Home > Statistics > Population structure > 2012 > The share of foreign-language speakers in 2012 population growth was 87 per cent

Published: 22 March 2013

The share of foreign-language speakers in 2012 population growth was 87 per cent

According to Statistics Finland's statistics on the population structure, the official total population of Finland at the end of 2012 was 5,426,674, of whom 2,666,622 were men and 2,760,052 women. In the course of 2012, Finland’s population grew by 25,407 persons. The number of people whose native language is a foreign language grew by 22,122, which represented 87 per cent of the population growth. The number of people whose native language is Finnish grew by 3,497, those with Swedish as their native language decreased by 242 and the number of people that speak Sami as their native language grew by 30.

 

Change in the population by native language in 1990–2012

Over a quarter of a million people are foreign-language speakers, Russian speakers exceeded 60,000

The number of foreign-language speakers stood at 266,949 at the end of 2012, representing 4.9 per cent of the population. The largest group of foreign-language speakers are those whose native language is Russian, amounting to 62,554 persons. The next largest foreign-language groups spoke Estonian (38,364 persons), Somali (14,769 persons), English (14,666 persons) and Arabic (12,042 persons).

In the capital region, 11.8 per cent of the residents are foreign-language speakers

Reviewed by region, the share of foreign-language speakers among the population was the highest in Uusimaa, 9.3 per cent, in Åland, 6.1 per cent and in Varsinais-Suomi, 5.1 per cent. The share of foreign-language speakers was lowest in South Ostrobothnia, 1.6 per cent and in North Ostrobothnia, 1.9 per cent. In the capital region, 11.8 per cent of the residents were foreign-language speakers. Reviewed by municipality, the share of foreign-language speakers among the population were the highest in Helsinki (12.2 per cent), in Vantaa (11.9 per cent) and in Espoo (11.3 per cent).

Demographic dependency ratio at its highest in 48 years

At the end of 2012, there were 891,392 children aged under 15 in Finland and 3,517,089 persons aged between 15 and 64. The number of persons aged 65 and over exceeded one million during 2012 and there were 1,018,193 of them at the end of 2012. The demographic dependency ratio, that is, the number of those aged 15 or under and 65 or over per 100 working age persons was 54.3 at the end of 2012. The demographic dependency ratio was last higher than this in 1964. During our independence, the demographic dependency ratio was at its highest in 1917 (67.6) and at its lowest in 1984 (46.7).

Examined by area, the demographic dependency ratio was highest in the regions of Etelä-Savo (63.2) and South Ostrobothnia (61.7). The demographic dependency ratio was lowest in the region of Uusimaa (47.1). Examined by municipality, the demographic dependency ratio was highest in Luhanka (101.8), Kivijärvi (87.1), and Multia (82.0), and lowest in Helsinki (41.6), Tampere (44.5), and Järvenpää (45.8).

The demographic dependency ratio by region 1982–2012

Region	Year
	1982	1992	2002	2012
	dependency ratio	dependency ratio	dependency ratio	dependency ratio
WHOLE COUNTRY	47,0	49,1	49,6	54,3
Uusimaa	43,6	42,9	43,2	47,1
Varsinais-Suomi	49,2	50,3	50,3	55,1
Satakunta	47,7	50,2	52,8	60,8
Kanta-Häme	48,3	52,1	54,1	58,5
Pirkanmaa	47,0	49,3	49,4	54,1
Päijät-Häme	46,2	47,8	50,2	57,8
Kymenlaakso	46,5	49,1	52,6	59,5
South Karelia	46,6	49,4	52,2	58,8
Etelä-Savo	47,0	51,8	55,5	63,2
Pohjois-Savo	47,2	51,4	52,5	56,7
North Karelia	46,9	52,2	52,7	56,6
Central Finland	47,3	51,1	50,9	56,0
South Ostrobothnia	51,7	56,9	57,3	61,7
Ostrobothnia	53,9	56,7	56,2	59,9
Central Ostrobothnia	52,4	54,5	54,1	61,3
North Ostrobothnia	50,2	53,4	51,6	56,8
Kainuu	45,1	50,0	53,1	59,4
Lapland	44,4	48,8	51,0	55,8
Åland	54,1	53,3	53,4	55,7

 

The population in North Ostrobothnia exceeded 400,000

During 2012, the population grew in 12 and diminished in seven regions. In absolute numbers, the population grew most in Uusimaa, by 17,777 persons, in Pirkanmaa, by 3,831 persons and in North Ostrobothnia, by 2,783 persons. The relative population increase was also highest in Uusimaa, 1.1 per cent. The population in the region of North Ostrobothnia exceeded 400,000 during 2012.

The biggest absolute decrease in population was seen in Etelä-Savo, 1,096 persons, Kainuu, 613 persons and Lapland, 486 persons. In relative numbers, the population decreased most in Kainuu, by 0.8 per cent.

During 2012, the population grew in 111 and diminished in 209 municipalities. Helsinki had the biggest absolute increase in population, 8,584 persons, followed by Espoo, 4,385 persons and Oulu, 2,733 persons. Salo had the biggest absolute decrease in population (425 persons), followed by Pieksämäki (293 persons) and Kouvola (271 persons).

Examined by municipality in Mainland Finland, Liminka (2.9 per cent), Lempäälä (2.6 per cent) and Tyrnävä (2.3 per cent) had the largest relative increases in population. Examined by municipality in Mainland Finland, the largest relative decreases in population occurred in Luhanka, down by 3.6 per cent and Kinnula, by 2.9 per cent.

Source: Population Structure 2012, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Markus Rapo 09 1734 3238, vaesto.tilasto@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Regional adjustments 1.1.2013 (22.3.2013)
• Appendix table 2. Population according to language 1980 - 2012 (22.3.2013)

Figures

• Appendix figure 1. Population in Finland 1750 - 2012 (22.3.2013)
• Appendix figure 2. The largest groups by native language 2002 and 2012 (22.3.2013)
• Appendix figure 3. Foreign nationals by sex 1980 - 2012 (22.3.2013)
• Appendix figure 4. Country of birth, citizenship and mother tongue of the population 31.12.2012 (22.3.2013)

Quality descriptions

• Quality description: Population structure 2012 (22.3.2013)

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Updated 22.3.2013