Is Immigration Driving the Nordic Countries Apart?

The bigger Nordic countries – Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland – are generally seen as a highly unified group of states, where democratic decision-making works exceptionally well. At the same time, however, they have undergone major demographic changes as a result of humanitarian immigration, which will likely have a significant impact on their future.

Sweden, as a former great power, is the largest Nordic country, governed by the local EPP together with a smaller EPP party and a liberal RE party. The government is also supported in parliament by an ECR party outside the coalition, whose immigration policy goals have been included in the government program.

This unusual arrangement stems from the fact that Sweden’s immigration policy has been extremely liberal, which has made the country’s population more multicultural than in the other Nordic countries. At the same time, the related challenges have also been greater.

This is reflected in the support for Swedish parties. The largest party in the country is still the Social Democrats (S&D group in the European Parliament), with around 34% support, but a party belonging to the ECR group that is critical of multiculturalism has risen to compete with the EPP for second place, with about 20% support. The country’s other parties are small.

Denmark is currently governed by a three-party coalition consisting of the Social Democrats (S&D) and two RE parties.

Unlike in the other Nordic countries, Denmark’s S&D has long pursued a strict immigration policy, which has reduced immigration-related problems. This helped their support rise a few years ago to very high levels – even around 35% – but in recent years it has dropped to about 20%. Despite this, the party remains clearly the most popular in the country.

Denmark’s second most popular party has been the Greens (G/EFA), with support around 15%. They are followed slightly behind by the RE-affiliated Venstre party, and behind them an ECR party at about 10%, which is slightly higher than the Danish PfE group, whose support has risen significantly this year. In addition, a large number of smaller parties influence Danish politics, including the smallest RE party in government.

In Norway, the country is currently governed by a minority government of the local S&D party, but parliamentary elections are being held today and tomorrow, after which a new government will likely be formed.

Humanitarian immigration in Norway has been more limited, and thus the related problems have been smaller than in Sweden. Nevertheless, the local ECR group has in recent years competed for the position of the country’s largest party alongside the S&D and the EPP. Meanwhile, the far left (SV) has lost support.

In my home country of Finland, the government is formed by two EPP parties, an ECR party, and an RE party representing the interests of the Swedish-speaking population. The government has pursued a strict economic policy driven by the larger EPP party, while also following the relatively strict immigration policy demanded by the ECR party in its government program.

During the current parliamentary term, the support for Finland’s EPP parties and the language-based party has remained relatively stable (around 20%, 3%, and 4%, respectively). By contrast, the Finns Party’s support collapsed under government responsibility, falling from around 20% in the 2023 elections to about half of that, though in recent months it has started to rise again.

Among the opposition parties, support has grown for the S&D party, which has risen to 26%, making it clearly Finland’s most popular party at the moment. Another recent gainer has been the former agrarian party (around 15%), which for some reason belongs to the RE group in the European Parliament. Meanwhile, the Greens’ support has long been in decline (8%), while the far-left party belonging to the LEFT group has remained fairly stable in 10%.

As this brief overview of Nordic politics shows, there are significant political differences among these countries regarding immigration. It remains to be seen how these differences develop in the future – and especially whether Sweden’s long-standing open immigration policy will lead it to diverge from the other Nordic countries.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
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Gun Violence in Brussels After Swedish Massacre

As the investigation into Sweden's Tuesday mass murder is still ongoing, something unusual happened in Brussels. There, two masked men opened fire with assault rifles outside a metro station, though no one was injured.

Based on videos and photos taken at the scene, it appears that this time the perpetrators were individuals who had sought refuge in Europe from war and persecution, or at least their descendants—unlike in the Swedish massacre (as I had previously suspected). However, the motive behind their shooting remains unknown.

In any case, photos of the shooters at the metro station have been published, and the public has been asked to help identify them. This may help bring to justice those who endangered people's safety.

It is, of course, a coincidence of sorts that firearm-related incidents occurred on consecutive days in both Sweden and Belgium. However, it should be understood that these incidents stem from the societal developments of recent decades, which have led to rapid demographic changes in Europe (example) and, as a result, the polarization of different population groups.

Recognizing these facts is essential in order to make the right decisions to halt this ongoing trend. Only then can European societies be restored to what the vast majority of their populations desire: safe for their residents and structured to provide the greatest possible well-being for their communities.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Swedish School Shooting with Automatic Weapon Highlights Nation in Crisis
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Prediction: Sharia law in force in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and France by the year 2044

Immigration Policy Should Be Based on Evidence

Finland is one of those countries where the native population has, on average, just slightly more than one child per family. As a result, the number of ethnically Finnish people is set to decline rapidly over the coming decades.

This poses a problem for the demographic structure of society, as the number of working-age people decreases while the number of elderly individuals in need of care increases. This fact is often cited as a key reason for the need for immigration to Finland—a position supported by both the liberal right and the green-left political spectrum.

Only the national-conservative Finns Party has clearly disagreed, advocating for stricter controls on humanitarian immigration, particularly from developing countries, as well as on forms of labor-based immigration where wages are insufficient to support the newcomers, leaving taxpayers to cover part of the costs.

This discussion has been further influenced by the immigration minister of Sweden, a country that has pursued even more open immigration policies than Finland. According to the minister, "there is a dramatic difference between receiving 100,000 asylum seekers and 100,000 highly educated labor migrants."

This fact has often been overlooked by Finnish proponents of immigration. For this reason, I hope they will carefully examine Sweden’s experiences with its immigration policies, listen to the relevant Swedish government minister, and draw the correct conclusions from all of this. 

