Albanians in Finland are an active community, with cultural events, meetings, and the management of Albanian language schools. Several Albanian associations have been established in Finland which plays a key role in preserving the Albanian identity, language, tradition, and culture.
When did Albanians emigrate to Finland?
The largest influx of Albanians emigrated to Finland started during 1992-1993. Based on conversations with immigrants of that time, it is estimated that their number was around 2000, while according to official statistics of Finland based on language, in 1993 there were 1748 Albanian speakers. Most of the newcomers during this time presented themselves as asylum seekers for political purposes due to the situation in Kosovo.
Another influx was during the war in Kosovo. Then there was no major influx other than population growth from births, family reunification, employment issues, etc.
Although the Albanian citizens living in Finland themselves give different opinions about their approximate number, accurate statistics have not yet been found that classify Albanians in Kosovo, Albania, Macedonia, and other Albanian lands. One of the main reasons for the non-existence of these statistics has also affected the citizenship of Albanians from Kosovo as most of them when they first went there were registered with Yugoslav citizenship and then in the second influx with Serbo-Montenegrin citizenship and after 2008 although Finland has recognized Kosovo as an independent state and has included it in the registration list, a full registration has not yet been completed.
Data from the Finnish Statistics Center (Tilastokeskus) show that Albanians are the third largest community in the province of Varsinais-Suomen, in southwestern Finland, after the Russian and Estonian communities. In the local elections of 2017, 3228 Albanians were registered with the right to vote.