Facts about Sweden
Pippi Longstocking is the heroine in the most famous children's books in Sweden. These books were written by Astrid Lindgren and are loved by children (and adults) all over the world. They have been translated into 76 languages.
Carolus Linnaeus – better known in the U.S. as Carl von Linné – was the first individual to successfully classify all the plants (& animals) of the world into different species and families.
Carolus Linnaeus wrote the epoch-making book Systema Nature (The System of Nature) in 1735, which is still being used by botanists and zoologists today!
A popular souvenir is the road sign for moose-crossing. Every year a huge number of these signs are stolen from Swedish roads.
Gideon Sundbäck perfected the design of the zipper .
The marine propeller was built by John Ericsson.
The refrigerator was invented by Carl Munters and Baltzar von Platen.
The computer mouse was developed by Hakan Lans.
The pace-maker was invented by Rune Elmqvist.
The Nobel Prize Ceremonies are held in Sweden and Norway every year on December 10th. The Nobel Prizes were founded by the Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite in 1866.
The favorite food in Sweden is usually meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry sauce. Swedish pancakes are also a favorite.
Sweden has produced many famous musicians and musical groups over the years. ABBA, The Hives, Millencollin, The Cardigans, Kent, and Robyn to name a few.
IKEA and H&M are both modern Swedish retail shops.
You can visit Sweden's Ice Hotel, which often resembles a palace, and spend a night or two in this winter wonderland.
Every year, Swedes celebrate Midsummer (Midsommar) on the twenty-third of June. On this longest day, in many parts of Sweden the sun never sets.
Sweden is one of the largest countries in Europe, with great diversity in its nature and climate.
The country's distinctive yellow and blue flag is one of the national emblems that reflect centuries of history between Sweden and its Nordic neighbors.
In terms of research, Sweden’s aim is to be one of the most R&D-intensive countries in the world.
Diversity is the keyword of the Swedish design scene.
Emotional values are now reckoned to be as important as function in Swedish craftsmanship and design in general. Everything is tested and retested, both aesthetic norms .
Sweden is roughly the size of California or Spain and twice that of the United Kingdom.
Only about 9 million people live in Sweden, which means there's a lot of space!
The southern third is by far the most populated region in i Sweden.
It's cheap to visit Sweden today. The Swedish currency, the krona, has taken a plunge compared to other currencies. Bad news for Swedes, good news for you.
The Vikings belonging to 800-1050 A D worshipped the Asa gods such as Oden and Thor.
The origin of the word Thursday comes from the Swedish word Torsdag, meaning Thors day. Actually, most of the days of the week come from Nordic mythology.
In 900 AD Sweden becomes unified. Olof Skötkonung is the first king.
In1050 AD Sweden becomes christianized.
The period of 1610-1718 AD is known as "The Great Power" period. Many wars lead to the expansion of Swedish territory.
In the year 1812, Sweden acquires its present borders. This is also the last time Sweden was engaged in war.
The breakthrough of industrialism in Sweden began in 1850.
Sweden remained neutral during the World War II, 1939-45.
With industry intact after WW2, and with high quality engineering, Sweden becomes one of the wealthiest countries in the world around year 1950.
In the year 1995, Sweden became a member of the European Union.
Sweden is also knwon for being the first country to start "The Ombudsman" in government affairs.
The Swedes appreciate foreign visitors. Most Swedes speak English, and many also French or German. You will feel welcome here.
The international country code for Sweden is 46.
Purchases of wine, liquor, and imported beer are available only through the government-controlled monopoly Systembolaget.
The minimum age for buying alcoholic beverages in Sweden is 21.
You drive on the right, and all passengers are required to wear seatbelts.
It is mandatory to have low-beam headlights on at all times.
Chances are your rental car will have automatic headlights that go on when the engine is turned on.
Drugstores are called apotek in Swedish.
To operate North American hair dryers and other electrical appliances, you'll need an electrical transformer and plugs that fit the two-pin round continental electrical outlets that are standard in Sweden.
All embassies are in Stockholm.
Emergencies -- Call tel. 90-000 from anywhere in Sweden if you need an ambulance, the police, or the fire department (brandlarm).
The national language is Swedish.
English is a required course of study in school and is commonly spoken, even in the hinterlands, especially among young people.
The American Services section of the U.S. Embassy will give you advice if you run into trouble abroad. They can advise you of your rights and will even provide a list of attorneys.
Mailboxes can easily be recognized -- they carry a yellow post horn on a blue background.
You can buy stamps in most tobacco shops and stationers.
In big cities such as Stockholm and Gothenburg, English-language newspapers, including the latest editions of the International Herald Tribune, USA Today, and the London Times, are usually available.
At kiosks or newsstands in major cities, you also can purchase the European editions of Time and Newsweek.
If all you need is a new heel, look for something called klackbar in the stores or shoe departments of department stores. They'll make repairs while you wait.
Sweden imposes a "value-added tax," called MOMS, on most goods and services.
