Finland has recorded the highest number of suspected hate crimes since the country began tracking such cases, with new data showing a sharp rise fueled largely by racism and xenophobia.
According to figures released Monday by the Police University College and reported by public broadcaster Yle, authorities registered 1,808 suspected hate crimes in 2025, a 13 percent increase from the previous year.
Nearly 70 percent of all cases were motivated by the victim’s ethnic or national background, making racism the leading driver of the surge.
Police noted that most incidents involved verbal insults, threats, or harassment — behavior that Finnish authorities say has been steadily rising since around 2020.
Researchers say the trend underscores a deepening polarization in Finnish society. While Finland’s criminal code does not contain a separate legal category for hate crimes or hate speech, a hate motive is considered grounds for a harsher sentence.
“Any act that is defined by legislation as a crime can be a hate crime,” the Police University College noted.
The report cited a range of targeted groups, including people with disabilities and religious minorities. Researcher Jenita Rauta said the rise in attacks on people with disabilities reflects “a broader societal polarization in which those in vulnerable positions are targeted.”
Syrians living in Finland were the most frequently targeted ethnic group in the latest data, while Muslims were the most commonly affected religious group.
Much of the abuse took place online, echoing a wider European trend in which digital spaces have become a primary venue for xenophobic and extremist behavior.
The findings come at a time when Finland — long regarded as one of Europe’s most stable and egalitarian societies — has been grappling with rising nationalist rhetoric, political polarization, and shifting attitudes toward immigration.
Officials say the upward trajectory in hate crime reports is likely to continue unless stronger preventive measures, community engagement efforts, and online monitoring frameworks are put in place.
