Finland vs Sweden

Why people mix them up

Finland and Sweden are Nordic neighbours facing each other across the Gulf of Bothnia, and Finland was part of the Swedish realm for centuries. Swedish is still an official language in Finland, both flags carry a Nordic cross in blue, and both countries joined the European Union in 1995. People often lump Finland in with Scandinavia and are unsure which of the two lies further east.

How to tell them apart

• Finland's flag is a blue cross on white; Sweden's is a yellow cross on blue.
• Finnish is not related to Swedish: it is a Uralic language, related to Estonian, while Swedish is Germanic like Norwegian and Danish.
• Finland uses the euro; Sweden keeps its own currency, the Swedish krona.
• Finland borders Russia; Sweden borders Norway but never touches Russia.
• The capitals are Helsinki (Finland) and Stockholm (Sweden), both on the Baltic coast.
• Sweden is the larger country, about 450,000 km² against Finland's roughly 338,000 km², and has more people.

Memory hook

Finland's flag is a blue cross on snow-white, like Finland's lakes on a winter landscape. Sweden's is a yellow sun on a blue sky.

On the map

Find the Baltic Sea and follow its long northern arm, the Gulf of Bothnia. Sweden lies to its west, sharing the Scandinavian Peninsula with Norway. Finland lies to its east, a country with thousands of lakes, wedged between Sweden, Norway and Russia, with Estonia just across the Gulf of Finland to the south. If the country you are tapping touches Russia, it is Finland.