The African diaspora in Finland (
Finnish: afrikkalaisten diaspora Suomessa) refers to the residents of
Finland of full or partial
African ancestry, mostly from
Sub-Saharan Africa. According to
Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background[a] (Africans in Finland; Suomen afrikkalaiset) was 57,496 in 2020.[3]
The distinct adjacent term Afro-Finns (afrosuomalaiset), also referred to as Black Finns (mustat suomalaiset),[4][5][6][7] can be used for
Finns whose lineages are fully or partly in the populations of Sub-Saharan Africa ("
Black Africa").[8][9] Afro-Finns have lived in Finland since the 19th century, and in 2009, according to
Yle, there were an estimated 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland.[10]
Between the 1900s and the 1970s, the few Africans in Finland were mostly either students (for example
from Nigeria and Ethiopia), political exiles from
South Africa or people married to Finns.[4] In World War II (1939–1945), there were some Afro-Finnish soldiers, and among them were
Private 1st ClassRudolf Prüss [
fi], who served as a ski patrol leader in the
Karelian Isthmus and was killed in the
Winter War, and Corporal Holger Sonntag, who was of
African-American and German descent and served as a driver in both the Winter War and
Continuation War.[14]
As of 31 December 2020, according to
Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background[a] is 57,496, which is 1.0% of the population of Finland.[b] 47,041 (81.8%) of them are from
Sub-Saharan Africa.[c] 32,511 (56.5%) of them are men, while 24,985 (43.5%) are women.[3]
Countries of origin
Origins of people with a close African background[a][3]
The following countries outside Africa have a majority population of
Afro-descendants (90% or more of the country's total population)[21] and, as of 31 December 2020, a total of 127
expatriates or close descendants[e] in Finland:[3]
On 31 December 2020, the
region with the most people with a close African background[a] was
Uusimaa with 39,987 people (2.4% of the region's total population), which is 69.6% of their total population in Finland.[24]
Citizens of African countries who received Finnish citizenship by year:[26]
1990 – 70
1991 – 101
1992 – 104
1993 – 67
1994 – 56
1995 – 81
1996 – 120
1997 – 180
1998 – 788
1999 – 1,365
2000 – 522
2001 – 406
2002 – 419
2003 – 403
2004 – 426
2005 – 605
2006 – 658
2007 – 671
2008 – 891
2009 – 466
2010 – 368
2011 – 400
2012 – 1,559
2013 – 1,923
2014 – 1,750
2015 – 1,946
2016 – 2,137
2017 – 2,448
2018 – 1,904
2019 – 1,499
2020 – 1,250
People born in Africa who received Finnish citizenship by year:[27]
1990 – 37
1991 – 87
1992 – 86
1993 – 42
1994 – 58
1995 – 78
1996 – 117
1997 – 175
1998 – 559
1999 – 829
2000 – 332
2001 – 275
2002 – 306
2003 – 290
2004 – 329
2005 – 387
2006 – 397
2007 – 426
2008 – 627
2009 – 329
2010 – 279
2011 – 297
2012 – 1,043
2013 – 1,344
2014 – 1,350
2015 – 1,447
2016 – 1,590
2017 – 1,844
2018 – 1,480
2019 – 1,231
2020 – 972
Asylum seekers
1990–2013
From 1990 to 2013, a total of 14,481 African citizens
sought asylum in Finland, which was 22.4% out of the total of 64,536 asylum seekers. African asylum seekers by country of citizenship:
From January 2015 to August 2020, there were a total of 7,935 African citizens who sought asylum in Finland; 14.6% out of the total of 54,520 asylum seekers. African asylum seekers by country of citizenship:
From 1987 to 2019, a total of 911 people were
adopted from Africa to Finland. 843 (92.5%) of them were from the countries of South Africa (508, 55.8%), Ethiopia (287, 31.5%) and Kenya (48, 5.3%).[30]
On 31 December 2020, there were 4,589 Finnish citizens who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with citizens of African countries. 2,809 (61.2%) of the Finnish citizens were women and 1,780 (38.8%) were men; for both sexes the largest groups of partners were
Somalian, Moroccan and
Nigerian citizens. The next largest groups for
