Swedish-speaking Population of Finland - Swedish-speaking Immigrants

Swedish-speaking Immigrants

There is a small community of Swedish-speaking immigrants in Finland. Many of them come from Sweden, or have resided there (about 8 500 Swedish citizens live in Finland and around 30 000 residents in Finland were born in Sweden) while others have opted for Swedish because it's a main language in the city they live in or because their partners are Swedish speaking. About one fourth of immigrants in the Helsinki area would choose to integrate in Swedish if they had the option. According to a report by Finland's Swedish think tank, Magma, there is a widespread perception among immigrants that they are more easily integrated in the Swedish-speaking community than in the majority society. However, some immigrants also question whether they ever will be fully accepted as Finland Swedes. Swedish-speaking immigrants also have their own association, Ifisk and in the capital region there is a publicly financed project named Delaktig aimed at facilitating integration of immigrants who know or wish to learn Swedish. Most if not all immigrants also wish to be fluent in Finnish due to the fact that it is the dominant language in Finnish society.