As Finnish leaders approach the decision to apply for NATO membership, Yle’s latest survey shows clear and steadily growing public support.
Membership support in Yle’s polls has risen from 53 percent in February to 62 percent in March and 76 percent in May. Before the Russian invasion of NATO, a minority of Finns had long opposed membership.
In March, about one-fifth of respondents were still uncertain about their NATO status, but at the beginning of May, only about one in ten respondents was still uncertain.
According to the CEO of Economic Research Jari PajunenNATO’s popularity has seen "accelerating arc" during this spring.
"Uncertainty has diminished, but the proportion of opponents has fallen even further," Pajunen said on Monday.
In February, 28 per cent of respondents opposed membership, but in March the figure was 16 per cent and in May 12 per cent.
Sweden’s possible NATO membership would increase support in Finland to 83 percent.
The president’s clear stance and board support membership will raise support by about the same margin, to 82 percent.
The economic survey conducted the survey via an Internet panel from 4 to 6 May 2022. According to it, 1270 respondents represent the voting population of Finland. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Source: The Nordic Page