Finland Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Finland appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 12 different states, among them Finland, Sweden, Russian Empire, Kalmar Union, Grand Duchy of Finland.
FinlandExplore the history of Finland in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Finland as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Finland, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
| Map | Main states on this land |
|---|---|
| 1100 | Kievan Rus' 3% |
| 1200 | Sweden 25% |
| 1300 | Novgorod 9% |
| 1400 | Kalmar Union 47% · Novgorod 9% |
| 1492 | Sweden 53% · Grand Duchy of Moscow 22% |
| 1500 | Kalmar Union 75% |
| 1600 | Sweden 84% · Finnmark 6% · Denmark-Norway 3% |
| 1650 | Sweden 94% · Finnmark 6% |
| 1700 | Sweden 94% · Finnmark 6% |
| 1783 | Sweden 97% · Russian Empire 3% |
| 1800 | Sweden 97% · Russian Empire 3% |
| 1815 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1880 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1900 | Russian Empire 100% |
| 1914 | Grand Duchy of Finland 100% |
| 1920 | Finland 100% |
| 1930 | Finland 100% |
| 1938 | Finland 100% |
| 1945 | Finland 100% |
| 1960 | Finland 100% |
| 1994 | Finland 100% |
| 2010 | Finland 100% |
Historic cities in Finland
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Finland?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Finland belonged to Finland, Sweden, Russian Empire, Kalmar Union, Grand Duchy of Finland, Grand Duchy of Moscow, along with 6 other states.
What was Finland part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Finland lay within Kalmar Union.
What was Finland part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Finland lay within Russian Empire.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.