The attitudes of Finnish people towards immigration — especially the intake of foreign skilled workers — have become increasingly positive, according to a survey by the economic think tank Finnish Business and Policy Forum (Eva).
The survey found that 55 percent of respondents either fully or somewhat agreed with the statement that Finnish authorities must make it easier for foreigners to move to Finland in order to tackle the economic effects of an ageing population.
This represents the highest figure to respond favourably to this statement in the 25 years Eva has conducted research on this topic. In a similar survey carried out in the winter of 2016, only one third of respondents said they were in favour of easing the entry of immigrants into Finland.
Furthermore, 81 percent of respondents said Finland should do more to encourage educated and skilled foreign workers to move to the country.
Unemployed respondents took a more cautious approach to this statement, but over half still agreed that work-based immigration should be further promoted.
Positive attitude not evident across the board
Among the respondents who were willing to reveal their political party allegiances, the most negative attitudes in relation to immigration were found among Finns Party voters.
Despite this, more than 60 percent of Finns Party supporters responded that they were in favour of better facilitating the immigration of skilled foreign workers.
The survey also revealed that almost 40 percent believe immigration does more harm than good to the Finnish economy, while 45 percent said talk of the benefits of immigration is unfounded because only low-skilled workers are currently coming to Finland.
However, about the same proportion believe that the benefits of immigration outweigh the disadvantages.
Further results found that just over half of respondents think that Finland takes in too many refugees, while the same amount want Finland and the EU as a whole to tighten up immigration policy.
A majority of respondents also said they felt the public discourse around the topic of immigration was not sufficiently direct and open, with 60 percent agreeing with the statement that the debate in Finland fails to discuss the problems of immigration.
On the flip side, more than half of respondents said xenophobia and racism have become commonplace in Finland.
The survey results come one day after a leading researcher said Finland needs to significantly step up its efforts to attract workers from abroad.
The survey gathered the opinions of 2,043 people aged between 18 and 79 living in mainland Finland — excluding Åland — during January and February. The margin of error is 2-3 percent.
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