List of municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language

There are 53 municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language.[1][2] In Finland, as of December 31, 2013, 89.3% of the population speak Finnish, 5.3% Swedish and 0.04% Sami languages.[3] Both Finnish and Swedish are official languages of Finland.[4] Officially, a municipality is bilingual if the minority language group consists of at least 8% of the population, or at least 3,000 speakers.[1] A previously bilingual municipality remains so if the linguistic minority proportion drops below 8%, up to 6%. If it drops below 6%, it is possible for the municipality to remain bilingual by government decree, on the recommendation of the municipal council, for a further ten years.[5] Municipalities that make use of the 3,000-speaker rule include the national capital Helsinki and the cultural center of Swedish Finns, Turku. On the Åland archipelago, where Finnish is almost absent from daily life, the language law does not apply. On the mainland, the highest proportion of Swedish-speakers is found on the western coast, in Ostrobothnia.[6]

  Officially monolingual Finnish-speaking municipalities
  Bilingual municipalities with Finnish as the majority language
  Bilingual municipalities with Swedish as the majority language
  Monolingual Swedish-speaking municipalities (Åland)
  Sami bilingual municipalities

Of the 310 Finnish municipalities, 16 are monolingually Swedish. 33 municipalities are bilingually Finnish and Swedish; of these, 15 have a Swedish-speaking majority and 18 a Finnish-speaking one.[7][1] Four municipalities, all located in Lapland, have a Finnish-speaking majority and a Sami-speaking minority: Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Utsjoki.[2] Initially, only Swedish was accorded official bilingualism, through a language act of 1922;[5] similar provisions were extended to Sami through a 1991 law.[2] The 1922 law was replaced by new but largely similar legislation in 2003.[5]

Municipalities

Name in majority languageName in minority language(s)Language(s)Percentage of population
speaking official language
other than Finnish
31 December 2013[3]
Region
BrändöMonolingually Swedish78.7Åland
EckeröMonolingually Swedish89.1Åland
EnontekiöNorthern Sami: Eanodat
Swedish: Enontekis
Finnish majority, Sami minority10.8Lapland
EspooEsboFinnish majority, Swedish minority7.8Uusimaa
FinströmMonolingually Swedish91.7Åland
FöglöMonolingually Swedish85.7Åland
GetaMonolingually Swedish87.2Åland
HammarlandMonolingually Swedish92.5Åland
HankoHangöFinnish majority, Swedish minority42.8Uusimaa
HelsinkiHelsingforsFinnish majority, Swedish minority5.9Uusimaa
InariInari Sami: Aanaar
Skolt Sami: Aanar
Northern Sami: Anár
Swedish: Enare
Finnish majority, Sami minority6.4Lapland
IngåInkooSwedish majority, Finnish minority54.3Uusimaa
JakobstadPietarsaariSwedish majority, Finnish minority55.8Ostrobothnia
JomalaMonolingually Swedish90.1Åland
KaskinenKasköFinnish majority, Swedish minority28.5Ostrobothnia
KauniainenGrankullaFinnish majority, Swedish minority35.9Uusimaa
KimitoönKemiönsaariSwedish majority, Finnish minority70.3Southwest Finland
KirkkonummiKyrkslättFinnish majority, Swedish minority17.6Uusimaa
KokkolaKarlebyFinnish majority, Swedish minority13.1Central Ostrobothnia
KorsholmMustasaariSwedish majority, Finnish minority69.0Ostrobothnia
KorsnäsSwedish majority, Finnish minority87.2Ostrobothnia
KristinestadKristiinankaupunkiSwedish majority, Finnish minority55.4Ostrobothnia
KronobyKruunupyySwedish majority, Finnish minority80.7Ostrobothnia
KumlingeMonolingually Swedish90.3Åland
KökarMonolingually Swedish88.4Åland
LapinjärviLappträskFinnish majority, Swedish minority32.8Uusimaa
LarsmoLuotoSwedish majority, Finnish minority92.5Ostrobothnia
LemlandMonolingually Swedish92.9Åland
LohjaLojoFinnish majority, Swedish minority3.5Uusimaa
LoviisaLovisaFinnish majority, Swedish minority42.0Uusimaa
LumparlandMonolingually Swedish91.0Åland
MalaxMaalahtiSwedish majority, Finnish minority86.1Ostrobothnia
MariehamnMaarianhaminaMonolingually Swedish85.7Åland
MyrskyläMörskomFinnish majority, Swedish minority9.8Uusimaa
NykarlebyUusikaarlepyySwedish majority, Finnish minority87.3Ostrobothnia
NärpesNärpiöSwedish majority, Finnish minority84.8Ostrobothnia
PargasParainenSwedish majority, Finnish minority56.4Southwest Finland
PedersörePedersören kuntaSwedish majority, Finnish minority89.7Ostrobothnia
PorvooBorgåFinnish majority, Swedish minority30.4Uusimaa
PyhtääPyttisFinnish majority, Swedish minority8.1Kymenlaakso
RaseborgRaaseporiSwedish majority, Finnish minority65.4Uusimaa
SaltvikMonolingually Swedish92.8Åland
SipooSibboFinnish majority, Swedish minority35.6Uusimaa
SiuntioSjundeåFinnish majority, Swedish minority29.6Uusimaa
SodankyläNorthern Sami: Soađegilli
Inari Sami: Suáđigil
Skolt Sami: Suäʹđjel
Finnish majority, Sami minority1.6Lapland
SottungaMonolingually Swedish91.0Åland
SundMonolingually Swedish92.3Åland
TurkuÅboFinnish majority, Swedish minority5.4Southwest Finland
UtsjokiNorthern Sami: Ohcejohka
Inari Sami: Uccjuuhâ
Skolt Sami: Uccjokk
Finnish majority, Sami minority46.0Lapland
VaasaVasaFinnish majority, Swedish minority22.7Ostrobothnia
VantaaVandaFinnish majority, Swedish minority2.7Uusimaa
VårdöMonolingually Swedish90.1Åland
VöråVöyriSwedish majority, Finnish minority82.6Ostrobothnia

See also

References