Sweden Finns: Difference between revisions

{{Use dmy dates|date=MarchJuly 20232024}}

| group = Sweden Finns<br/>''Ruotsinsuomalaiset''<br/>''Sverigefinnar''

'''Sweden Finns''' ({{lang-fi|ruotsinsuomalaiset}}; {{lang-sv|sverigefinnar}}) are a Finnish-speaking national minority in [[Sweden]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Ds 2001:10 Mänskliga rättigheter i Sverige|url=http://www.regeringen.se/49baf9/contentassets/1d150242dfad40899b9bea8f7601de3c/manskliga-rattigheter-i-sverige---en-kartlaggning|publisher=The Government of Sweden|page=20|access-date=23 February 2017|archive-date=19 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119203845/https://www.regeringen.se/49baf9/contentassets/1d150242dfad40899b9bea8f7601de3c/manskliga-rattigheter-i-sverige---en-kartlaggning|url-status=live}}</ref>

People with Finnish heritage comprise a relatively large share of the population of Sweden. In addition to a smaller part of Sweden Finns historically residing in Sweden, there were about 426,000 people in Sweden (4.46% of the total population in 2012) who were either born in Finland or had at least one parent who was born in Finland.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fler med finsk bakgrund i Sverige| newspaper=Sveriges Radio | date=22 February 2013 |url=http://sverigesradio.se/sida/gruppsida.aspx?programid=185&grupp=16837&artikel=5451293|publisher=Sverige Radio|access-date=2 March 2013|archive-date=12 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612163528/https://sverigesradio.se/sida/gruppsida.aspx?programid=185&grupp=16837&artikel=5451293|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017 that number was 720,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6638007|title=Ruotsissa on nyt 719 000 suomalaistaustaista|first1=Kaisa|last1=Vuonokari|first2=Merja|last2=Laitinen|first3=Veronica|last3=Karlsson|date=24 February 2017|via=sverigesradio.se|access-date=10 July 2023|archive-date=28 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528234206/http://sverigesradio.se/artikel/6638007|url-status=live}}</ref> Like the [[Swedish language]], the [[Finnish language]] has been spoken on both sides of the [[Gulf of Bothnia]] since the late Middle Ages. Following [[Second Swedish Crusade|military campaigns in Finland]] by Sweden in the 13th century, Finland gradually came under Swedish rule and Finns in Finland and Sweden became subjugates of Sweden. Already in the 1400s, a sizeable population of Stockholm spoke Finnish, and around 4% in the 1700s.<ref>{{cite web|title=SOU 2005:40 Rätten till mitt språk (del 2)|url=http://www.regeringen.se/49bb02/contentassets/04d1aeaf419e46938a5222e27f5d747e/ratten-till-mitt-sprak-del-2|publisher=SOU 2005:40|access-date=23 February 2017|pages=217–218|language=sv|archive-date=25 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125042026/https://www.regeringen.se/49bb02/contentassets/04d1aeaf419e46938a5222e27f5d747e/ratten-till-mitt-sprak-del-2|url-status=live}}</ref> Finland remained a part of Sweden until 1809 when the peace after the [[Finnish War]] handed Finland to the [[Russian Empire]], leaving Finnish populations on the Swedish side of the [[Torne (Finnish and Swedish river)|Torne river]].

In the 1940s, 70,000 young [[Finns|Finnish]] [[Finnish war children|children were evacuated]] from Finland. Most of them came to Sweden during the [[Winter War]] and the [[Continuation War]], and around 20% remained after the war. Helped by the [[Nordic Passport Union]], Finnish immigration to Sweden was considerable during the 1950s and 1960s. In 2015, Finnish immigrants to Sweden made out 156 045 personspeople in Sweden (or 1.58% of the Swedish population) were Finnish immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Finland och Irak de två vanligaste födelsälnderna|publisher=Statistics Sweden|url=http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Artiklar/Finland-och-Irak-de-tva-vanligaste-fodelselanderna-bland-utrikes-fodda/|year=2005|access-date=23 February 2017|archive-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922091811/http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Artiklar/Finland-och-Irak-de-tva-vanligaste-fodelselanderna-bland-utrikes-fodda/|url-status=live}}</ref> Not all of them, however, were Finnish speakers.

