Sami

Finland: on 31 December 2025, 2,076 people had Sami as their mother tongue recorded in the population register (1,957 in 2015)².

Sweden: the government report gives no number of speakers; in 2023–24, 763 compulsory-school pupils were entitled to mother-tongue tuition in Sami¹.

In Sweden, Finnish, Meänkieli and Sami are covered by Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, each with an "administrative area"; since their introduction in 2010, these areas have grown through voluntary affiliation and included 85 municipalities and 15 regions in 2026¹. In these areas, individuals may use their minority language with the authorities concerned and are entitled to preschool and elderly care wholly or largely in that language¹. The Sami Parliament is responsible for language planning and leads work on the language, notably through its Sami Language Centre, whose funding has been increased from 2022 to 2027¹.

Finland: the 2003 Sámi Language Act (1086/2003) aims to secure the constitutional right of the Sámi to maintain and develop their language and culture; it covers Inari Sámi, Skolt Sámi and Northern Sámi³.

Finland: a Sámi has the right to use their language in their own matters before the authorities covered by the Act, including the municipal bodies of Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Utsjoki; an authority may not restrict this right on the grounds that the person also knows Finnish or Swedish³.

Sweden: In these areas, individuals may use their minority language with the authorities concerned and are entitled to preschool and elderly care wholly or largely in that language¹.

Sweden: in 2023–24, 395 compulsory-school pupils took mother-tongue tuition in Sami, out of 763 entitled (52%)¹. The Sami school has syllabuses in Sami as a first and second language; since 1 July 2024 a track for Sami as a second language for beginners has been added¹.

Norway: all Sámi pupils are entitled to Sámi teaching as a first or second language, wherever they live and whatever the number of pupils in the municipality; teaching through Sámi, however, requires at least ten pupils asking for it⁴. Outside the Sámi language administrative area, many pupils receive it from itinerant teachers (Tromsø, Alta, Bodø) or for a few hours a week at a centralised school (Oslo)⁴. Sámi teaching is not compulsory, unlike Norwegian⁴.

Sweden: in 2025, Sveriges Radio, SVT and UR broadcast or provided 1,648 hours of programmes in Sami, about 850 of them first broadcasts; SVT's 2024 Christmas Calendar was set in Sápmi¹.