Finno-Ugric Languages:

Within the Finno-Ugric languages, there are two major groups, the Finnic languages and the Ugric languages. Languages of the Finnic branch are spoken in the region between northern Norway and the White Sea, the whole of Finland, Estonia and parts of Russia. The main language of the Finnic branch is Finnish, with over 5.5 million speakers in Finland, Sweden, Russia and the United States. Estonian is spoken by over 1 million people, mainly in Estonia. Around 25,000 people speak Sami (formerly known as Lappish) in the north of Scandinavia.

The main language of the Ugric branch is Hungarian (or Magyar) with nearly 11 million speakers in Hungary and a further 3 million speakers in surrounding areas and through emigration. Two other Ugric languages are Khanty (or Ostyak), with over 13,000 speakers and Mansi (or Vogul), with around 3,000 speakers. Both of these languages are spoken east of the Urals, around the River Ob.

The remaining Finno-Ugric languages are spoken within Russia. Karelian, Vepsian, Ingrian, Livonian, and Votic are spoken in the Kola Peninsula in the north, and southwards towards the Gulf of Riga. Of these, Karelian is the most widespread with over 100,000 speakers. Vepsian has some 2,000 speakers. Ingrian, Livonian, and Votic all have very few speakers, and may not survive for long.

Further in Russia, scattered around the central Volga, are Mordvin (or Erza), Mari (or Cheremis), Udmurt (or Votyak), and Komi (or Zyryan). Mordvin is the most widely used, with 800,000 speakers. Mari is spoken by over 600,000, Udmurt by over 500,000 and Komi by approximately 250,000 people.