Sweden is on central European time -- Greenwich mean time plus 1 hour, or Eastern Standard Time plus 6 hours.
The clocks are advanced 1 hour in summer.
The word for toilet in Swedish is toalett. DAMER means women and HERRAR means men. Sometimes the sign is abbreviated to D or H, and often the toilet is marked WC.
The urban population of Sweden is almost 85 %.
Between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes migrated to the USA.
On an average, Swedish women have their first child at 30 years.
Sweden has the highest number of McDonald restaurants, per capita, in Europe.
The first ice hotel of the world was built near the village of Jukkasjarvi, in Kiruna district of Sweden.
The largest shopping mall of Europe is ‘Nordstan’, in Gothenburg.
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden.
The official name of Sweden is ‘The Kingdom of Sweden’.
Sweden follows Constitutional monarchy and Parliamentary democracy.
Sweden is surrounded by Lake Mälaren on the west and the Baltic Sea on the east.
Sweden is the 5th largest European country, in terms of land area, after Russia, Ukraine, France and Spain. Sweden has an area of approximately 449,964 sq. km.
The most prominent religion in Sweden is Lutheran, followed by Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Baptism, Jewish, Buddhism and Islam.
All the Tsars of Russia till the last one, Nicholas II, were of Swedish Viking descent.
Left-hand driving rule was followed in Sweden, till 1965.
Sweden boasts of having one of the highest life expectancies and one of the lowest birth rates in the world.
Sweden has the highest number of nuclear plants.
Sweden has the highest percentage of working mothers in the developed world and its people spend the longest time in tertiary education.
Sweden is second most technologically advanced country in Europe.
Sweden ranked as the second best country, in 2007 UNICEF report on child well-being in rich countries, after Netherlands.
Sweden ranked second in the European Union and fifth in the world, in terms of Human Development Index, in 2006.
Sweden was the first country to grant suffrage for (married) women in local elections.
The Goths, the Suevirs and the Norses (Vikings) trace their origin back to Sweden, making it the homeland of the Germanic ethnicity and culture.
The income inequality in Sweden was found to be the second lowest in Europe, in 2006, next only to Denmark.
The proportion of personal computers, per capita, in Sweden is the highest in Europe.
Till 2005, Sweden had won 588 (winter and summer) Olympic medals.
Till 2006, Sweden had 27 Nobel prizes, the 5th highest in the world.
Sweden is popularly known as ‘The Land of the Midnight Sun’ and ‘The Land of the Vikings’.
Swedish Main Industries are iron and steel, precision equipment, wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles.
Swedish Agricultural products are barley, wheat, sugar beets; meat, milk
As of 2004 you can pay your Swedish taxes by sending an SMS message from your cell phone.
The strongest girl in the world is Swedish.
Stockholm is surrounded by water and every year a water festival are held in August.
During Easter in Sweden, which is a well-known holiday here, children dress up and go from home to home asking for candy, similar to Halloween!
The astronomical lense is a Swedish invention.
Sweden is set to become the first country in the world to phase out petrol for biofuel.
Total taxation in Sweden amount to 54.2 % of GDP, the highest level worldwide.
In Stockholm the buses run on poo.
In Stockholm they had a public advertising campaign to conserve water with the slogan "From Toilet To Omelette".
There is a restaurant in Stockholm called "Pong".
In November in Southern Sweden it gets light at 8.30 am and dark at 3.30 pm.
In Sweden when a person says "no" they smile and nod their head up and down.
In Sweden the word for liquorice is likrits and, as well as being sweet it can also be salty.
Salty liquorice is truly disgusting.
For every one Ikea in Sweden there are 39 McDonalds.
A significant minority of Swedes dispose of their dead pets by flushing them down the toilet.
Sweden exports a huge amount of timber, iron ore and hydro power.
The average Swedish worker loses 24 days per year due to illness.
The unemployment rate (as at the end of 2008) was at 6.4%.
About 13% of the Swedish population were born in a country other than Sweden.
There are about 100,000 Roman Catholics in Sweden.
Losec, an ulcer medicine, was invented in Sweden. It was the world’s best selling drug in the 1990's.
The two most popular sports in Sweden are soccer (football) and ice hockey.
The national ice hockey team won the gold medal at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.
One of the main facts about Sweden for tourists to remember is that Sweden is not a country for sensation-seekers.
Instead it is perfect for those who love nature, space, clean air, beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities. Great sceneries are among the major tourist attractions.
It's not uncommon that Swedes look at the world news differently than media in other countries. It's a fact that continues to amaze Martina Aronsson, a Swedish journalist who's living in Holland.
The more you get to the north the landschape becomes wilder, with ever bigger forests and literally thousands of lakes.
The north (Lapland) is often called the last wilderness in Europe, with high mountains, swamps and wild rivers, treeless highlands and impenetrable birch forests. In this part of Sweden the Saami live, also called the Lapps, one of the last nomad peoples in Europe.
Most Swedes are calm and down-to-earth.
Sweden is the only European state that was not involved in any armed conflict for almost 200 years.
