Kurds in Finland
Kurds in Finland / Finnish Kurds Kurdit Suomessa / Suomen kurdilaiset | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Total population | |
| 17,953 Kurdish speakers (2024)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Helsinki, Turku and Tampere regions & Lahti and Jyväskylä | |
| Languages | |
| Finnish and Kurdish | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam Christianity Atheism Yazidism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Iranian peoples |
| Part of a series on |
| Kurdish history and Kurdish culture |
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Kurds in Finland (Finnish: Suomen kurdit; Kurdish: Kurdên Fînlendayê) are a linguistic and ethnic minority in Finland. As of 2024[update], there were 17,953 Kurdish-speaking people in Finland.
History
[edit]Kurds started first arriving to Finland in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1995 there were 1,166 Turkish citizens in Finland, out of which around 300-550 were Kurds. A significant portion of the Turkish pizzerias and kebab-restaurants in Finland are established by Kurds, some Kurds work at the airports in Finland.[2] While others come to Finland for studying, or work in IT companies.
Some of the Finnish Kurds originate from Turkey and Iran, but most of them have come from Kurdistan region of Iraq, where they started arriving from in the 1990s as UNHCR quota refugees. Kurds make up the majority of Iraqi immigrants to Finland.[3] After ISIL gained ground against the Peshmerga in Iraqi Kurdistan the Finnish Kurds organized protests against ISIL.[4] According to the chairman of Finnish-Kurdish friendship association several dozens of Finnish Kurds had left to Syria and Iraq in order to fight against ISIL.[5]
Culture
[edit]Finnish Kurds speak several different dialects of Kurdish, the largest of which are Sorani and Kurmanji Kurdish. Kurmanji has more speakers worldwide, but Sorani is the most spoken Kurdish dialect in Finland. It is likely that there are more ethnic Kurds than there are those who speak it as a first language. For example, some of the Kurds who originate from Turkey speak Turkish rather than Kurdish. There are several different Kurdish organizations in Finland, many of which have direct or indirect connections to political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan.[3]
Most Finnish Kurds are Muslims, some are atheists or non-practicing Muslims.
Different Kurdish organizations in Finland host their own Nowruz (Kurdish new year) celebrations.[3][6]
Organizations
[edit]There are several Kurdish organizations in Finland, including Kurdiliitto[7] and Suomalais-Kurdilainen ystävyysseura.[8]
Political activism
[edit]In October 2019, thousands of Finnish Kurds staged a protest in Helsinki over Turkey's military operation in Syria.[9] On 26 August 2022, Kurds living in Finland held a demonstration in Helsinki to protest the NATO agreement with Finland, Sweden and Turkey and the trilateral memorandum meeting of Finland, Sweden and Turkey.[10] As in May 2022 Finland made an accession bid to join NATO, Turkey demanded that Finland end its support to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and People's Defense Units (YPG).[11]
Demographics
[edit]| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 179 | — |
| 1995 | 1,381 | +50.48% |
| 2000 | 3,115 | +17.67% |
| 2005 | 5,123 | +10.46% |
| 2010 | 8,032 | +9.41% |
| 2015 | 11,271 | +7.01% |
| 2020 | 15,368 | +6.40% |
| 2024 | 17,953 | +3.96% |
| Kurdish speakers. Source: Statistics Finland | ||
People with Kurdish as mother tongue living in Finland according to Statistics Finland.
| Municipality | Population |
|---|---|
| Whole country | 17,953 |
| Helsinki | 4,265 |
| Turku | 2,403 |
| Espoo | 2,350 |
| Vantaa | 2,246 |
| Tampere | 818 |
| Lahti | 777 |
| Jyväskylä | 437 |
| Oulu | 370 |
| Salo | 340 |
| Vaasa | 221 |
| Lieto | 145 |
| Raisio | 144 |
| Kerava | 136 |
| Kotka | 128 |
| Porvoo | 115 |
| Raseborg | 111 |
| Hämeenlinna | 110 |
| Seinäjoki | 108 |
| Kaarina | 104 |
| Kouvola | 104 |
| Nurmijärvi | 102 |
| Kuopio | 101 |
| Rovaniemi | 99 |
| Joensuu | 97 |
| Lappeenranta | 97 |
| Hyvinkää | 91 |
| Lohja | 80 |
| Kirkkonummi | 77 |
| Pori | 71 |
| Imatra | 62 |
| Kajaani | 62 |
| Kauniainen | 62 |
| Sipoo | 57 |
| Kokkola | 56 |
| Tuusula | 54 |
| Varkaus | 53 |
| Järvenpää | 51 |
| Riihimäki | 47 |
| Pietarsaari | 45 |
| Vihti | 45 |
| Forssa | 42 |
| Pirkkala | 41 |
| Kangasala | 40 |
| Mikkeli | 37 |
| Mariehamn | 33 |
| Raahe | 32 |
| Uusikaupunki | 28 |
| Heinola | 27 |
| Äänekoski | 27 |
| Karkkila | 26 |
| Larsmo | 25 |
| Hanko | 24 |
| Nokia | 24 |
| Loimaa | 23 |
| Rusko | 22 |
| Iisalmi | 21 |
| Tornio | 21 |
| Rauma | 19 |
| Pieksämäki | 17 |
| Kemi | 16 |
| Lempäälä | 16 |
| Mäntsälä | 16 |
| Naantali | 15 |
| Savonlinna | 15 |
| Jomala | 14 |
| Kristinestad | 14 |
| Pudasjärvi | 14 |
| Korsholm | 13 |
| Ylöjärvi | 13 |
| Kokemäki | 12 |
| Laukaa | 12 |
| Loviisa | 12 |
| Sastamala | 12 |
| Outokumpu | 11 |
| Kankaanpää | 10 |
| Orimattila | 10 |
See also
[edit]Notable people
[edit]- Helly Luv, a singer and dancer
- Makwan Amirkhani, a mixed martial artist
- Milan Jaff, a convicted criminal and gang leader
- Aram Hasanzada, a footballer
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Number of foreign-language speakers exceeded 600,000 during 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2025-04-04. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ^ "Data" (PDF). jyx.jyu.fi. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ a b c Wahlbeck, Östen (2005). "Kurds in Finland". Encyclopedia of Diasporas - Volume II. Springer. pp. 1004–1010. ISBN 0306483211.
- ^ Hjelt, Yrjö. "Suomen kurdit osoittavat mieltään terroristijärjestö Isisiä vastaan". Yle Uutiset. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ Ijäs, Johannes. "Arvio: Jopa kymmeniä lähtenyt Suomesta kurditaistelijoiden riveihin". Kotimaa24. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
- ^ "Hyvä tietää". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
- ^ ""Suomen kurdit" – Kurdiliitto ry".
- ^ "Suomalais-Kurdilainen ystävyysseura ry". Archived from the original on 2019-07-20. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ^ "Today in pictures: protestors gather in Helsinki to demonstrate against Turkish offensive in Syria". Helsinki Times. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
- ^ "Activists in Helsinki protest Finnish government's cooperation with Erdogan regime". ANF. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "NATO'ya girmek isteyen İsveç ve Finlandiya, terör örgütlerini himaye ediyor". Anadolu Ajansı. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
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