Official minority languages of Sweden

Finnish has been spoken in Sweden ever since the (then provincial) borders were drawn in the 13th century. Sweden has always had a significant migration to and from Finland. As the two languages belong to different language families it is easy to distinguish them, unlike the neighbouring languages Norwegian and Danish. The number of Finnish speakers in Sweden today has been estimated to over 460,000. Even though many current Swedes are of full or mixed Finnish descent, Swedish is the main language in practice for many bilinguals.

Finnish and Meänkieli can be used in the northernmost municipalities of Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå and its immediate neighbourhood.

On 11 December 2007, Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE reported, that in Uppsala, Sweden, speaking Finnish was forbidden from municipal employees, and that this was the case also with small talk during breaks.[4] According to an agreement between the city council and the municipal trade union the official working language is Swedish and two employees were not allowed to speak Finnish with one another in the common work premises or in break rooms.[5] The Equality Ombudsman considered that a ban was permissible in that particular case.[6]

Meänkieli (also known as Tornionlaaksonsuomi [lit. Tornedalian Finnish] and Tornedalian) is spoken by a population in northern Sweden. It is closely related to and mutually intelligible with Finnish and sometimes considered a dialect thereof, with many loanwords from Swedish. Especially in Finland the distinction of Meänkieli as a separate language is seen as language politics not based in linguistics (see Kven language for a similar situation in Norway). The number of speakers in Sweden amounts to 30,000.[7]

In Sweden, Sámi languages encompasses five closely related Uralic languages — Lule, Northern, Pite, Southern, and Ume Sámi — although they are commonly referred to as a single language, Samiska, in the country. Of those who speak a Sámi language in Sweden, the majority (61%) speak Northern Sámi, followed by Southern Sámi (22%), and Lule Sámi (17%);[8] Pite and Ume Sámi are critically endangered languages with few speakers. As a minority language, Sámi is an official language and may be used in government agencies, courts, preschools and nursing homes in the municipalities where it is most common.

Romani chib, the language of Romani people, has been spoken in Sweden since the 16th century. Today about 9,500 people speak it in Sweden. It does not have a geographical center, but is considered to be of historical importance.

Yiddish has been a common language of Ashkenazi (Central and Eastern European) Jews since early in their history. The first Jews were permitted to reside in Sweden during the late 18th century. As of 2009, the Jewish population in Sweden was estimated at around 20,000. Out of these 2,000–6,000 claim to have at least some knowledge of Yiddish according to various reports and surveys. The number of native speakers among these has been estimated by linguist Mikael Parkvall to be 750–1,500. It is believed that virtually all native speakers of Yiddish in Sweden today are adults, and most of them elderly.[9]

The organization Sveriges Jiddischförbund (Yiddish Association of Sweden) has been the national parent organization for Yiddish speakers and has four local chapters in Borås, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Malmö. It has been active since 1976 and was previously known as Sällskapet för jiddisch och jiddischkultur i Sverige (The Society for Yiddish and Yiddish Culture in Sweden) which is now the name of the chapter based in Stockholm.[10]

Romani and Yiddish have minority language status throughout the country and are covered by government obligations regarding their preservation.[11]