Foreign-language residents in Finland are less likely to receive several major welfare benefits than they were a decade ago, even as the country’s foreign-language population has grown sharply, according to new figures from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela.
The number of people in Finland whose registered mother tongue is neither Finnish, Swedish nor Sami increased from about 373,000 in 2017 to 646,000 in 2025, a rise of more than 70 per cent. Over the same period, the proportion of foreign-language adults receiving basic social assistance and labour market subsidy declined.
In 2017, 23 per cent of foreign-language adults received basic social assistance. By 2025, that share had fallen to 18 per cent. The proportion receiving labour market subsidy dropped even more, from 24 per cent to 16 per cent.
The overall number of recipients has nevertheless increased because the population itself has grown. Kela recorded 110,000 foreign-language recipients of basic social assistance in 2017, compared with 137,000 in 2025. The latest figure consisted of 92,000 adults and 45,000 children.
Kela research manager Signe Jauhiainen said the changing figures need to be viewed against the broader transformation of Finland’s population.
“The foreign-language population in Finland is larger than before, so their share of Kela benefit recipients has also increased,” Jauhiainen said in Kela’s release. She said the figures reflect changes in the country’s population structure.
The increase in social assistance recipients was also affected by the arrival of Ukrainians after 2023. Many Ukrainians came to Finland under temporary protection, and people in that status were not eligible for labour market subsidy.
The financial share of benefits going to foreign-language recipients has also changed considerably. Kela paid EUR 408 million in basic social assistance to foreign-language recipients in 2025, accounting for 41 per cent of all spending on the benefit. In 2017, the figure was EUR 172 million, representing 24 per cent of total spending.
Foreign-language recipients received a further EUR 597 million in labour market subsidy in 2025, equivalent to around one-third of all payments made under the scheme.
Those figures should be read in the context of Finland’s changing benefit system. Labour market subsidy and the basic unemployment allowance were replaced by a new general benefit on 1 May 2026, meaning the structure of unemployment support has since changed.
Across nine major income-support benefits, Kela paid approximately EUR 9.2 billion in 2025. Foreign-language recipients accounted for around EUR 1.8 billion, or 20 per cent of the total. In 2017, their share was 15 per cent of the EUR 8.6 billion paid through the same group of benefits.
The pattern varies significantly depending on the type of support. Foreign-language recipients accounted for more than 40 per cent of basic social assistance spending in 2025, while their share of national pension payments was below 5 per cent.
Housing support shows another shift. In 2017, 26 per cent of foreign-language adults received general housing allowance. By 2025, the proportion had declined to 18 per cent. Yet their share of total housing allowance spending increased from 19 per cent to 27 per cent.
Kela attributed part of that change to Ukrainians entering the Finnish social security system, as well as changes to the rules governing housing support. The composition of recipients also changed during 2025, when students moved from general housing allowance to the student housing supplement and owner-occupiers lost eligibility for general housing allowance.
Taken together, the figures point to a more complicated picture than a simple rise or fall in welfare dependence. The foreign-language population has expanded substantially, which has increased the absolute number of people receiving some forms of support. At the same time, the proportion of adults receiving several key benefits has declined.
Kela said the falling rates of unemployment and social assistance among foreign-language residents indicate that a growing share of the population is working or studying. The figures therefore reflect not only changes in benefit use, but also the changing composition and economic position of one of Finland’s fastest-growing population groups.
