Finnish Language

The Finnish language, spoken mainly in Finland but also by people of Finnish origin in Sweden and other countries, belongs to the Fenno-Ugric group of languages, which is a part of the Uralian family of languages. Other Uralian languages include: Estonian, which is rather near to Finnish; Hungarian, which is very different from Finnish, with a fairly small number of related words; and several languages spoken in Russia, mostly by small ethnic groups.

Generally speaking, Finnish language usage is still expanding in relative and absolute terms due to the slow but steady language switching of the Swedish-speaking population, natural population growth, and immigration. The immigrant population is growing faster than the general population, both naturally and by immigration, and immigrant minorities will become more significant in the future. Currently, the percentage of immigrants is one of the smallest in Europe.