History and necessity have shaped Finland into a nation of linguists.
Unlike in many larger European countries, it is hard to find anyone who cannot communicate in English. But linguistic abilities do not stop there. The country is officially bilingual, with Swedish joining Finnish as the official language, and many others thrive too.
Swedish has a long history in Finland. Rather like English in Hong Kong, it was for many years the dominant official language as Finland was under Swedish rule for close to 800 years, from medieval times until 1809, when it was forced into the Russian empire.
Today the Swedish influence remains, with about 6 per cent of Finns being Swedish-speaking. Swedish-speaking children have the right to receive all their education in their mother tongue. All Finns are required to learn Swedish as their second 'domestic' language while in Swedish-speaking schools Finnish is compulsory.
Respect for other languages is also a part of official policy. Mother tongue education is provided to the Sami-speaking minority in the far north of Lapland and the many new immigrants are entitled to up to two hours a week of education in their own languages, as well as special support in learning Finnish.
Across the country there are dozens of well-established Swedish-medium schools, like Svenska Normallyceum in Helsinki.