Finland Genealogy

Guide to Finland ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, and military records.

Country Information
Finland is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordered by Sweden, Norway, Russia, and Estonia. Before 1809 Finland was a part of Sweden. From 1809 to 1917 it belonged to the Russian Empire. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages.

Finding Your Ancestors' Town in Finland

 * Genealogical records are organized by geographical locality. Civil registration (government birth, marriage, and death records) and church records (christenings/baptisms, marriages, and burials) were kept at the local level. To search these records, you must know the town where your ancestors lived.
 * If you do not know your ancestors' town, follow the advice in the Wiki article, Finland Finding Town of Origin, to search a variety of records that might provide that information.

Finland Clickable Map
In 1998, new regions and names of regions were organized. If you look at a modern map of Finland, it does not match this. However, the FamilySearch catalog and FamilySearch Historical records are organized by this map. Prior to that date records were cataloged based on the counties as they were in 1945, including the county of Vipurri, which was ceded to Russia in 1940.

Counties to 1997
Most record used for genealogical research are kept on the county and parish level in Finland. The Genealogical Society of Utah began microfilming in Finland in December, 1948 and records were filmed following the record arrangement used by the national and regional archives which was based on the county divisions in place at that time. Since that time there have been many changes in the counties and municipalities. For more information on changes to the country's internal and national borders see Finland Historical Geography.

In 1998, new regions and names of regions were organized. FamilySearch Catalog entries and FamilySearch Historical Records collections are organized by these counties. Click on a county name below to go to the county wiki article listing more information.

1998 to 2009
The 1997 Maakuntajakolaki (County Apportionment Act) reduced the number of counties from twelve to six.

Since 2010
On 1 January 2010 the second-level administrative structure of the county was changed, replacing the previous county structure with seven Regional Administrative Agencies (Aluehallintovirasto, Swedish: Regionförvaltningsverk). These agencies are responsible for providing basic services including: educational, emergency, health, legal, labor, environmental protection, and infrastucture.

Parishes
See the Finnish Parish List for a list of historical parishes and parishes used in the FamilySearch Catalog and Research Wiki.

Research Strategies
Research strategies can give you guidance on how to research or what records to search for first. See Finland Research Tips and Strategies for suggestions on how to find records that contain the information you are looking for.

Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools for Finland.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in researching your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Learning Center - Online genealogy courses
 * Historical Records
 * FamilySearch Center locator map