Within the Åland Islands, Ostrobothnia and the Turku archipelago, there are pockets where Finnish is hardly spoken and society is wholly Swedish-speaking.
In the autonomous Åland Islands, situated between Finland and Sweden, pupils are not required to study Finnish.
Felix Wrede, originally from the Åland Islands, is finishing his senior high school year in the officially bilingual city of Turku. Although his school is a Swedish one, he has realised he needs more than Swedish to get by in town.
“It’s generally possible to speak Swedish with officials, but in shops you need to speak English or Finnish,” says Wrede.
The level of Swedish-language public services has weakened in recent years. For example, in some central parts of the country, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) sends Finnish-language letters to Swedish-speaking households.
Wrede plans to begin medical studies after high school. He’ll likely study at the University of Helsinki–a bilingual institute. Although he is learning Finnish, he still prefers to patron restaurants and shops that service customers in Swedish.
”It’s a matter of business. You visit shops where you are serviced.”
Roughly six percent of Finland's population speak Swedish as their native tongue.
