Migration and Integration
Finland’s population structure is changing rapidly: fertility has declined, the population is ageing, and the share of the working-age population is decreasing. Migration is a key part of this development. It brings new opportunities, but also raises questions about integration, labour supply, social inclusion, and societal cohesion.
This page brings together research conducted within the DEMOGRAPHY research programme that sheds light on the diverse connections between migration and demographic change.
The findings provide up-to-date and reliable knowledge to support decision-making and to inform everyone interested in understanding how international migration is shaping Finland today and in the future.
Publications
Abuladze, A., Tooding, L.-M., & Pulk, K. (2023). Migration and age explain memory differences in Estonia. Frontiers in Public Health, 11, 1058578.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1058578
Alho, J., Kangasharju, A., Lassila., Valkonen, T. (2023). ”Maahanmuutto ja työvoiman riittävyys – taloudellisten vaikutusten arviointia”. ETLA Raportti No 132.
https://pub.etla.fi/ETLA-Raportit-Reports-132.pdf
Alho, J. (2024). ”Pohdintaa Suomen väestöennusteen oletuksista poikkeusvuonna 2024”. ETLA Muistio nro 142. https://pub.etla.fi/ETLA-Muistio-Brief-142.pdf
Chan, L., & Sundbäck, L. (2025). Trust as a bridge: Strengthening institutional encounters in welfare services to support migrant stay-at-home mothers. Mobile Futures Policy Brief, 4/2025.
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2025092297208
Dergacheva, Y. (2025). Promise of Gender Equality, Disrupted: Finnish Working Life in Experiences of Migrant Women. Retfærd, 48(2), 34–54. https://www.scup.com/doi/abs/10.18261/ret.48.2.3
Dergacheva, Y., & Kang, D. (2024). Maahanmuuttajataustaisten työntekijöiden henkinen hyvinvointi vaatii parempaa mielenterveyspalvelujen saatavuutta. (Mobile Futures Policy Brief 2/2024). https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024091773454
Erlandsson, A. (2023). Gendered ethnic discrimination and the role of recruiter gender. A field experiment. Acta Sociologica, 67(2), 232-250. https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993231201482
Erlandsson, A. (2022). Ruotsissa työnantajat syrjivät työnhakijoita, joiden nimi kuulostaa ulkomaalaiselta – syrjinnästä sukupuolen tai vanhemmuuden perusteella ei yleisesti merkkejä. [Tietoa päätösten tueksi 3/2022]. FLUX-konsortio. Turun yliopisto. https://fluxconsortium.fi/fi/ruotsissa-tyonantajat-syrjivat-tyonhakijoita-joiden-nimi-kuulostaa-ulkomaalaiselta-syrjinnasta-sukupuolen-tai-vanhemmuuden-perusteella-ei-yleisesti-merkkeja/
Heikkilä, M. and Kmak, M. (2025) ‘The Women of Al-Hol: Deservingness and the Politics of Vulnerability and Security’, Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 15(2), p. 4.
https://doi.org/10.33134/njmr.688
Jang, S. Y., Oksuzyan, A., Myrskylä, M., van Lenthe, F. J., & Loi, S. (2023). Healthy immigrants, unhealthy ageing? Analysis of health decline among older migrants and natives across European countries. SSM – Population Health, 23, 101478.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101478
Jang, S. Y., Myrskylä, M., van Lenthe, F. J., Loi, S., & Oksuzyan, A. (2023, October). Living arrangements and the speed of chronic disease accumulation among older migrants and natives. European Journal of Public Health, 33(Supplement 2), ckad160.340. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad160.340
Kauhanen, I., Kaukko, M., & Lanas, M. (2022). Pockets of love. Unaccompanied children in institutional care in Finland. Children and Youth Services Review, 141, 106621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106621
Kauhanen, I., Lanas, M., & Kaukko, M. (2023). (Im)possibilities of parity of participation in school settings in the lives of unaccompanied youth. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(14), 3422–3436. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2023.2287474
Kauppi JJ, Chapman SN, Pettay JE, Lahdenperä M, Lummaa V, Loehr J. Sex, age, and family structure influence dispersal behaviour after a forced migration. Evolutionary Human Sciences. 2023;5:e21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2023.2287474
Kähäri, O. (2025). “Not by preaching” but storytelling: Anti-racist podcast production in Finland in the European context. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 48(3), 513–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2025.2531300
Kuusinen, J., & Vaalavuo, M. (2023). Maahanmuuttajat käyttävät terveyspalveluja vähemmän tarpeesta huolimatta. THL Raportti.
