RACIAL STRUCTURE OF THE FINNS OF 

 THE NORTHERNMOST PART OF SWEDEN 



A SHORT ANALYSIS AND A PRELIMINARY SURVEY 



STATE INSTITUT!-: Ol" RACK BIOLOGY, Ul'PSAI.A, S\VI:|)I:N 



IT is indeed an attractive undertaking to analyse, by means of anthro- 

 pological, genetical and genealogical methods, a strongly race-mixed 

 population, and try to find out the different race-elements, whereof it 

 consists, so as to be able to state approximately the percentage of the 

 different race-components. 



The population of Norrbotten, the northernmost province of Swe- 

 den, is more variable, externally and internally, than any other pro- 

 vince of Sweden. This is due to the fact that three different races, the 

 Nordic (or Teutonic), the Finnic and the Lappic, for a long time past 

 have had their dwelling-place in this part of our country. Numerous 

 race-mixtures have meanwhile arisen, which has brought about that 

 in certain districts different folk- and race-types of the most varying 

 kind may be found without difficulty. This is especially so in the 

 most northerly parts of Norrbotten, in the so-called Territory of the 

 Finns (see sketch), where the Finnish language is spoken practically 

 everywhere in the homes by the permanent inhabitants. The nomadic 

 Lapps of this district speak their own language as well as Finnish; 

 the few Swedes — for the most part consisting of civil servants and 

 their families — use of course their mother tongue, Swedish. The 

 Finnish-speaking population of the whole province consisted in 1920 

 of about 29.000 persons; during fifty years they have more than 

 doubled (see Table 1). In 1870 the Lapp population of the whole 

 province consisted of 4.260 persons; during the last fifty years it has 

 increased very little. However, a surplus birth-rate has existed among 

 the Lapps for a long time, and this has been greater than is shown 

 in table 1. 



The fact is that during all times a considerable number of Lapps 

 have been obliged to abandon their nomadic life, mostly on account 

 of financial difficulties, after which thev soon become denationalized 