Finnish women were Gambian and Ghanaian citizens, and for Finnish men Ethiopian and Kenyan citizens.[31][32] On the same date, there were 4,725 African-born people who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with people born in Finland; 3,718 (78.7%) of the people born in Finland were women, while 1,007 (21.3%) were men.[33][34]
Afro-Finnish identity, culture and media
According to an estimate in 2009 by
Yle, there are 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland, and thus, they compose a much larger
ethnic minority than many other prominent large minorities in Finland, such as the
Sami or
Romani. The identity of Afro-Finns varies; some consider themselves Finns, while others have their own separate identity.[10] Some actively cherish their connections to Africa through their African relatives and cultures, while for others their connections to Africa are more distant but still relevant to them.[20]
In 2013, the dance performance Noir? by
Sonya Lindfors [
fi] became the first fully Afro-Finnish dance performance when it premiered at
Zodiak – Center for New Dance [
fi] in Helsinki.[35] Held annually since 2018, the Afrofinns Achievement Awards—presented by Afrofinns ry, an organization for "Finns and everyone else with African heritage living in Finland"—acknowledges, honors and celebrates the contribution of the Afro-community in Finland.[36][37][38][39] In 2020,
Kelly Kalonji [
fi],
Miss Helsinki [
fi] 2013 and celebrity, and Obi-West Utchaychukwu, the editor-in-chief of Diaspora Glitz Magazine, founded the beauty pageant The Face of African Queen for young women of African ancestry living in Finland.[40][41]
Established in 1993, the magazine SCANDI-B was targeted to Black people in the
Nordic countries. Printed in
Raisio, Finland, it had a circulation of 7,000 in 1993 with
Lammin Sullay [
fi] as the editor-in-chief.[42] In 2010, Yle broadcast the three-episode documentary television series Afro-Suomen historia ("The history of Afro-Finland") about early Afro-Finns.[6][10] The multimedia Ruskeat Tytöt [
fi] ("Brown Girls") focuses on Afro-Finns and other
people of colour in Finland.[43][44][45] Its six-episode Afrosuomen historiaa etsimässä ("In search of history of Afro-Finland") podcast's first episode was broadcast on
Radio Helsinki [
fi] in 2017.[5] The Afro-Finnish Diaspora Glitz Magazine won the category of Best Media at the 2019 Afrofinns Achievement Awards.[46]
During the
1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, some warned Finnish women against taking an interest in "exotic" athletes and pressured Finnish women to "act appropriately" within the vicinity of
black people, "neekerit".[11] The
Finnish word neekeri (cognate with negro) was long considered a neutral equivalent for "
negro". In 2002, the usage notes of neekeri shifted from "perceived as derogatory by some" to "generally derogatory" in the dictionary Kielitoimiston sanakirja, edited by the
Institute for the Languages of Finland.[47]
Nationwide racism started to grow after the first
Somali refugees arrived in Finland in the 1990s during the
Somali Civil War. Finnish
skinheads perpetrated attacks against Africans, and especially the city of
Joensuu in eastern Finland grew to be
an infamous center of racism [
fi]. In the municipality of
Nastola in southern Finland, the police had to protect the local refugee center from the violence of the locals, as they committed a shooting. Other incidents included a bomb that detonated in a refugee center in
Valkeala, a municipality in southeast Finland, and an attack by skinheads against Somalis in
Hakunila,
Vantaa, in southern Finland.[6]
In the late 20th century and the 21st century, some ethnic Finnish women married to or cohabiting with younger black men have faced discrimination as they are sometimes stereotyped as
sex tourists in Finnish society.[48][49][50][51][52]
According to the study "Being Black in the EU" by the
Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2018, 63% of Afro-Finns in Finland had experienced racist harassment, which had appeared as offensive gestures, comments, threats or violence. This was the highest percentage of the twelve
