Latvian Finns Explained

Group:	Latvian Finns
Population:	At least 3,626 (2021)
Regions:	Greater Helsinki, Åland, Turku^[1]
Languages:	Finnish, Latvian, Russian, Swedish

Latvian Finns (Finnish: latvialaiset Suomessa; Latvian: Somijas latvieši) are people of full or partial Latvian descent residing in Finland.^[2] In 2021, there were 3,626 people with a close Latvian background in Finland. 3,023 speak Latvian in Finland as of 2021. In 2006 there were 252 Russian speakers in Finland who were born in Latvia.^[3]

546 Latvians live in Helsinki, 400 in Vantaa, 347 in Espoo, 249 in Turku and over 100 in Mariehamn, Rauma and Salo. The highest proportion of Latvians are found in the Åland islands. In Vårdö, they make up over 8% of the population, over 5% in Föglö, 4% in Geta, 3% in Lumparland, 2% in Finström, Eckerö and Hammarland and 1% in Mariehamn, Jomala, Lemland and Saltvik.^[4]

Notable people

• Angelika Kallio (born 1972), a model
• Salomon Klass (1907–1985), a military officer
• Elviss Krastiņš (born 1994), a volleyball player
• Janis Rozentāls (1866–1916), a painter
• Schauman, a noble family
• Teuvo Tulio (1912–2000), a film director and actor
• Edgar Vaalgamaa (1912–2003), a pastor and ethnologist

See also

• Finland–Latvia relations
• Latvian diaspora
• Immigration to Finland

Notes and References

1. Web site: 11rv -- Syntyperä ja taustamaa sukupuolen mukaan kunnittain, 1990-2019 . . fi . 8 September 2020.
2. Book: Mela . Marjo . Mattila . Markku . 2019 . Latvialaiset Suomessa . Finnish . Turku . . 978-952-7167-71-7.
3. Web site: VENÄLÄISET JA VENÄLÄINEN KULTTUURI SUOMESSA. Finnish.
4. Web site: Origin and background country by sex, by municipality, 1990-2021 . Statistics Finland . June 2, 2022.