Written by Silvia Lopez
If you think about the population in Sweden, you probably first think about the Swedes. But, did you know that there are also five official minority groups in Sweden? These groups are: the Sámi, the Swedish Finns, the Tornedalers, the Roma and the Jews. In this article I will present them a little bit to you!
5 minority groups with five minority languages
Sweden recognizes five official minority groups: the Sámi, the Swedish Finns, the Tornedalers, the Roma and the Jews.
These minority groups are official minorities in Sweden due to their roots and significant population in Sweden. Furthermore, also their languages are recognized by the Sweden’s National Minorities and Minority Languages Act (2010) as official minority languages in Sweden. These languages are: Sámi, Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani and Yiddish.
Why these minority groups?
Sweden considers that those groups having a historical presence in Sweden, and an influence in the development of Sweden’s culture through the years can be considered as official minority groups.
But, thinking about the language… are there any requirements to be an official minority language? Yes! There are two conditions in Sweden:
- To be a language (not a dialect).
- To be spoken by three successive generations, or for a 100 years in Sweden.
How are these minority groups included in Sweden?
Since each minority group has its own culture, language and traditions, preventing their exclusion is fundamental. For doing that, the Act on National Minorities and Minority Languages states that:
- Minority languages have to be protected and promoted.
- Authorities must inform national minorities about their rights.
- National minorities have to be able to maintain and develop their cultures, specially children.
Additionally, it is also important to point that it is the public sector the one responsible for protecting and promoting these minorities and their rights. For doing that, institutions have to make sure that these official minority groups have the same opportunities than the rest of the population. Besides, these minority groups must be able to participate in social life, but also have to be able to decide in those issues that affect them.
Minority groups in Sweden
Sámi: (Also know as ‘Sami’ or ‘Saami’, who are inhabiting the area of Sápmi).
Sámi people are not only a minority group, but also an indigenous group living in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia. There are between 20.000- 35.000 Sámi in Sweden, and their influence in Sweden’s policies began in 1950, with the creation of associations to protect Sámi’s rights. Since 1993, Sámi people have their own Parliament, called Sametinget.
There are 51 Sami villages in Sweden, the largest one is in Jokkmokk, in the region of Norrbotten, the northern region of Sweden. Sámi people have the right to work in reindeer husbandry, being able to build everything they consider necessary for them. Additionally, they also have fishing and hunting rights (regulated in the Reindeer Husbandry Act).
Swedish Finns
With a population between 450.000-600.000, Swedish Finns represent the biggest minority group in the country. This group is formed by those having Finnish roots but living in Sweden. The population is very mixed, some of the Swedish Finns are Swedish speaking Finnish while others are Finnish speaking Swedish.
The roots of Swedish Finns in the country have a long history. In the 13th century many Sweden’s military campaigns went to Finland, since that moment many have been the relations between Sweden and Finland. During the World War II, around 70,000 Finns moved to Sweden and, afterwards many Finns have settled in Sweden because of work.
Tornedalers
This minority group of 50.000 people, lives primarily in the region of Norrbotten. One particular aspect is that the group is also considered part of the Swedish Finnish community. However, they are considered a different minority group due to their settlement around the river Torne. Besides, Tornedalers do not speak Finnish, they speak Meänkieli or Tornedal Finnish. This maintenance of their language during the years made them another minority group.
In 1981, the Tornedalers created the Swedish Tornedalian Association (Tornionlaaksolaiset) with the purpose of protecting their culture and traditions, but also their language, creating a Meänkieli dictionary.
Roma
There are 50 000 – 100 000 Roma living all over Sweden. Historically, Roma have been in Sweden since -at least- the sixteenth century. However, since that moment, many have been the waves of migration from different places, such as Russia, Finland, Poland or Romania.
In 1999, the Romani language was considered an official minority language in Sweden. Nonetheless, it is important to say that there are also different dialects. The situation for this group has not been easy in Sweden, facing a big discrimination during the years and being considered one of the most marginalized minority groups in the country. To revert this situation, the Swedish government stablished in 2012 a strategy to achieve equal opportunities for this group by 2032.
Jews
Between 20 000 – 25 000 are the Jews in Sweden nowadays. However, their presence in Sweden is not recent. It was at the end of the 17th century when jews started to settle in Sweden. Unfortunately, during many years Jews needed to convert to Christianity if the moved to Sweden. In 1774 the first jew was allowed to live in Sweden without converting to Christianity. His name was Aaron Isaac, and he founded the first community in Stockholm.
In 1951, Sweden implemented freedom of religion, what produced a big change for the jews in Sweden.
Their language is Yiddish, and it is also a minority official language in Sweden.
Are there any possible future minorities?
Becoming an official minority group in a country needs a lot of time. Nevertheless, many have been the discussions about if refugees coming from Syria should become an official minority group in Sweden. In 2018, the second biggest ethnicity in Sweden came from Syria (1.8%) as IndexMundi reports.
In addition, in 2012, Arabic was the 3rd most speaking language in Sweden. The last data from 2019, shows that Arabic has become the 2nd biggest language. However, the previously mentioned conditions to consider a group and a language officials in Sweden, makes this a debate but not yet a definitive decision.
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About the AuthorHello! I am a Spanish living in Sweden. I have studied my master in Political Science at SU and I’m also learning Swedish!
I love music and watching football and hockey but, my favourite thing is travelling, discovering new food, new places, new people and learn about other cultures!
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