Statistics Finland.
| Municipality | Population |
|---|---|
| Whole country | 9,237 |
| Helsinki | 1,727 |
| Espoo | 1,351 |
| Vantaa | 1,169 |
| Tampere | 1,082 |
| Turku | 443 |
| Jyväskylä | 374 |
| Lahti | 217 |
| Oulu | 194 |
| Hämeenlinna | 170 |
| Vaasa | 165 |
| Kerava | 154 |
| Mikkeli | 126 |
| Järvenpää | 121 |
| Pori | 120 |
| Jakobstad | 112 |
| Kuopio | 89 |
| Kotka | 75 |
| Rovaniemi | 75 |
| Iisalmi | 62 |
| Kirkkonummi | 62 |
| Kajaani | 53 |
| Salo | 53 |
| Hyvinkää | 52 |
| Pirkkala | 45 |
| Sipoo | 44 |
| Joensuu | 43 |
| Kouvola | 42 |
| Tuusula | 41 |
| Kauniainen | 40 |
| Lohja | 35 |
| Uusikaupunki | 32 |
| Karkkila | 31 |
| Nokia | 31 |
| Kokkola | 30 |
| Raisio | 30 |
| Mäntsälä | 29 |
| Pieksämäki | 29 |
| Porvoo | 28 |
| Äänekoski | 27 |
| Jämsä | 26 |
| Raahe | 26 |
| Rauma | 26 |
| Nurmijärvi | 25 |
| Loimaa | 23 |
| Savonlinna | 23 |
| Heinola | 21 |
| Kangasala | 19 |
| Lappeenranta | 19 |
| Tornio | 18 |
| Kaarina | 17 |
| Korsholm | 17 |
| Seinäjoki | 17 |
| Kemi | 16 |
| Pudasjärvi | 15 |
| Sotkamo | 15 |
| Hollola | 14 |
| Hirvensalmi | 11 |
| Kristinestad | 11 |
| Orimattila | 11 |
| Riihimäki | 11 |
| Ylöjärvi | 11 |
| Lieto | 10 |
Organizations
- Association of Finnish Afghan Associations.[10]
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