Languages spoken in Finland
Europe · Capital: Helsinki · Population 5.6 million
In Finland, two languages have official status: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is the most widely spoken language, with an estimated 94% of the population speaking it as a first or additional language, or roughly 5.3 million people. After Finnish, the most widely spoken are English at 70% and Swedish at 44.5%. Finnish belongs to the Uralic language family. Finnish is also spoken in one of its three neighbours: Sweden. In total, five languages are recorded in Finland, and their shares add up to 227.3% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 2.3 of them.
What languages are spoken in Finland?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| FinnishUralic | 94% | Official | 5.3 million |
| EnglishIndo-European | 70% | Spoken | 3.9 million |
| SwedishIndo-European | 44.5% | Official | 2.5 million |
| GermanIndo-European | 18% | Spoken | 1 million |
| RussianIndo-European | 0.8% | Spoken | 45,574 |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Finland?
In Finland, two languages have official status: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by an estimated 94% of the population, or roughly 5.3 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Finnish in Finland?
An estimated 94% of Finland's 5.6 million people speak Finnish, which works out at roughly 5.3 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Finland
- Capital
- Helsinki
- Population
- 5.6 million
- Continent
- Europe
- Area
- 338,424 km²
- Currency
- EUR
- Languages recorded
- 5
- Land borders
- 3
- ISO codes
- FI / FIN / 246
Which countries border Finland?
Finland shares a land border with three countries: Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Finnish, the most widely spoken language in Finland, is also spoken in Sweden.
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.