Swedish-speaking Finns

Swedish-speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Swedish Finns, see below) (Swedish: finlandssvenskar; Finnish: suomenruotsalaiset) constitute a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are alternatively seen either as a distinct subgroup of the Finnish people or as a separate ethnic group or even as a distinct nationality. They speak Finland Swedish, which encompasses both a standard language and di... More

Swedish-speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Swedish Finns, see below) (Swedish: finlandssvenskar; Finnish: suomenruotsalaiset) constitute a linguistic minority in Finland. They maintain a strong identity and are alternatively seen either as a distinct subgroup of the Finnish people or as a separate ethnic group or even as a distinct nationality. They speak Finland Swedish, which encompasses both a standard language and distinct dialects that are mutually intelligible with the dialects spoken in Sweden and, to a lesser extent, other Scandinavian languages . According to Statistics Finland, Swedish is the mother tongue of about 275,000 people in mainland Finland and of about 25,000 people in Åland, a self-governing archipelago of islands off the coast of Finland where Swedish speakers constitute a majority. Swedish-speakers comprise 5.5% of the total Finish population or about 5.1% without Åland. The proportion has been steadily diminishing since the early 19th...

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