What percent of Finland is Swedish?

Swedish-speakers comprise 5.2\% of the total Finnish population or about 4.9\% without Åland. The proportion has been steadily diminishing since the early 19th century, when Swedish was the mother tongue of approximately 15\% of the population and considered a prestige language.

Why does Finland have two official languages?

The Government’s new strategy put together under the leadership of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, stressed the need for both national languages to be clearly visible, heard and used in order to reinforce Finland as a bilingual country.

Do they speak Swedish in Helsinki?

Helsinki, the capital, had a Swedish-speaking majority until late in the 19th century. Currently 5.9\% of the population of Helsinki are native Swedish speakers and 15\% are native speakers of languages other than Finnish and Swedish. The Swedish dialects spoken in Finland mainland are known as Finland-Swedish.

What is Finland’s main religion?

the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
The great majority of the people belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, whose status gradually changed from an official state church to a national church beginning in the 19th century.

Can Norwegians speak to Swedes?

Mutual intelligibility Generally, speakers of the three largest Scandinavian languages (Danish, Norwegian and Swedish) can read and speak each other’s languages without great difficulty. This is especially true of Danish and Norwegian. The primary obstacles to mutual comprehension are differences in pronunciation.

Why are there so many Finnish speakers in Finland?

The urbanization and Industrial Revolution of the 20th century have prompted more Finnish speakers in each city. Although Swedish still remains one of the official languages of Finland, it is less common to be the main language spoken. The one exception to this is the province of Aland Islands.

Is Swedish equal to Finnish as a language?

Despite the small number, Swedish is equal with Finnish in terms of being a national language. However, practically, Swedish isn’t equal with Finnish because of its limited use. The Swedish spoken by residents of Finland is pronounced slightly differently than the Swedish spoken in Sweden.

What is Swedish used for in Finland?

Swedish may be used in courts and schools for example, but Finnish would be spoken in many homes and at many non-elite social gatherings. Swedish and Finnish have interesting histories in Finland and their current use has changed over the years. The article below provides interesting details on these facts.

What is the Finland-Swedish political view on the status of Swedish languages?

The Finland-Swedish political view emphasized the equality of the Swedish nationality next to the Finnish-speaking nationality and the fact the national languages of Finland were the languages of the respective nationalities of the country, not the languages of the state itself.