Mainland Finland: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Mainland Finland (Manner-Suomi or Fasta Finland) is a term used for instance in statistics to exclude the autonomous Åland Islands under Finnish sovereignty. Mainland Finland is not to be confused with Finland Proper, that is the province adjacent to Åland.

In a geographical sense it could, of course, as well be used to exclude the other islands off Finland's coast.

The term is significant in the context of legal differences between Åland and Mainland Finland, and also in the context of differences of culture, language, history and self-perceived nationhood between the Ålanders and the Finland-Swedes. However, as the sheer size of Åland and its population is well below one percent of that of Mainland Finland's, and below ten percent of that of the Finland-Swedes, there are many instances when this distinction is ignored.