Estonians in Finland


Estonians in Finland are immigrants from Estonia residing in Finland. In 2017, there were 52,424 Estonian immigrants in Finland, according to the UN. Estonians are Finland's second largest immigrant group, after Russians.
Estonians have for a long time helped the workforce in Finland, especially in the capital region. Over 35,000 of them reside in Uusimaa.

History

Immigration from Estonia to Finland was low before 1990. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Estonia's EU membership in 2004, emigration from Estonia to Finland increased rapidly.
The peak migration of Estonians was in 2012, when over 6,000 Estonians emigrated to Finland. In 2017 however the net migration from Estonia was negative, as Estonians are returning to their country. Reasons for this are better salaries in Estonia and family ties. In spite of this the Estonian population is still growing, although at a much slower rate than previously.

Employment

The employment rate of Estonians is 76%, higher than Finns.

Population

In 2017, there were 49,590 speakers of Estonian. Finland has the largest community of Estonians outside Estonia In 2012, 5,000 more people from Estonia emigrated to Finland than immigrated to Estonia. There are an estimated 100,000 Estonians working in Finland.
№MunicipalityEstonians%
1.Helsinki12,9702.02
2.Vantaa8,7813.99
3.Espoo6,5662.36
4.Turku1,8911.00
6.Kerava1,1633.25
7.Kirkkonummi1,0862.76
8.Tampere1,0740.47
9.Lahti8870.74
10.Salo7411.40

Notable Estonians in Finland