https://www.julkari.fi/handle/10024/146731
Leinonen, J., Tervonen, M., Frøland, H.O., Hoffmann, C., Jalagin, S., Jønsson, H.V. and Thor Tureby, M. (eds) (2025) Forced Migrants in Nordic Histories. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press.
https://doi.org/10.33134/HUP-32
Olakivi A, Kouvonen A, Koskinen A, Kemppainen L, Kokkinen L, Väänänen A. Sickness absence among migrant and non-migrant care workers in Finland: A register-based follow-up study. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2023;52(5):539-546. https://doi.org/10.1177/14034948231168434
Palander, J. (2024). Julkinen oikeusapu turvapaikka-asioissa edellyttää resursseja ja yhteistyötä. (Mobile Futures Policy Brief. 3/2024)
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20241216102966
Phillips, S. (2023). Nordic Exceptionalism or a Well-Trodden Path? Asylum Policy Lessons From the US and Australia. Retfaerd: Nordisk Juridisk Tidsskrift. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023051244005
Phillips, S., & Kmak, M. (2024). Deterrence as legal innovation: Management of unwanted mobilities and the future of refugee protection. In N. Kohtamäki, E. Peuker, & N. Zaun (Eds.), Innovative public governance in times of crisis (pp. 89–109). https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748944874-89
Phillips, S. (2024). Kansainvälinen oikeus ja turvapaikan hakeminen Suomen itärajalla. (Mobile Futures Policy Brief, 1/2024)
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024080663889
Rintala, L., Sirniö, O., Vaalavuo, M. (2023). Ulkomaalaistaustaisten lasten osuus köyhyysriskissä olevista lapsista on kasvanut. THL Raportti. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-408-130-6
Ruokolainen, H., Widén, G., & Eskola, E.-L. (2023). How and why does official information become misinformation? A typology of official misinformation. Library & Information Science Research, 45(2), Article 101237.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2023.101237
Saarinen, S., Moustgaard, H., Remes, H., Sallinen, R., & Martikainen, P. (2022). Income differences in COVID-19 incidence and severity in Finland among people with foreign and native background: A population-based cohort study of individuals nested within households. PLOS Medicine, 19(8), e1004038.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004038
Sortheix, F. M., Weber, W., Lilleoja, L., Renvik, T.-A., & Sánchez-Montijano, E. (2023). Arab Mediterranean youth’s values: The role of values and value congruence on intentions to emigrate. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 93, Article 101758. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101758
Toivanen, M., Gluschkoff, K., Bergbom, M., & Väänänen, A. (2023) Koulutettujen työttömien ulkomaalais- ja suomalaistaustaisten naisten työllisyyspolut. Yhteiskuntapolitiikka 88(1), 32–44. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023021627532
Tuominen, M., Kilpi-Jakonen, E., García Velázquez, R., Castaneda, A., & Kuusio, H. (2023). Building social capital in a new home country: A closer look into the predictors of bonding and bridging relationships of migrant populations at different education levels. Migration Studies, 11(4), 598-630. https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnad022
Vaalavuo, M., & Rask, S. (2025). Earnings development among new immigrants in Finland: Does a native-born partner enhance economic integration? European Sociological Review, 41(4), 500–515. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcae038
Vanhanen, S., & Turjanmaa, E. (2025). Työyhteisön vastaanottavuus ja toimivat käytännöt – Näin rakennamme hyvinvointia monimuotoisessa työelämässä (Mobile Futures Policy Brief 5/2025). Åbo Akademi. https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20251104105170
Välimaa, M., Vähä-Savo, V., & Hiitola, J. (2023). Enroling around — Reconfiguring place and space in the wake of a new reception centre in a small rural town. Population, Space and Place, 29(3), Article e2623. https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.2623