European Union member states[h] that were included in the study, much higher than for example in
Malta which was 20%. 14% stated they had experienced violence in Finland due to their
skin colour, which also was the highest of the participating countries, much higher than in, for example,
Portugal where 2% had experienced similar violence.[53][54]
Saido Mohamed [
fi] (born 1974), Somalian-born Refugee Woman of the Year for 2011
Michele Murphy-Kaulanen (born 1980), celebrity of African-American descent[j] and the wife of Sampo Kaulanen, a celebrity and the manager of
Jounin Kauppa[188][189]
Rudolf Prüss [
fi] (1903–1940), Latvian-born soldier of African ancestry
Nimo Samatar (born 1995), contestant on the Finnish version of Big Brother and blogger of Somalian descent[i][190][191][192]
Seksikäs-Suklaa [
fi] (born 1992), Angolan-born media personality, YouTuber, presenter and musician
Steven Thomas (born 1961), American-born African-American sex offender
This list is for notable people of African ancestry who also belong to the
Finnish diaspora (i.e. Finnish emigrants and their descendants) but do not hold Finnish citizenship. Many of them maintain their ties to Finland.
Germany
Misan Haldin (born 1982), half-Nigerian[j] former basketball player
Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta (born 1990), half-Gambian-Senegalese-Sierra Leonean[j] twin models, bloggers, writers and social media personalities
Denzel Wells (born 1990), African-American player of American football, actor and contestant on the season 21 of America's Next Top Model[206][207][208]
Vanessa Williams (born 1963), African-American singer, actress, fashion designer and Miss America 1984
Notes
^
abcdefI.e., according to
Statistics Finland, people in Finland: • whose both parents are African-born, • or whose only known parent was born in Africa, • or who were born in Africa and whose parents' countries of birth are unknown.[1] Thus, for example, people with one Finnish parent and one African parent or people with more distant African ancestry are not included in this country-based non-ethnic figure. Also, African-born adoptees' backgrounds are determined by their adoptive parents, not by their biological parents.[1]
^
abThe population of Finland was 5,533,793 on 31 December 2020.[2]
^I.e., all other African countries but Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.
^South Sudan was not independent in 1990; see the number of Sudan.
^I.e., according to
Statistics Finland, people in Finland: • whose both parents are born in those countries, • or whose only known parent was born in those countries, • or who were born in those countries and whose parents' countries of birth are unknown.[1] Thus, for example, people with one Finnish parent and one parent from those countries or people with more distant ancestry from those countries are not included in this country-based non-ethnic figure. Also, adoptees born in those countries have their backgrounds determined by their adoptive parents, not by their biological parents.[1]
^Literally "People's Democratic Republic of the Congo" in the source, but such country has never existed. It could possibly refer to the
People's Republic of the Congo.
^Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
^
abcdefgOn their mother's side; ethnic Finnish descent on the father's side.
References
^
abcd"Käsitteet ja määritelmät". Statistics Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 April 2020. Syntyperä ja taustamaa ... Suomalaistaustaisia ovat myös kaikki ne henkilöt, joilla vähintään toinen vanhemmista on syntynyt Suomessa. ... Ulkomaalaistaustaisia ovat ne henkilöt, joiden molemmat vanhemmat tai ainoa tiedossa oleva vanhempi on syntynyt ulkomailla. ... Jos kummankaan vanhemman syntymävaltiosta ei ole tietoa, on taustamaa ulkomailla syntyneiden henkilöiden osalta henkilön oma syntymävaltio. ... Ulkomailta adoptoitujen lasten osalta ottovanhemmat rinnastetaan biologisiksi vanhemmiksi.
