New Finns (Finnish: uussuomalainen) are those people in Finland’s population who have a non-ethnic Finnish background and who reside permanently in the country. A new Finn may have various backgrounds; including immigrant, immigrant-origin, refugee and/or having come to Finland for family reasons. The term is especially used to emphasize those that have a Finnish citizenship and carry Finnish passports, to those foreigners who live permanently in Finland and intend to be naturalized in Finland at some point in the future. Finland has experienced large-scale, continuous non-European immigration only within the past couple of decades. The term uussuomalainen is beginning to come into usage to commonly refer to these new, naturalized Finns, who are beginning to change and affect the national landscape of the country. [1]
The term and its usage over the more conservative "immigrant" has received mixed reactions and stirred conversation on whether new terms like this are in fact necessary. The term is currently not in mainstream use and is mostly used in political context. [2]
New Finns are affecting the national psyche of Finland because they are becoming a new, different cultural force of their own [3] who are reshaping the national consciousness as to who a Finn can and cannot be. [4] [5]
New Finns in general:
The term uussuomalainen also describes the descendants of immigrants better than the term "immigrant", because these people have in many cases been born and raised in Finland to parents from other countries.[ citation needed ]
Many first and second generation immigrant background new Finns are well known in the cultural circles in Finland. Some well-known new-Finn writers are Toivo Flink, Neil Hardwick, Alexis Kouros, Zinaida Lindén, Harri István Mäki, Hella Wuolijoki, Jutta Zilliacus, Jason Tiilikainen, Arvi Perttu, Ranya Paasonen, Jim Thompson, Umayya Abu-Hanna and Wilson Kirwa. Sofi Oksanen has written about the plight of new-Finn women in today's Finland. [9]
For statistics, in 2017: [10]
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland across Estonia to the south. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678 sq mi) with a population of 5.6 million. Helsinki is the capital and largest city, forming a larger metropolitan area with the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Vantaa. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns; Finnish, alongside Swedish, are the official languages. Finland's climate varies from humid continental in the south to the boreal in the north. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.
The Swedish-speaking population of Finland is a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are seen either as a separate cultural or ethnic group, while still being Finns, or as a distinct nationality. They speak Finland Swedish, which encompasses both a standard language and distinct dialects that are mutually intelligible with the dialects spoken in Sweden and, to a lesser extent, other Scandinavian languages.
The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns, is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party.
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Finland are among the most advanced in Europe. According to an annual ILGA report, Finnish LGBT legislation is among the most extensive and developed legislations in Europe. Compared to fellow Nordic countries, it ranks near the top, outranked only by neighbouring Norway. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in Finland since 1971 with "promotion" thereof decriminalized and the age of consent equalized in 1999, and homosexuality declassified as an illness in 1981. Discrimination based on sexual orientation in areas such as employment, the provision of goods and services, etc., was criminalized in 1995 and discrimination based on gender identity in 2005.
Human rights in Finland are freedom of speech, religion, association, and assembly as upheld in law and in practice. Individuals are guaranteed basic rights under the constitution, by legislative acts, and in treaties relating to human rights ratified by the Finnish government. The constitution provides for an independent judiciary.
Ben Berl Zyskowicz is a Finnish politician and member of parliament. Zyskowicz was chairman of the Finnish National Coalition Party's parliamentary group from 1993 to 2006 and has been a member of parliament for the National Coalition Party since 1979. He was the first Jewish person to be elected to the Finnish parliament. Following the parliamentary elections in April 2011, Zyskowicz was elected as the speaker of the parliament, for the duration of negotiations over the governing coalition.
In sociology, people who permanently resettle to a new country are considered immigrants, regardless of the legal status of their citizenship or residency. The United States Census Bureau (USCB) uses the term "generational status" to refer to the place of birth of an individual or an individual's parents. First-generation immigrants are the first foreign-born family members to gain citizenship or permanent residency in the country. People beyond the first generation are not "immigrants" in the strictest sense of the word and, depending on local laws, may have received citizenship from birth. The categorization of immigrants into generations helps sociologists and demographers track how the children and subsequent generations of immigrant forebears compare to sections of the population that do not have immigrant background.
Somalis in Finland are residents and citizens of Finland of Somali ancestry.
Russians in Finland or Russian Finns constitute a linguistic and ethnic minority in Finland. About 30,000 people have citizenship of the Russian Federation, and Russian is the mother language of about 70,000 people in Finland, which represents about 1.3% of the population.
Immigration to Finland is the process by which people migrate to Finland to reside in the country. Some, but not all, become Finnish citizens. Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of Finland. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, impact on upward social mobility, crime, and voting behaviour.
Luckan is a network of Finland-Swedish cultural centres in Finland. Currently, there are located in 11 cities and towns in Finland: Helsinki, Kimito in Kimitoön, Kirkkonummi, Kokkola, Kristinestad, Närpes, Porvoo, Karis in Raseborg, Tampere, Turku and Oulu.
Presidential elections were held in Finland in January and February 2012. The first round took place on 22 January 2012 with advance voting between 11 and 17 January. Since no candidate received a majority of the vote, a second round was held on 5 February, with advance voting between 25 and 31 January. Sauli Niinistö was elected the President of Finland for a term from 1 March 2012 until 1 March 2018.
The cabinet of Juha Sipilä was the 74th government of Finland, from 2015 to 2019. It was formed following the parliamentary election of 2015 and formally appointed by President Sauli Niinistö on 29 May 2015. From June 2017, the cabinet consisted of a coalition formed by the Centre Party, Blue Reform and the National Coalition Party. The cabinet's Prime Minister was Juha Sipilä.
Anti-Finnish sentiment is the hostility, prejudice, discrimination or racism directed against Finns, Finland, or Finnish culture.
Norwegians in Finland are immigrants born in Norway, citizens of Norway or speakers of the Norwegian language living in Finland.
Iraqis in Finland are people with Iraqi background residing in Finland. As of 31 December 2020, they numbered 25,439, making them the fourth largest immigrant group in Finland behind Russians, Estonians and Swedes.
The African diaspora in Finland 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 was 57,496 in 2020.
Power Belongs to the People formerly known as Parliamentary Group Ano Turtiainen (AT), is a political party in Finland. Ano Turtiainen is its group leader and only member of parliament. The group's rules state that the purpose of the group's activities is "to act in parliament in the interests of Finland and Finns and to have freedom of speech in elections". The group's secretary is James Hirvisaari.