A Population Genetic Study in Finland: Comparison of the Finnish- and Swedish-Speaking Populations

Abstract

In Finland there is a substantial but geographically limited Swedish-speaking minority (in 1980 6.3% of the total population) which originates mainly from Swedish immigrants during the years 1100–1300 AD. The admixture of this population with the neighbouring Finns was studied using more than 20 blood marker loci. The reference populations, Swedes and Finns, in spite of being part of the genetically rather uniform European populations, differ from each other genetically. These quantitative and also qualitative differences in gene frequencies are mostly due to the Finnish population possessing a number of genetic markers absent or rare in the rest of Europe. The results based on a sample of 620 individuals from the Swedish-speaking population in Finland showed a rather high degree of Finnish admixture, which was estimated to about 60%. This admixture most probably occurred at an early stage since it has reached such a high and geographically homogeneous degree.

Geographic Ancestry and Cause-specific Mortality in a National Population

“…Results of blood group analyses indicate that Swedish speakers differ from Finnish speakers with regard to geographic ancestry (Kajanoja 1972;Eriksson 1973;Sahi 1974;Eriksson et al 1986;Virtaranta-Knowles et al 1991). This fits into the knowledge of how the country was inhabited according to archaeological and historical data (Workman et al 1976;Norio 2003).…”

Regional differences among the Finns: A Y-chromosomal perspective

“…On the other hand, some eastern influences on a predominantly European background have also been observed in the blood group variation of the Finns (e.g. Cavalli-Sforza and Piazza, 1993;Guglielmino et al, 1990;Virtaranta-Knowles et al, 1991).…”

Sense of coherence and its determinants: A comparative study of the Finnish-speaking majority and the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland

“…Also, the life expectancy of the Swedish-speaking minority is longer compared with the Finnish-speaking majority [19], and this difference is unlikely to be due to sociodemographic or regional factors [20,21], or genetic differences [22].…”