Iraqis in Finland

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Iraqis in Finland
Iraqis in Finland / Finnish Iraqis
Irakilaiset Suomessa / Suomen irakilaiset
Iraq Finland
Total population
13,993 Iraqi citizens;
23,120 born in Iraq (2024)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Helsinki, Turku and Tampere regions & Lahti
Languages
Finnish and Iraqi Arabic
also Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji dialects), Turkish (Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects), and Neo-Aramaic (Assyrian and Mandaic)
Religion
Islam (Shia and Sunni), Christianity, Mandaeanism
Related ethnic groups
Swedish Iraqis, Iraqis in Denmark, Iraqis in Norway

Iraqis in Finland (Arabic: العراقيون في فنلندا, romanized: al-ʻIrāqīyūn fī Finlandā) are people who have a background from the country of Iraq and who live in Finland. People can be born in Iraq, have Iraqi ancestry and/or be citizens of Iraq. As of 2024, there were 23,120 people born in Iraq living in Finland. Similarly, the number of people with Iraqi citizenship was 13,993.[1]

Migration

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Mandaean community in Finland, May 2018

Most Iraqis in Finland have come as refugees. Of the 32,000 people who sought asylum in Finland in 2015, 21,000 were Iraqis, or two-thirds of all asylum seekers.[2]

Asylum based on clan feuds

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Iraq is a clan-based society like many in the Middle East. Many Iraqis claim asylum in Finland on the basis that they are threatened by rival clans in their home country, but the refugee conventions state that asylum is granted on the basis of being persecuted by authorities of a country. Persecution by other civilians is primarily a concern of police in the country of origin. This creates contradictions because officials in Iraqi police authorities might themselves be members of a rival clan.[3]

Mandaeans

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Finland has a community of Iraqi Mandaeans.[4]

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1990194—    
19951,351+47.42%
20003,209+18.89%
20054,352+6.28%
20107,167+10.49%
201510,723+8.39%
202020,090+13.38%
202423,120+3.57%
Iraqi-born. Source: Statistics Finland

People born in Iraq and living in Finland, according to Statistics Finland.

People with Iraqi citizenship living in Finland according to Statistics Finland.

Notable Finnish people of Iraqi descent

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Further information: Category:Finnish people of Iraqi descent

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Number of foreign-language speakers exceeded 600,000 during 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2025-04-04. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
  2. ^ "Analyysi: Miksi 21 000 irakilaista haki turvapaikkaa juuri Suomesta? Tässä 6 syytä". Yle Uutiset.
  3. ^ "Clash of clans i verkliga livet - hur är det att leva i ett klansamhälle?". svenska.yle.fi (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  4. ^ Pyhäranta, Tuija (9 January 2015). "Rekisteröityjen uskonnollisten yhdyskuntien määrä ylitti sadan – uutena uskontona mandealaisuus". Kotimaa. Retrieved 5 November 2021.