Page "Demographics of Finland" Paragraph 5

The earliest inhabitants of most of the land area that makes up today's Finland and Scandinavia were in all likehood hunter-gatherers whose closest successors in modern terms would probably be the Sami people ( formerly known as the Lapps ).

There are 4, 500 of them living in Finland today and they are recognised as a minority and speak three distinct languages: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami.

They have been living north of the Arctic Circle for more than 7, 000 years now, but today are a 5 % minority in their native Lapland Province.

During the late 19th and 20th century there was significant emigration, particularly from rural areas to Sweden and North America, while most immigrants into Finland itself come from other European countries.