Expat Insider 2025: The World Through Expat Eyes

A Cold Climate & Introverted People in Finland

Expats in Finland struggle the most with the climate, unreachable locals, and the difficult job search in a contracting economy.

In Brief
An Excellent Digital Landscape
A Great Environment Amid a Cold Climate
Limited Career Prospects in a Contracting Economy
Settling In Is Expensive & Unwelcoming
The Typical Expat in Finland
Further Reading
External Resources

Country report for Finland: 43rd overall out of 46 countries; details in description

In Brief

In the 2025 Expat Insider survey, Finland lands in the bottom 5, coming in 43rd place out of 46 destinations. Its best-performing indices are Expat Essentials (22nd) and Quality of Life (24th). Meanwhile, the other three indices are all in the bottom 10. When it comes to expats’ overall happiness with their life abroad, Finland ranks second to last (45th).

Finland is the perfect place for introverts. There’s clean air and drinking water, with proximity to nature from the city center. But it gets dark with long and cold winters and there’s a lack of social life. Luckily Finns speak English in Helsinki, but in smaller towns the language barrier may be an obstacle for foreigners. (Lithuanian expat in Helsinki)

Opinion

An Excellent Digital Landscape

Although Expat Essentials (22nd) is Finland’s best-ranking index, it’s far off from 10th place in 2023. The Digital Life Subcategory remains top (5th) whereas Language hasn’t gotten any easier (40th).

Finland is ahead of many countries with its online offering of government and administrative services: 79% of respondents rate this availability positively, 20 percentage points more than the global average (59%). A similar situation can be seen when it comes to dealing with the local bureaucracy or authorities (57% vs. 37% globally). Though this hasn’t translated to bank paperwork, as a smaller share than the global average find it easy to open a local bank account (52% vs. 62%).

The toughest challenge is learning Finnish: a whopping 77% of expats there say it’s difficult to learn (vs. 41% globally), ranking this factor second-to-last (45th). Living in Finland without speaking Finnish is at least manageable (25th).

A Great Environment Amid a Cold Climate

The Quality of Life Index sits in 24th place, with Finland maintaining its top 10 rank in the Environment & Climate Subcategory (6th). The urban (1st) and natural (9th) environments; air quality (2nd); and availability of green goods and services (7th) all delight. Not as delightful is the winter cold, with the climate & weather in the bottom 10 (39th).

I love the summertime when the sun shines and Finns are friendlier. But during wintertime it stays so dark for so long. (Singaporean expat in Helsinki)

Opinion

On the other end of the scale is the Leisure Options Subcategory (44th). The culinary & dining options as well as the nightlife leave much to be desired — there’s more than a 20-percentage point difference between the global view (74% and 66% positive ratings, respectively) and that of expats in Finland (49% and 40%, respectively).

Meanwhile, Safety & Security (18th) and Travel & Transit (20th) hold on to above-average placements. Expats say they personally feel safe (15th) but aren’t able to openly express themselves and their opinions to the fullest (22nd). At least it’s easy to get around on foot or by bicycle (2nd). A good compromise, as public transportation can be expensive (33rd) despite its availability (12th).

Limited Career Prospects in a Contracting Economy

Finland hasn’t recovered from its dramatic drop from 5th to 46th in the 2024 Working Abroad Index, ranking 43rd in 2025. Three of the index’s subcategories are similarly at the bottom: Career Prospects (46th), Salary & Job Security (42nd), and Work Culture & Satisfaction (38th).

Career Prospects in particular fares poorly, as all three of its factors occupy the bottom two positions. More than half of expats in Finland negatively rate the local job market (65% vs. 33% globally) and their personal career opportunities (52% vs. 27%).

Job security is very shaky (46th), and the state of the economy is viewed negatively (38th). According to the Bank of Finland, the economy is contracting.¹ The unemployment rate is also on the rise.²

They have amazing facilities of hybrid working and it helps a lot for productivity. But getting a job is very, very hard. (Bangladeshi expat in Vantaa)

Opinion

As a silver lining, expats agree that Finnish business culture supports flexibility in the form of remote work or flexible hours (15th). Expat satisfaction with their working hours ranks slightly below average (26th), though, despite them working on average 2.5 hours less (40.0 h) per week than the global 42.5 hours in a full-time job. Overall, expats aren’t very satisfied with their jobs in Finland (45th).

Settling In Is Expensive & Unwelcoming

Featuring in the bottom 3 is the Personal Finance (44th) and Ease of Settling In (44th) Indices.

Nearly half of expats in Finland (48%) aren’t satisfied with their financial situation (vs. 26% globally). And a similar share (43%) say their disposable household income isn’t enough to lead a comfortable life (vs. 31%).

When it comes to settling in and making connections, expats are unhappy with their social life (46th) and find it difficult to make local friends (46th). A higher share than the global average doesn’t feel at home (36% vs. 23%, respectively) nor welcome (28% vs. 18%) in Finland. One reason could be that it’s difficult to get used to the local culture (43rd) — especially with the language barrier.

It is difficult to get in contact with the locals. The neighbors often avoid looking at and greeting you. (German expat in Espoo)

Opinion

Find out more in our articles on Personal Finance and Ease of Settling In.