Image: Asmo Raimoaho / Yle

A total of 31,797 persons moved to Finland in 2017, which was some 3,100 fewer than the previous year. Meanwhile nearly 17,000 people left the country in 2017, or six percent more than the year before, according to Statistics Finland.

Seventy-five percent of newcomers were foreign citizens — mostly from outside the EU — while 60 percent of emigrants were Finnish nationals. Most new arrivals hailed from Iraq (2,369 people), Syria (1,422), and Russia (1,420).

Immigration from EU countries to Finland went down by 721 people from the previous year, reaching 12,192 in 2017.

The state number cruncher reports that emigration to EU countries has steadied, with 11,617 people leaving Finland for other EU member states, which is just 189 persons fewer than the year before.

The southern regions of Uusimaa and Pirkanmaa attracted the most new residents, while Kymenlaakso in the south-east had the largest relative migration loss, according to the statistics agency.