Sixty percent of Finns now see racism as a significant problem in Finland
Political affiliation and gender strongly shape how Finns view racism, a new poll shows. Overall sixty percent consider racism a significant problem in Finland. The results can be interpreted as a sign of growing awareness of racism, Professor Saresma from University of Eastern Finland comments.
An increasing number of Finns consider racism a significant problem in Finland, according to the latest Uutissuomalainen (USU) poll.
Respondents were asked to react to the statement, 'In my opinion, racism is a significant problem in Finland.' Sixty percent said they somewhat or completely agreed. Two years ago, the corresponding figure was 57 percent, and five years ago 51 percent.
According to the latest results, 35 percent somewhat or completely disagreed with the statement, while 5 percent were unsure.
Views on the issue differ sharply depending on gender and political affiliation.
Among supporters of the Finns Party (perussuomalaiset), only 7 percent agreed with the statement. In contrast, more than 90 percent of supporters of the Green League (vihreät) and the Left Alliance (vasemmisto) agreed, while among Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s National Coalition Party (kokoomus) voters, the figure was 49 percent.
Among women, as many as 71 percent saw racism as a problem, compared to less than half of men.
Professor of Cultural Studies Tuija Saresma from the University of Eastern Finland interprets the results as a sign of growing awareness of racism.
“Five years ago, racism was not as prominent in public discussion as it has been since Petteri Orpo’s government came to power,” she told Uutissuomalainen.
The survey, conducted by Tietoykkönen, gathered responses from 1,000 Finns between 16 and 24 September. The margin of error for the overall results is ±3.1 percentage points.
Uutissuomalainen is a joint news service shared by 13 regional newspapers across Finland. Together, these papers reach a total audience of about 2.1 million Finns.
