Community
Finland (Somali diaspora)
About 28,200 people in Finland spoke Somali as their first language in 2025, and more than half live in Helsinki. The community has a strong civic voice: in 2021 Suldaan Said Ahmed became Finland's first Somali-born MP, though many still report discrimination at work.
Who lives there
In 2025 Finland had 28,167 Somali speakers, 15,362 people born in Somalia and about 6,934 Somali citizens. Most people of Somali background are now Finnish citizens (Somalis in Finland, citing Statistics Finland).
Cities (Somali speakers, 2024): Helsinki 14,910, Espoo 3,410, Vantaa 3,386, Turku 1,839. More than half live in Helsinki.
The number of Somali speakers is still growing, but more slowly than before.
Work and money
The first arrivals came in the early 1990s, during a deep recession, which made finding work very hard. Things have improved over time, and many people now work, often on short-term contracts. In one survey, 90% of Somali speakers said they had faced discrimination at work (Somalis in Finland).
Who serves the community
The Eduskunta (parliament) and the government. Municipalities and wellbeing services counties run social and health care, and Kela pays benefits.
A strong civic voice
- Parliament: Suldaan Said Ahmed, born in Somalia in 1993, came to Finland in 2008. He became the first Somali-born member of parliament in September 2021 and served until 2023. In 2022 he was named the Foreign Minister's special representative for peace mediation in the Horn of Africa (Al Jazeera, 2021).
- Helsinki: a Somali-born member sat on Helsinki City Council from 1997 to 2017.
- Taking part: Somalis had the highest turnout (39%) of any group of non-Finnish background in the 2017 municipal elections (Somalis in Finland).
What the community faces now
- Discrimination at work, reported by nine in ten in one survey.
- Racist assaults reported in Helsinki in 2020.
Top needs
- Paid work, free of discrimination.
- A trusted, open channel to send help home.
- A civic voice that keeps growing.
- A confident identity for young people and a positive link home.
- Records and documents for families.
What we don't know yet
Wages, costs, Helsinki neighbourhoods, and the names of community groups. If you know, use "Fix this page".
Sources
- Somalis in Finland · en.wikipedia.org
- Al Jazeera, 2021 · aljazeera.com
Gathered in our research record “Community profiles”. Wikipedia is used only as a backup.
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