Landscape | EK: The war has not affected Finland’s attractiveness as a country where top talents live

Finland the landscape has not been significantly endangered due to the war of aggression started by Russia in Ukraine, says the Finnish Confederation of Business (EK) based on its survey.

Almost half of the respondents to EK’s survey aimed at foreigners living in Finland estimate that the Russian war of aggression has not weakened their perception of Finland as a country to live and work in. However, a quarter of the respondents estimated that Finland’s attractiveness had weakened as a result of the war.

NATO membership strengthens Finland’s attractiveness as a target country for international experts, according to almost 40 percent of the respondents. A third has a neutral attitude towards NATO membership. A quarter of the respondents see the membership as weakening its attractiveness.

Finland according to the respondents, the most significant weakness when making the decision to move was the worry about finding a suitable job and building another career path in Finland. The difficult employment of the spouse is also a big minus in many people’s opinion.

When working and studying in Finland, the biggest strengths were the quality of education and trust in authorities and public power. The Finnish language proficiency requirements, on the other hand, were perceived as the biggest problem.

In September 2022, approximately 120 business leaders, top experts and students who moved to Finland from abroad answered the survey carried out by EK.