Finnish Attitudes to Immigration: Iltalehti Survey 2015

The survey, commissioned by the tabloid newspaper Iltalehti, charted public opinion on Finland's refugee policy and asylum seekers arriving in the country. First, the respondents were asked whether they accepted that Finland opened new reception centres for asylum seekers. Views were also probed on whether Finland should select asylum seekers based on their religion, that is, accept only those who are Christians. The respondents were asked to what extent they agreed with the following three statements: 'Finland should do more to help Europe deal with the migrant crisis', 'The majority of asylum seekers are only seeking a better standard of living, that is, they have no real need for protection', 'Finland offers too generous social security benefits for asylum seekers'. Finally, the respondents were asked how problematic or untrue they thought some issues/statements were. The issues presented related to asylum seekers being young males, mostly muslims, dark-skinned, not looking poor and distressed, and whether asylum seekers would integrate into Finnish society and become taxpayers. Background variables included the respondent's gender, age, region of residence, occupational status and economic activity, household income and size, household composition, the ages of children living at home and political preferences.