The African diaspora in Finland (
Finnish: afrikkalaisten diaspora Suomessa) refers to the residents of
Finland of full or partial
African ancestry, mostly from
Sub-Saharan Africa. According to
Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background[a] (Africans in Finland; Suomen afrikkalaiset) was 57,496 in 2020.[3]
The distinct adjacent term Afro-Finns (afrosuomalaiset), also referred to as Black Finns (mustat suomalaiset),[4][5][6][7] can be used for
Finns whose lineages are fully or partly in the populations of Sub-Saharan Africa ("
Black Africa").[8][9] Afro-Finns have lived in Finland since the 19th century, and in 2009, according to
Yle, there were an estimated 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland.[10]
Between the 1900s and the 1970s, the few Africans in Finland were mostly either students (for example
from Nigeria and Ethiopia), political exiles from
South Africa or people married to Finns.[4] In World War II (1939–1945), there were some Afro-Finnish soldiers, and among them were
Private 1st ClassRudolf Prüss [
fi], who served as a ski patrol leader in the
Karelian Isthmus and was killed in the
Winter War, and Corporal Holger Sonntag, who was of
African-American and German descent and served as a driver in both the Winter War and
Continuation War.[14]
As of 31 December 2020, according to
Statistics Finland, the total number of people in Finland with a close African background[a] is 57,496, which is 1.0% of the population of Finland.[b] 47,041 (81.8%) of them are from
Sub-Saharan Africa.[c] 32,511 (56.5%) of them are men, while 24,985 (43.5%) are women.[3]
Countries of origin
Origins of people with a close African background[a][3]
The following countries outside Africa have a majority population of
Afro-descendants (90% or more of the country's total population)[21] and, as of 31 December 2020, a total of 127
expatriates or close descendants[e] in Finland:[3]
On 31 December 2020, the
region with the most people with a close African background[a] was
Uusimaa with 39,987 people (2.4% of the region's total population), which is 69.6% of their total population in Finland.[24]
Citizens of African countries who received Finnish citizenship by year:[26]
1990 – 70
1991 – 101
1992 – 104
1993 – 67
1994 – 56
1995 – 81
1996 – 120
1997 – 180
1998 – 788
1999 – 1,365
2000 – 522
2001 – 406
2002 – 419
2003 – 403
2004 – 426
2005 – 605
2006 – 658
2007 – 671
2008 – 891
2009 – 466
2010 – 368
2011 – 400
2012 – 1,559
2013 – 1,923
2014 – 1,750
2015 – 1,946
2016 – 2,137
2017 – 2,448
2018 – 1,904
2019 – 1,499
2020 – 1,250
People born in Africa who received Finnish citizenship by year:[27]
1990 – 37
1991 – 87
1992 – 86
1993 – 42
1994 – 58
1995 – 78
1996 – 117
1997 – 175
1998 – 559
1999 – 829
2000 – 332
2001 – 275
2002 – 306
2003 – 290
2004 – 329
2005 – 387
2006 – 397
2007 – 426
2008 – 627
2009 – 329
2010 – 279
2011 – 297
2012 – 1,043
2013 – 1,344
2014 – 1,350
2015 – 1,447
2016 – 1,590
2017 – 1,844
2018 – 1,480
2019 – 1,231
2020 – 972
Asylum seekers
1990–2013
From 1990 to 2013, a total of 14,481 African citizens
sought asylum in Finland, which was 22.4% out of the total of 64,536 asylum seekers. African asylum seekers by country of citizenship:
From January 2015 to August 2020, there were a total of 7,935 African citizens who sought asylum in Finland; 14.6% out of the total of 54,520 asylum seekers. African asylum seekers by country of citizenship:
From 1987 to 2019, a total of 911 people were
adopted from Africa to Finland. 843 (92.5%) of them were from the countries of South Africa (508, 55.8%), Ethiopia (287, 31.5%) and Kenya (48, 5.3%).[30]
On 31 December 2020, there were 4,589 Finnish citizens who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with citizens of African countries. 2,809 (61.2%) of the Finnish citizens were women and 1,780 (38.8%) were men; for both sexes the largest groups of partners were
Somalian, Moroccan and
Nigerian citizens. The next largest groups for