The fact is that even in immigration policy, Finland does not need polarization but rather an acknowledgment of the facts. And after that, decision-making based on evidence.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
10% of Foreign Students in Finland Failed to Meet Residence Requirements
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Humanitarian immigration does not provide a solution to Finland's demographic dependency ratio

Finnish people are no longer having enough children for the population to renew itself. Therefore, humanitarian immigration has been justified by the demographic dependency ratio.

This idea works if the incoming population, along with their descendants, performs equally well in the labor market as the native population. However,  individuals coming from developing countries—often illiterate and at least less educated than Finns—are unable to do so.

However, the situation could—at least in principle—be saved by their descendants, who attend the same schools as the native children. Additionally, they are fluent in Finnish, unlike their parents.

Unfortunately, recent data indicates that a large portion of immigrant-background students in Finland are considered weak performers according to the PISA definition. In mathematics, as many as 58 percent of first-generation immigrant-background students and 43 percent of second-generation students are weak performers. Among native students, the percentage of weak mathematics performers was 22 percent.

The literacy rates do not look any better either. A staggering 61 percent of first-generation immigrant-background students and 39 percent of second-generation students have poor literacy skills. This means that, according to OECD definitions, they do not possess sufficient knowledge and skills to participate fully in societal functions, such as further education and the labor market.

Finland's Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz (Swedish People´s Party) considers these results concerning. There is reason for concern, as a varying number of people from developing countries have been accepted annually since 1990.

From the perspective of the dependency ratio, as mentioned above, it is also problematic that the employment rate of individuals with foreign backgrounds is about 10–15 percentage points lower, and the unemployment rate is approximately 5–10 percentage points higher than that of native Finns. And these figures include not only humanitarian immigrants but also foreign workers, among whom a significantly larger proportion is likely engaged in the labor market than among humanitarian immigrants.

Based on the above, it appears that humanitarian immigration is not a solution to the demographic dependency ratio in Finnish society. Nor can it be assumed that they will be able to maintain Finland's standard of living at the same level as it has been in recent decades.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Sweden is Soon Set to Surpass the One Million Mark for Illiterate People
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Sweden is Soon Set to Surpass the One Million Mark for Illiterate People

Sweden has been known for its cultural and intellectual expertise, and especially for its welfare state, where everyone is taken care of and given excellent tools for life.

However, according to the Fria Tider the latest survey by Statistics Sweden, approximately 780,000 adults in Sweden are now illiterate. The reason is not primarily a flawed school system, but rather the rapid demographic shift caused by humanitarian immigration.

The solution to the problem is quintessentially Swedish, characterized by treating all people equally. As a result, Swedish children—whether they belong to the native population and are fluent readers, or immigrants who struggle to recognize letters—will now sit in primary school for a full ten years.

The change will take effect in the fall of 2028, by which time the number of illiterate people is expected to approach one million. Humanitarian immigration, however, is not intended to be reduced, but rather to continue as usual.

It remains to be seen how the literacy levels of both Swedes and "Swedes" will develop in the future, and at what point this trend will start to be reflected not only in crime statistics but also in the country's economy.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Sweden's Gang Crime Recruits Children – Is It Time for the EU to Reevaluate Asylum Policies?
Sweden's Rapid Demographic Shift Causes Challenges
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Prediction: Sharia law in force in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and France by the year 2044.

This day felt cold after getting used to summer temperatures around May Day. But it's not cold only here.

I came to this conclusion after browsing through the social media account Visegrád 24. There was, for instance, a video where Anjem Chaudary, an Islamic "scholar" based in Britain, said that democracy will likely be replaced by Islamic Sharia law in the UK, Belgium, and France within 15-20 years. That is, by the year 2044.

In another video shared by Visegrád, a Canadian Muslim man boasted that Muslims will be the world's largest religious group by 2060. And he asked, will the interviewer oppose Sharia then?

The man justified his view by saying that Muslims have families and they have children unlike Canadians of European descent. Thus, Muslims in Canada may one day become the majority.

It's difficult to deny the viewpoints I've noted above - at least not entirely - as long as the demographic facts regarding the reproduction of these groups correspond to reality. And even less so when we consider that despite this, European countries allow - and even support - immigration from Islamic countries by maintaining incentives such as social security for asylum seekers.

No wonder, then, that a whopping 60 percent of Germans don't want more refugees in their country. And that 78 percent of them believe the country can no longer afford the costs of immigration. Additionally, almost as many fear conflicts between immigrants and ethnic Germans.

However, the majority of Finns still live in a rose-tinted world, and a clear majority support so-called humanitarian immigration. Though a narrow majority would like to restrict the social benefits offered to asylum seekers, and most would also like to be able to choose the country of origin for those coming here.

I feel there's no need to comment further on what I've written above. But I'll still add the comment from the President of Argentina that I found on social media regarding the actions of the Spanish Prime Minister: "Sánchez endangers women by allowing illegal immigration".

Yes, those lovely women. And why not men too?

They're setting up for themselves an interesting old age. This is because a whopping fifteen percent of Finnish men and women aged 20-45 stated in the 2022 family barometer that their ideal number of children is a round zero. This surely pleases "scholars" like the one quoted in the first video and implements the views of the Canadian Muslim in the second video also for Finland.

Previous thoughts on the same topic: A caliphate was demanded in Germany Immigration is an asset in the USA, but in Europe, it's just a burden 175 happy winners