Indians in Finland

Indians in Finland
Regions with significant populations
Helsinki
Languages
Finnish · Various Indian Languages · English
Religion
Hinduism · Christianity
Related ethnic groups
People of Indian Origin

There is a small community of Indians in Finland consisting mainly of Finnish citizens of Indian origin or descent as well as expatriates from India.

Overview

At the beginning of the 21st century there were about 450 Indians in the Helsinki region.[1] Finland is now home to about 1,200 members of the Indian community - one of the smallest of Indian diaspora groups in Europe. The majority of the Indians live in and around the capital Helsinki. Most of them are engaged in businesses such as restaurants and stores selling garments, textiles, artificial jewellery, groceries and gift items. A number of young Indians, mainly computer and telecom experts, have in recent years joined Finnish high-tech companies such as Nokia.

There are hundreds of Indian engineers working in Finland. Many of them came to work there to get a quality life and also their salary would be double than what they would get in India even though taxes erode the difference.[2] At Nokia's research facility alone there are nearly 100 Indians working there. Wipro employed some 300 people in Finland while their competitor Tata Consultancy Services employed 600 individuals. Many of the engineers came with their spouses and children and have settled permanently in Finland.

There is also a sizable population of Indian postgraduate students, both Master’s and PhD level students, in Finland and especially in Helsinki region. They are most prominent in technology related fields.[3] Most Indian students have solid basic education in their field, they are motivated and hardworking and they are aiming high in their future careers in science or in industry. Also, their level of the English language is generally higher than among students from many other countries.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ HELSINGIN SANOMAT - INTERNATIONAL EDITION - METRO - South Asian population grows sharply in Helsinki region
  2. ↑ Nordic Labour Journal - Finland's welfare system appeals to Indian IT engineers
  3. ↑ Helsinki in on top in Technology and Research - Finland and India
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