Finnish women were Gambian and Ghanaian citizens, and for Finnish men Ethiopian and Kenyan citizens.[31][32] On the same date, there were 4,725 African-born people who were either married to or registered as cohabiting with people born in Finland; 3,718 (78.7%) of the people born in Finland were women, while 1,007 (21.3%) were men.[33][34]
Afro-Finnish identity, culture and media
According to an estimate in 2009 by
Yle, there are 20,000 Afro-Finns in Finland, and thus, they compose a much larger
ethnic minority than many other prominent large minorities in Finland, such as the
Sami or
Romani. The identity of Afro-Finns varies; some consider themselves Finns, while others have their own separate identity.[10] Some actively cherish their connections to Africa through their African relatives and cultures, while for others their connections to Africa are more distant but still relevant to them.[20]
In 2013, the dance performance Noir? by
Sonya Lindfors [
fi] became the first fully Afro-Finnish dance performance when it premiered at
Zodiak – Center for New Dance [
fi] in Helsinki.[35] Held annually since 2018, the Afrofinns Achievement Awards—presented by Afrofinns ry, an organization for "Finns and everyone else with African heritage living in Finland"—acknowledges, honors and celebrates the contribution of the Afro-community in Finland.[36][37][38][39] In 2020,
Kelly Kalonji [
fi],
Miss Helsinki [
fi] 2013 and celebrity, and Obi-West Utchaychukwu, the editor-in-chief of Diaspora Glitz Magazine, founded the beauty pageant The Face of African Queen for young women of African ancestry living in Finland.[40][41]
Established in 1993, the magazine SCANDI-B was targeted to Black people in the
Nordic countries. Printed in
Raisio, Finland, it had a circulation of 7,000 in 1993 with
Lammin Sullay [
fi] as the editor-in-chief.[42] In 2010, Yle broadcast the three-episode documentary television series Afro-Suomen historia ("The history of Afro-Finland") about early Afro-Finns.[6][10] The multimedia Ruskeat Tytöt [
fi] ("Brown Girls") focuses on Afro-Finns and other
people of colour in Finland.[43][44][45] Its six-episode Afrosuomen historiaa etsimässä ("In search of history of Afro-Finland") podcast's first episode was broadcast on
Radio Helsinki [
fi] in 2017.[5] The Afro-Finnish Diaspora Glitz Magazine won the category of Best Media at the 2019 Afrofinns Achievement Awards.[46]
During the
1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, some warned Finnish women against taking an interest in "exotic" athletes and pressured Finnish women to "act appropriately" within the vicinity of
black people, "neekerit".[11] The
Finnish word neekeri (cognate with negro) was long considered a neutral equivalent for "
negro". In 2002, the usage notes of neekeri shifted from "perceived as derogatory by some" to "generally derogatory" in the dictionary Kielitoimiston sanakirja, edited by the
Institute for the Languages of Finland.[47]
Nationwide racism started to grow after the first
Somali refugees arrived in Finland in the 1990s during the
Somali Civil War. Finnish
skinheads perpetrated attacks against Africans, and especially the city of
Joensuu in eastern Finland grew to be
an infamous center of racism [
fi]. In the municipality of
Nastola in southern Finland, the police had to protect the local refugee center from the violence of the locals, as they committed a shooting. Other incidents included a bomb that detonated in a refugee center in
Valkeala, a municipality in southeast Finland, and an attack by skinheads against Somalis in
Hakunila,
Vantaa, in southern Finland.[6]
In the late 20th century and the 21st century, some ethnic Finnish women married to or cohabiting with younger black men have faced discrimination as they are sometimes stereotyped as
sex tourists in Finnish society.[48][49][50][51][52]
According to the study "Being Black in the EU" by the
Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2018, 63% of Afro-Finns in Finland had experienced racist harassment, which had appeared as offensive gestures, comments, threats or violence. This was the highest percentage of the twelve
