1.3 Population of Finland

The population of Finland comprises person whose legal municipality of domicile is in some Finnish municipality. Finnish citizens living temporarily abroad (for less than one year) also belong to the population of Finland. In addition, the Finnish staff of embassies and commercial agencies abroad and those serving in the UN Peacekeeping Forces are included in the population of Finland. For these persons the municipality of domicile is the municipality where they last lived in Finland.

The municipality of domicile is defined in more detail in the Act on the Municipality of Domicile (201/94). Additionally, a citizen of a foreign country, who has the right to live in Finland - that is, whose domicile of municipality is in Finland - belongs to the population of Finland. In that case the foreign citizen is to live in Finland for at least one year and be granted a permit of residence. Thus some Finnish municipality becomes the municipality of domicile of that foreign citizen.

In addition, refugees, who have been granted an asylum in Finland or who have come to Finland as so-called refugees by quota, belong to the population of Finland and of their municipality of domicile.