Finns more positive towards development cooperation than in previous year

According to a recent opinion survey, 71% of Finns consider development cooperation to be very important or quite important. Attitudes are more positive than in 2024 (62%). However, development cooperation still divides Finns.

Finns divided on the importance of development assistance, the majority see it as useful 

Altogether 60% of respondents to the survey believed that development assistance was either crucially important in or had a crucial impact on improving wellbeing and reducing poverty in developing countries (2024: 53%), whereas 17% considered that development cooperation had no impact or was harmful by creating structures that make it difficult for developing countries to improve their own economies and production. 

Around one sixth (18%) of Finns do not see justification for any development cooperation. This was a slight decrease from last year (21%).

According to the survey, women consider development cooperation clearly more important than men do. The educational background is another factor that has a significant impact on attitudes: the lower the level of education, the less significance is given to development cooperation. These differences in background variables are largely present throughout the survey data. 

Finland’s humanitarian assistance still considered important 

More than three out of four (77%) Finns regard humanitarian assistance as important (in 2024: 75%). The majority (71%) also consider development cooperation in general important (in 2024: 62%). This is a substantial increase from last year, marking an end to a years-long downward trend. The EU’s humanitarian assistance and financing for development cooperation are seen as important by 70% of respondents.

Finns’ support for Ukraine remains strong

Finns think that Russia’s war of aggression, global humanitarian crises and the destruction of nature are the primary factors that currently influence the need for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance. 

This means that 87% of Finns consider that Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine increases the need for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance (in 2024: 84%). A clear majority (91%) is of the opinion that humanitarian emergency assistance to Ukraine is important (in 2024: 90%), whereas 18% are negative towards supporting Ukraine from development cooperation funds (in 2024: 15%).

Majority of Finns welcome the role of businesses in development cooperationi

Altogether 68% of Finns consider that businesses have an important role in development cooperation (in 2024: 69%), whereas one fifth consider it fairly irrelevant or indifferent. The majority of respondents (54%) also consider it important to direct private capital to developing countries with the support of development cooperation funds (in 2024: 53%).

About the survey

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has commissioned the market research company Taloustutkimus to carry out an annual opinion survey on development cooperation for over two decades.

Data for the survey was collected via a Taloustutkimus online panel on 12–19 May 2025. The survey’s target group is over 15-year-old Finns, excluding Åland. Altogether 1,076 respondents took part in the survey. The results have been weighted to be representative of the Finnish population and the most recent party support. The margin of error is at its highest around ± 3.2 percentage points.

The research report on the development cooperation opinion survey 2025 (PDF, 853 kt, in Finnish)