Birth rates have declined rapidly in nearly all industrialized countries. This is said to cause sustainability gaps and labor shortages, which has sparked much discussion in East Asia and Europe, including in Finland.
Prime Minister of Finland, Petteri Orpo (NCP), announced yesterday that his government will implement measures to promote labor-based immigration while simultaneously tightening humanitarian immigration laws to a Nordic level. He also stated, “labor-based immigration is what we need to promote and what we want to promote. We need it.”
Another representative from a major governing party, Jani Mäkelä, chair of the Finns Party’s parliamentary group, also weighed in on the matter. According to him, the forecast’s fulfillment is uncertain since recent increased immigration primarily stems from Ukrainians, whose influx into Finland is unlikely to continue for long.
Despite this, he too noted that “the government is taking the right actions regarding labor-based immigration, tightening the requirements for entry and work eligibility. Those who remain in the country under these conditions are likely to contribute quite positively to the national economy.”
* * *
I can largely agree with these views, but I also want to remind everyone that while the government may be setting our immigration policy on a clearly more sensible path, this approach should hold after the 2027 parliamentary elections as well. I don’t believe the election results will be determined so much by the immigration policy pursued but rather by the general economic policies in place.
For this reason, the government should ensure that Finland and its public finances turn towards growth by early 2026 at the latest, so that this will have a tangible impact on people’s lives before the spring of 2027 when elections are held. Otherwise, we risk a return to power by the left, leading to the dilution of the reforms made now and a shift toward economically and domestically unsustainable immigration policies.
* * *
In this context, we should also note that technology is currently advancing at an exceptionally rapid pace. It is practically certain that robots guided by artificial intelligence will replace an increasing number of workers every day.
For instance, I am fully confident that if I ever end up in a nursing home, I will be cared for there—following Japan’s example—by robots. Their use won’t be limited to elderly care; robots and AI will replace various types of workers during my lifetime.
AI is already being used today, for example, in programming or determining the spatial structure of proteins. I see no fundamental obstacle to AI-driven robots in the future building opera houses or managing the entire agricultural production chain—from grain cultivation to animal slaughter, meat packaging, and delivery to stores.
It’s also virtually certain that AI robots will, at some point, be handing out ski poles by day and serving beer to vacationers at ski resorts by night. I wouldn’t be surprised to one day see a company whose owner selects an AI as its CEO or a research team with independent AI and robotic members—first steps toward this have already been seen.
In other words, the labor market will undergo radical changes within this century. Thus, there’s no need for sudden demographic policy panic reactions, even if it is currently wise to invest somewhat in labor-based immigration to address the acute labor shortage and, of course, to make it feasible for young people to have children if and when they wish to.
Previous thoughts on the same topic:
The difficult times for Finland's economy are coming to an end
A caliphate was demanded in Germany
The change in the demographic structure of Helsinki