The national minority of Sweden Finns usually does not include immigrated Swedish-speaking Finns, and the national minority of Sweden Finns is protected by Swedish laws that grant specific rights to speakers of the [[Finnish language]]. English somewhat lacks the distinction between '''Finns in Sweden''' ({{lang-sv|sverigefinländare}}), which emphases nationality rather than linguistic or ethnic belonging and thereby includes all Finnish heritage regardless of language, and '''Sweden Finns''' ({{lang-sv|sverigefinnar}}) which emphases linguistic and ethnic belonging rather than nationality and usually excludes Swedish-speaking Finns. Such distinctions are, however, blurred by the dynamics of migration, bilingualism, and national identities in the two countries. Note that speakersSpeakers of [[Meänkieli]] are singled out as a separate linguistic minority by Swedish authorities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nationella minoriteter|date=24 September 2014|publisher=The Government of Sweden|url=http://www.regeringen.se/regeringens-politik/demokrati-och-manskliga-rattigheter/nationella-minoriteter/|access-date=23 February 2017|archive-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226050831/http://www.regeringen.se/regeringens-politik/demokrati-och-manskliga-rattigheter/nationella-minoriteter/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the Finnish mindset, the term "Sweden Finns" ''(ruotsinsuomalaiset)'' is first and foremost directed at these [[immigrant]]s and their offspring, who at the end of the 20th century numbered almost 200,000 first-generation immigrants, and about 250,000 second-generation immigrants. Of these <!-- 430,000 --> some 200,000–250,000 are estimated to be able to speak Finnish,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.minoritet.se/1237 |title=Finska språket i Sverige |date=10 March 2017 |access-date=11 August 2022 |website=minoritet.se |publisher=[[Sámi Parliament of Sweden]] |archive-date=10 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810223032/https://www.minoritet.se/1237 |url-status=live }}</ref> and 100,000 remain [[Finnish citizen|citizens of Finland]]. This usage isn't quite embraced in Sweden<!--, due to the implicate expectation that the immigrated Finns as well as the indigenous minority ought to be entitled to minority rights similar to those of the indigenous [[Finland-Swedish|Swedophones]] in Finland-->. According to the latest research by [[Sveriges Radio|SR]]'s Finnish language channel ''Sveriges Radio Finska'' (formerly known as ''Sisuradio''), there are almost 470,000 people who speak or understand Finnish or ''[[Meänkieli]]'',<ref>[http://sverigesradio.se/sida/gruppsida.aspx?programid=185&grupp=20780&artikel=5793792 Kuuntelijat – Lyssnarna] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205130/http://sverigesradio.se/sida/gruppsida.aspx?programid=185&grupp=20780&artikel=5793792 |date=4 March 2016 }} {{in lang|fi|sv}} Sveriges Radio</ref> which was about 4.5% of the population of Sweden in 2019.

Today Finnish is an official [[minority languages of Sweden|minority language of Sweden]]. The benefits of being a "minority language" are however limited to Finnish-speakers being able to use Finnish for some communication with local and regional authorities in a small number of communities ''([[Borås]], [[Borlänge]], [[Botkyrka]], [[Degerfors]], [[Enköping]], [[Eskilstuna]], [[Fagersta]], [[Finspång]], [[Gällivare]], [[Gävle]], [[Göteborg]], [[Gislaved]], [[Hällefors]], [[Håbo]], [[Hallstahammar]], [[Haninge]], [[Haparanda]], [[Hofors]], [[Huddinge]], [[Järfälla]], [[Köping]], [[Kalix]], [[Karlskoga]], [[Kiruna]], [[Lindesberg]], [[Ludvika]], [[Luleå]], [[Malmö]], [[Mariestad]], [[Motala]], [[Norrköping]], [[Nykvarn]], [[Olofström]], [[Oxelösund]], [[Pajala]], [[Söderhamn]], [[Södertälje]], [[Sandviken]], [[Sigtuna]], [[Skövde]], [[Skellefteå]], [[Skinnskatteberg]], [[Smedjebacken]], [[Solna]], [[Stockholm]], [[Sundbyberg]], [[Sundsvall]], [[Surahammar]], [[Tierp]], [[Trelleborg]], [[Trollhättan]], [[Trosa]], [[Uddevalla]], [[Umeå]], [[Upplands-Väsby]], [[Uppsala]], [[Västerås]], [[Norrtälje]], [[Upplands-Bro]], [[Älvkarleby]], [[Örebro]], [[Örnsköldsvik]], [[Österåker]], [[Östhammar]], [[Övertorneå]])'' where Finnish immigrants make up a considerable share of the population, but not in the rest of Sweden.<ref>[https://lagen.nu/2009:724#P6 Lag (2009:724) om nationella minoriteter och minoritetsspråk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310092449/https://lagen.nu/2009:724#P6 |date=10 March 2013 }}. Swedish law on national minorities and minority languages (in Swedish). Retrieved 14 March 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.minoritet.se/omraden-for-finska Förvaltningsområdet för finska] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180610174500/http://minoritet.se/omraden-for-finska |date=10 June 2018 }}. List of municipalities in the administrative area for the Finnish language, including municipalities added subsequently. Retrieved 31 May 2018.</ref>

==See also==

[[Category:FinnicBaltic peopleFinns]]