African immigration to Finland


Africans in Finland are residents of Finland of full or partial African descent, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa. The distinct adjacent term Afro-Finns, also referred to as Black Finns, can be used for Finns whose lineages are fully or partly in the populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. Afro-Finns have lived in Finland since the 19th century, and in 2009, according to Yle, there were an estimated 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland. According to Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background was 54,450 in 2019.

History

reacted to the first Africans in Finland with curiosity and amazement. During the 19th century, there were some Africans from the Americas in the Grand Duchy of Finland, working as servants for wealthy Russians. The first known African who received Finnish citizenship was who came to Finland from Ovamboland in 1888 and received Finnish citizenship in 1899.
During the 1900s–1970s, the few Africans in Finland were either students, political exiles from South Africa or people that married to Finns. In the late 20th century, during the Somali Civil War, the first Somali refugees arrived in Finland. Nowadays most Africans come to Finland from Africa, but many have also come from the United States, Latin America and other European countries. Especially American and British Africans have moved to Finland, mostly through marriage.

Demographics

As of 31 December 2019, according to Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background is 54,450, which is 1.0% of the Finnish population. 44,529 of them are from Sub-Saharan Africa. 30,951 of them are men, while 23,499 are women.

Countries of origin

Distribution

In Kallahti, a neighborhood of Helsinki, 9.8% of the population consists of Africans.
The region with the most Africans is Uusimaa with over 35,500, or 2.1% of the population.

African languages

Citizenships

On 31 December 2019, there were 18,429 people who had dual citizenship of Finland and an African country.
Citizens of African countries who received Finnish citizenship by year:
People born in Africa who received Finnish citizenship by year:
From 1987 to 2018, a total of 885 people were adopted from Africa to Finland.

Marriages and cohabitation

On 31 December 2019, there were 4,383 Finnish citizens who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with citizens of African countries. 2,706 of the Finnish citizens were women and 1,677 were men; for both sexes the largest groups of partners were Somalian, Moroccan and Nigerian citizens. The next largest groups for Finnish women were Gambian and Ghanaian citizens, and for Finnish men Ethiopian and Kenyan citizens. On the same date, there were 4,553 Finland-born people who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with people born in Africa; of the Finland-born people 3,584 were women while 969 were men.

Racism

During the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, some condemned Finnish women's interests in "exotic" athletes and pressured Finnish women to "act appropriately" within the vicinity of black people, "neekerit". The Finnish word was long considered a neutral equivalent for "negro". In 2002, the usage notes of neekeri shifted from "perceived as derogatory by some" to "generally derogatory" in the dictionary Kielitoimiston sanakirja, edited by the Institute for the Languages of Finland.
Nationwide racism started to grow after the first Somali refugees arrived in Finland in the 1990s during the Somali Civil War. Finnish skinheads perpetrated attacks against Africans, and especially the city of Joensuu in eastern Finland grew to be. In the municipality of Nastola in southern Finland, the police had to protect the local refugee center from the violence of the locals, as they committed shootings, group assault and played racist music.
In the late 20th century and the 21st century, some ethnic Finnish women married to or cohabiting with younger black men have faced discrimination as they are sometimes stereotyped as sex tourists in Finnish society.
According to a study by the Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2018, 63% of Afro-Finns in Finland had experienced racist harassment, which had appeared as offensive gestures, comments, threats or violence. This was the highest percentage of any European Union member state, much higher than for example in Malta which was 20%. 14% stated they had experienced violence in Finland due to their skin colour, which also was the highest in the EU, much higher than in, for example, Portugal where 2% had experienced violence.
A report published in 2020 by the found that four out of five people with an African background had experienced racial discrimination in Finland due to their skin color.

Afro-Finnish identity

According to an estimate in 2009 by Yle, there are 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland. They compose a much larger minority than the Sami or Romani, and if considered a one group, they are Finland's second largest ethnic minority group, only behind Swedish-speaking Finns. The identity of Afro-Finns varies; some consider themselves Finns, while others have their own separate identity.
The Afrofinns Achievement Awards—presented by Afrofinns ry, an organization for "Finns and everyone else with African heritage living in Finland"—acknowledges, honors and celebrates the contribution of the Afro-community in Finland.

Notable people

Citizens and residents of Finland of full or partial African descent

Actors

This list is for notable people of African descent who also belong to the Finnish diaspora but do not hold Finnish citizenship.

Germany