Results: Future outlook

As in previous rounds, the 2026 survey also examined where respondents would like to live in the future. The question concerning the respondent’s preferred future country of residence for their child or grandchild had already been omitted from the 2024 survey

Of the respondents (N=957 for this question), 72 per cent stated that they would like to live in Finland in 10 years’ time (Figure 25). The next most common response was ‘another country’ (21%). Five per cent of respondents wanted to live in Russia. These proportions have remained exactly the same as in 2024.

Compared with 2022, the proportion of respondents wishing to live in Finland has decreased from 76 to 72 per cent, while the proportion wishing to live in another country has increased from 17 to 21 per cent. By contrast, the proportion wishing to move to Russia has not increased, remaining at 5 per cent (2022: 6%). Views on the preferred future country of residence thus appear to have stabilised since 2024.

Those hoping for a future somewhere other than Finland or Russia were proportionally more numerous in younger age groups. Of the youngest respondent group (20–24-year-olds, n=77), only 56 per cent wanted to live in Finland in ten years’ time, while 44 per cent named some other country. Those seeing their future somewhere other than Finland were proportionally more numerous in younger age groups, whereas in older age groups the proportion wanting to live in Finland was high. However, the development across age groups is not evenly rising: 82 per cent of 30–34‑year-olds hoped to stay in Finland, compared to 84 per cent of 65–69-year-olds and 94 per cent of the oldest group (75–85). The proportion of those wanting to live in Russia is highest among 60–64-year-olds (18%). Corresponding results were observed in the previous survey round.

Future outlook:

• Most Russian-speaking respondents would like to continue living in Finland in the future (72%), and this proportion has remained virtually unchanged since 2024. The decline observed between 2022 and 2024 has therefore not continued.