Iraqis in Finland

{{Infobox ethnic group

|group=Iraqis in Finland

|flag = {{flagicon|Iraq}} {{flagicon|Finland}}

| native_name = Iraqis in Finland / Finnish Iraqis
Irakilaiset Suomessa / Suomen irakilaiset

|population = 30,346

of Iraqi background: 7,226 Finnish-born, 23,120 Iraqi-born (2024){{cite web |url= https://stat.fi/en/publication/cm1jg8tr20lco07vwvoif9s6i |title= Number of foreign-language speakers exceeded 600,000 during 2024 |date= 2025-04-04 |series= Population structure |publisher= Statistics Finland |issn= 1797-5395 |access-date=2025-04-14 }}

|popplace = Helsinki, Turku and Tampere regions & Lahti

|langs= Finnish and Mesopotamian Arabic
also Kurdish (Sorani and Kurmanji dialects), Turkish (Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialects), and Neo-Aramaic (Assyrian and Mandaic)

|rels= Islam (Shia and Sunni), Christianity, Mandaeanism

}}

Iraqis in Finland ({{Langx|ar|العراقيون في فنلندا|translit=al-ʻIrāqīyūn fī Finlandā}}) are residents of the Republic of Finland who have Iraqi ancestry. Among them are Finnish-born native citizens, Iraqi-born naturalised citizens, as well as Iraqi nationals residing in Finland. As of 2024, there is 30,346 people living in Finland with Iraqi ancestry,{{cite web|url= https://pxdata.stat.fi/PxWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11rs.px/table/tableViewLayout1/|title=Population 31.12. by Background country, Year and Information|publisher=Tilastokeskus}} among them 23,120 were born in Iraq and 7,226 born in Finland. Furthermore, 13,993 had Iraqi citizenship only, 10,607 had dual-citizenship and 5,746 had Finnish citizenship only.

Migration

File:Suomen mandean yhdistys.jpg 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.{{Cite web|url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-10102351|title=Analyysi: Miksi 21 000 irakilaista haki turvapaikkaa juuri Suomesta? Tässä 6 syytä|website=Yle Uutiset}}

= Asylum based on clan feuds =

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.{{Cite web|url=https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2018/03/25/clash-of-clans-i-verkliga-livet-hur-ar-det-att-leva-i-ett-klansamhalle|title=Clash of clans i verkliga livet - hur är det att leva i ett klansamhälle?|website=svenska.yle.fi|language=sv-FI|access-date=2019-11-29}}

=Mandaeans=

Finland has a community of Iraqi Mandaeans.{{cite web|last=Pyhäranta|first=Tuija|date=9 January 2015|title=Rekisteröityjen uskonnollisten yhdyskuntien määrä ylitti sadan – uutena uskontona mandealaisuus|url=https://www.kotimaa.fi/artikkeli/rekisteroityjen-uskonnollisten-yhdyskuntien-maara-ylitti-sadan-uutena-uskontona-mandealaisuus/|website=Kotimaa|access-date=5 November 2021}}

Demographics

{{Historical populations

| percentages = pagr

|1990|194

|1995|1351

|2000|3209

|2005|4352

|2010|7167

|2015|10723

|2020|20090

|2024|23120

|footnote=Iraqi-born. Source: Statistics Finland

}}

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

role="presentation" class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" \|+ class="nowrap" style="padding:1em; background:#ccc;" \| Country of birth Iraq by municipality (2024) ! Municipality !! Population
Whole country	23,120
Helsinki	6,377
Vantaa	3,619
Espoo	3,425
Turku	2,462
Tampere	1,192
Lahti	695
Oulu	527
Vaasa	346
Jyväskylä	303
Hämeenlinna	260
Salo	260
Kerava	212
Kuopio	185
Pori	176
Raseborg	170
Kaarina	147
Kotka	131
Rovaniemi	123
Raisio	121
Kirkkonummi	117
Porvoo	106
Kouvola	99
Seinäjoki	92
Pirkkala	82
Järvenpää	71
Mikkeli	70
Kajaani	67
Hyvinkää	66
Lohja	66
Rauma	63
Forssa	61
Lieto	61
Joensuu	59
Nurmijärvi	51
Lempäälä	50
Kauniainen	48
Kokkola	47
Vihti	44
Kangasala	43
Raahe	37
Tuusula	36
Uusikaupunki	35
Nokia	34
Lappeenranta	32
Kemi	30
Naantali	30
Jakobstad	30
Tornio	30
Loimaa	29
Riihimäki	29
Jämsä	25
Pargas	24
Sipoo	24
Laitila	23
Hanko	20
Kuusamo	17
Heinola	16
Orimattila	16
Imatra	15
Nykarleby	15
Ylöjärvi	15
Loviisa	14
Rusko	14
Sastamala	14
Karkkila	13
Kristinestad	13
Lieksa	13
Kankaanpää	12
Akaa	11
Janakkala	11
Kittilä	11
Mariehamn	11
Savonlinna	11
Iisalmi	10
Kemijärvi	10
Muurame	10
Pudasjärvi	10

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

role="presentation" class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" \|+ class="nowrap" style="padding:1em; background:#ccc;" \| Citizens of Iraq by municipality (2024) ! Municipality !! Population
Whole country	13,993
Helsinki	4,045
Vantaa	2,320
Espoo	2,066
Turku	1,091
Tampere	629
Lahti	442
Oulu	321
Vaasa	201
Salo	167
Jyväskylä	165
Kerava	145
Pori	141
Hämeenlinna	118
Kuopio	110
Rovaniemi	110
Raseborg	102
Seinäjoki	80
Kotka	79
Kirkkonummi	75
Porvoo	74
Kouvola	73
Mikkeli	69
Raisio	62
Joensuu	49
Järvenpää	49
Lohja	48
Rauma	48
Pirkkala	47
Kaarina	46
Forssa	42
Kajaani	39
Kauniainen	37
Vihti	37
Raahe	36
Hyvinkää	35
Nurmijärvi	32
Uusikaupunki	29
Jakobstad	28
Kokkola	27
Kemi	26
Kangasala	22
Loimaa	21
Jämsä	19
Laitila	19
Nokia	19
Lieto	18
Tuusula	17
Lappeenranta	16
Lempäälä	16
Nykarleby	16
Hanko	15
Kuusamo	15
Kemijärvi	14
Loviisa	14
Riihimäki	14
Tornio	14
Imatra	13
Kankaanpää	13
Kittilä	12
Kristinestad	12
Sastamala	11
Sipoo	11
Iisalmi	10
Janakkala	10
Naantali	10
Pargas	10
Ylöjärvi	10

Notable Finnish people of Iraqi descent

Mohammad Al-Emara, football referee
Hussein al-Taee, politician
Asaad Abu Gilel al-Taie, politician
Hassan Blasim, film director
Arjan Goljahanpoor, footballer
Dario Naamo, footballer

==See also==

References

Category:Ethnic groups in Finland

Finland

Category:Iraqi diaspora in Europe