A record number of people were granted Finnish citizenship in 2025, according to new data from Statistics Finland.
As the statistics body noted, some 14,168 foreign citizens, who are permanently resident in Finland, received Finnish citizenship during the year – the highest number since the country’s independence in 1917.
This represented an increase of 2,656 compared with the previous year and a rise of 23% year-on-year.
Upward trend
The figure exceeded the previous record set in 2023 and continued a longer-term trend of increasing citizenships in Finland over recent decades. Statistics Finland said the data covers foreign nationals who were permanently resident in the country at the time citizenship was granted.
Citizens of Iraq accounted for the largest group receiving Finnish citizenship in 2025, representing around one in seven (14%) of all citizenships granted during the year.
Dual citizenship
Statistics Finland also reported that the number of dual citizens living in Finland approached 198,000 by the end of 2025. The figures include Finnish citizens holding citizenship of another country alongside Finnish nationality.
The citizenship statistics are compiled annually and include data broken down by previous nationality, age, sex, country of birth and region. The information is collected as part of Finland’s official population statistics programme. Read more here.
