Mandatory Swedish

In Finland, Swedish is a mandatory school subject for Finnish-speaking pupils in the last three years of the primary education (grades 7 to 9). This so-called other domestic language is also mandatory in high schools, vocational schools, and vocational universities. Furthermore, all university graduates must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency in Swedish (the so-called public servant's Swedish). Altogether 92% of Finnish citizens are native Finnish speakers, whereas 5.5% of the population report Swedish as their mother tongue. Currently, it is possible for Finnish citizens to report a different mother tongue for themselves at any time, and as many times as desired, by submitting a form to the Population Register Center.

Mandatory Swedish

In Finland, Swedish is a mandatory school subject for Finnish-speaking pupils in the last three years of the primary education (grades 7 to 9). This so-called other domestic language is also mandatory in high schools, vocational schools, and vocational universities. Furthermore, all university graduates must demonstrate a certain level of proficiency in Swedish (the so-called public servant's Swedish). Altogether 92% of Finnish citizens are native Finnish speakers, whereas 5.5% of the population report Swedish as their mother tongue. Currently, it is possible for Finnish citizens to report a different mother tongue for themselves at any time, and as many times as desired, by submitting a form to the Population Register Center.