Survey: Finns regard migration from poor countries more as a threat than as an opportunity
Altruism in short supply: foreigners seen primarily as a means of stemming labour shortage
Finns take a somewhat sceptical view of foreigners arriving here from poor countries.
According to a recent study commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and carried out by Suomen Gallup at the end of November and in early December, nearly one in two Finns (46%) takes the view that the migration from poorer countries into Finland is more of a threat than an opportunity. Fewer than one in three (30%) stress the positive side of the matter.
Supporters of the Centre Party hold particularly grim views on the arrival of people from the poorer quarters of the world. Nearly two out of three Centre Party adherents regard the movement to a country like Finland as a threat rather than a golden opportunity for the receiving nation.
Similar views are expressed by the majority of workers and entrepreneurs.
People in higher positions in the job market and those with a more advanced level of education regard the inward flow as an opportunity for Finland.
The less than enthusiastic response does not come as any great surprise.
When the results of surveys on attitudes towards foreigners are set against the size of the foreigner population in the country, the Finns have been declared among the most xenophobic nations in the European Union.
Finns would take in foreigners above all
on the basis of national interest, and not on humanitarian grounds. The impending shortages of labour as the population goes grey in the years immediately ahead have clearly struck a chord.
The Helsingin Sanomat study asked respondents which they considered to be of primary importance when decisions are made on taking in foreigners - stemming the forthcoming shortages in the workforce or helping those worse off than them around the world.
The result was clear enough: more than half regard the former as more important. Just over one in three would like above all to help those in need.
The opinions expressed correlate to a large extent with party affiliation.
Supporters of the National Coalition Party and Centre Party, currently heading the government coalition, place emphasis on the labour shortage issue. A majority of supporters of the opposition Left Alliance and one in two Green League supporters stress the humanitarian side of things.
Among professional groups, particular concern at the impending problems with a labour shortfall was expressed by managers, higher-level office workers, entrepreneurs, and farmers.
More than half of the students polled took the opposite view and stressed the humanitarian aspects of opening the doors to disadvantaged migrants from the poorer countries.
Other questions asked included attitudes towards the rise of economic giants such as China and India, the significance of globalisation for Finland, and correspondingly its role for the poorer countries.
In the first instance, 41% regarded the rise of the Asian tigers as more of a threat, against 36% who saw it as an opportunity. The answers here can to some extent be explained by the so-called “China Syndrome”, as employees in particular look anxiously at jobs vanishing to China, for instance in the technology sector.
Nearly half of the respondents felt that globalisation offered an opportunity for Finland, while 40% felt it was also of benefit to the poorer nations.
The survey team interviewed 1,293 Finns between the ages of 15 and 74, not (
) including residents of the Åland Islands. The margin of error is plus or minus three per cent.
Frauen 8 % - Männer 9 %
