How many ethnic Swedes live in Finland?

Swedish-speakers comprise 5.2\% of the total Finnish population or about 4.9\% without Åland….Swedish-speaking population of Finland.

Are Finns genetically related to Swedes?

Genetics. Thus Finns from different parts of the country are more remote from each other genetically compared to many European peoples between themselves. The closest genetic relatives for Finns are Estonians (FST to Helsinki 40 and to Kuusamo 90) and Swedes (FST to Helsinki 50 and to Kuusamo 100).

Why are there Swedish speakers in Finland?

Why do they speak Swedish in Finland? As a result of the colonization of Finnish coastal areas and the former capital Turku during the Middle Ages, Finland gradually became part of Sweden. The country stayed under Swedish rule for almost 700 years, until 1809, when Sweden ceded Finland to Russia.

Are Finnish and Swedish related?

Many people assume that Finnish is closely related to either Swedish or Russian, as Sweden and Russia are both important neighbouring countries. However, that is not the case. Swedish and Russian are both Indo-European languages, whereas Finnish belongs to the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic family of languages.

When did Swedish become an official language of Finland?

In Finland’s 1919 constitution both Finnish and Swedish were designated national languages. Finnish belongs to the Baltic-Finnic branch of the Finno-Ugric languages, being most closely related to Estonian, Livonian, Votic, Karelian, Veps, and Ingrian.

Are Finnish Swedish and Norwegian similar?

Norwegian and Swedish are similar (though not mutually intelligible) and Finnish is not similar to either one. They belong to the Germanic family and specifically, to the Northern Germanic branch (along with Danish, Icelandic and Faroese, the latter two being Insular).