European Union member states[h] that were included in the study, much higher than for example in
Malta which was 20%. 14% stated they had experienced violence in Finland due to their
skin colour, which also was the highest of the participating countries, much higher than in, for example,
Portugal where 2% had experienced similar violence.[53][54]
Saido Mohamed [
fi] (born 1974), Somalian-born Refugee Woman of the Year for 2011
Michele Murphy-Kaulanen (born 1980), celebrity of African-American descent[j] and the wife of Sampo Kaulanen, a celebrity and the manager of
Jounin Kauppa[188][189]
Rudolf Prüss [
fi] (1903–1940), Latvian-born soldier of African ancestry
Nimo Samatar (born 1995), contestant on the Finnish version of Big Brother and blogger of Somalian descent[i][190][191][192]
Seksikäs-Suklaa [
fi] (born 1992), Angolan-born media personality, YouTuber, presenter and musician
Steven Thomas (born 1961), American-born African-American sex offender
This list is for notable people of African ancestry who also belong to the
Finnish diaspora (i.e. Finnish emigrants and their descendants) but do not hold Finnish citizenship. Many of them maintain their ties to Finland.
Germany
Misan Haldin (born 1982), half-Nigerian[j] former basketball player
Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta (born 1990), half-Gambian-Senegalese-Sierra Leonean[j] twin models, bloggers, writers and social media personalities
Denzel Wells (born 1990), African-American player of American football, actor and contestant on the season 21 of America's Next Top Model[206][207][208]
Vanessa Williams (born 1963), African-American singer, actress, fashion designer and Miss America 1984
Notes
^
abcdefI.e., according to
Statistics Finland, people in Finland: • whose both parents are African-born, • or whose only known parent was born in Africa, • or who were born in Africa and whose parents' countries of birth are unknown.[1] Thus, for example, people with one Finnish parent and one African parent or people with more distant African ancestry are not included in this country-based non-ethnic figure. Also, African-born adoptees' backgrounds are determined by their adoptive parents, not by their biological parents.[1]
^
abThe population of Finland was 5,533,793 on 31 December 2020.[2]
^I.e., all other African countries but Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.
^South Sudan was not independent in 1990; see the number of Sudan.
^I.e., according to
Statistics Finland, people in Finland: • whose both parents are born in those countries, • or whose only known parent was born in those countries, • or who were born in those countries and whose parents' countries of birth are unknown.[1] Thus, for example, people with one Finnish parent and one parent from those countries or people with more distant ancestry from those countries are not included in this country-based non-ethnic figure. Also, adoptees born in those countries have their backgrounds determined by their adoptive parents, not by their biological parents.[1]
^Literally "People's Democratic Republic of the Congo" in the source, but such country has never existed. It could possibly refer to the
People's Republic of the Congo.
^Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
^
abcdefgOn their mother's side; ethnic Finnish descent on the father's side.
References
^
abcd"Käsitteet ja määritelmät". Statistics Finland (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 April 2020. Syntyperä ja taustamaa ... Suomalaistaustaisia ovat myös kaikki ne henkilöt, joilla vähintään toinen vanhemmista on syntynyt Suomessa. ... Ulkomaalaistaustaisia ovat ne henkilöt, joiden molemmat vanhemmat tai ainoa tiedossa oleva vanhempi on syntynyt ulkomailla. ... Jos kummankaan vanhemman syntymävaltiosta ei ole tietoa, on taustamaa ulkomailla syntyneiden henkilöiden osalta henkilön oma syntymävaltio. ... Ulkomailta adoptoitujen lasten osalta ottovanhemmat rinnastetaan biologisiksi vanhemmiksi.