Nuclear power plants generate some 43 percent of Electricty.
The country does suffer from acid rain.
Sweden was also badly affected from fallout by the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, Ukraine, in 1986.
From the world of science come amongst other Anders Celsius, who invented the temperature scale that bears his name, and Viktor Hasselblad was the inventor of the single lens reflex camera.
Famous names from the world of arts are painter Anders Zorn and film directors Ingmar Bergman, Lasse Hallstrom and Lukas Moodysson.
Swedish actors with international fame are Greta Garbo, Liv Ullman, Ingrid Bergman, Max von Sydow, Stellan Skarsgard and Lena Olin.
The Swedish written word has enriched the world with Selma Lagerlof, August Strindberg and Astrid Lindgren and thriller authors like Henning Mankell, Liza Marklund and the legendary duo Maj Sjowall/Per Wahloo.
Swedish producer Max Martin recorded and wrote major hits for Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys.
Companies must lay off employees in first-in-last-out order when they are downsizing.
You can take sick leave during your vacation if you are ill.
Parents get a total of 13 months of paid maternity leave and the father is required to take at least 1 month of it.
Parental leave can be used to take off time for parenting classes before your child is born.
Parents can save up their maternity leave for more than 5 years.
Daycare cost is based on your family income with a government imposed maximum (Currently about 1/10th as much as in the U.S.).
If you have a new child, your other children get a month of free daycare so you can concentrate on the new one.
All employees including graduate students get 5 weeks of paid vacation a year.
All employers (as of 2004) are required to provide free massage.
Yearly car inspections include comprehensive safety checks as well as pollution controls.
The transportation department of the Swedish government works actively to reduce the number of traffic deaths each year to zero mainly by reducing the speed limits.
The government installs elk fences along the sides of large roads to prevent elk from wandering into traffic.
There is no right turn on red.
Multi-lane highways often merge in large roundabouts.
Any product you purchase is guaranteed for 1 year, and the retailer must exchange it if it fails in that time. This includes things like clothes and shoes.
All non-military property that is not fenced in, or is not a farm or someone's personal garden is open to anyone for hiking through or camping for one night.
Ice cream comes in blueberry and rhubarb flavors, and is never florescent.
Roughly 20% of the country's police stations close during the summer since everyone is off on vacation.
The sun rises at 3.30am in the summer.
The sun sets at 3.30pm in the winter.
Christmas is celebrated on the evening of the 24th. The father always goes out to buy a newspaper and while he is gone Santa arrives to deliver presents.
Swedish university students are required to pay a membership fee in the student union, but no tuition.
American textbooks are cheaper in Sweden than in the U.S.
Recycling is taken so seriously that one company (FTI) is trying to put up video cameras to make sure people sort their recyclables correctly.
Privacy is taken so seriously that putting up video cameras in laundry rooms to catch vandals is illegal.
St. Lucia is a nationally celebrated saint, and despite the fact that she is a saint because she tore out her own eyes to avoid being seduced by a man, little children dress up like her every winter.
The largest ice cream restaurant in the country is located in the quaint little village of Söderköping, and sells creations that use dry ice to create bubbling smoking concoctions.
No one is concerned about being sued if some foolish kid eats the dry ice.
The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Sweoþeod, which meant "People of the Swedes" .
The Swedish name Sverige (a conjunction of the words Svea and Rike – the latter is still spelt with the letter g, "rige", in modern Danish) literally means "Kingdom of the Swedes", excluding the Geats in Gotaland.
Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerod warm period c. 12,000 BC with Late Palaeolithic reindeer-hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province.
Sweden enters proto-history with the Germania of Tacitus in AD 98.
In the 6th century Jordanes named two tribes he calls the Suehans and the Suetidi who lived in Scandza.
The Suehans had very fine horses just as the "Thyringi" tribe.
Snorri Sturluson wrote that the contemporary Swedish king Adils (Eadgils) had the finest horses of his days.
The Suehans were the suppliers of black fox skins for the Roman market.
The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries.
The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos noticed the great skills in war of Vikings and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the varangian guard.
The Swedish Vikings, called "Rus" are also believed to be the founding fathers of Kievan Rus.
Eric the Victorious praying to Odin, Eric was the first king to rule over both the Swedes and the Goths.
The Arabic traveller "Ibn Fadlan" described the Vikings as "I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort".
The adventures of these Swedish Vikings are commemorated on many runestones in Sweden, such as the Greece Runestones and the Varangian Runestones.
The last major Swedish Viking expedition appears to have been the ill-fated expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled to Serkland, the region south-east of the Caspian Sea. Its members are commemorated on the Ingvar Runestones, none of which mentions any survivor.
During the early stages of the Scandinavian Viking Age, Ystad in Scania and Paviken on Gotland, in present-day Sweden, were flourishing trade centres.
Remains of what is believed to have been a large market have been found in Ystad dating from 600–700 AD.
In Paviken, an important centre of trade in the Baltic region during the 9th and 10th century, remains have been found of a large Viking Age harbour with shipbuilding yards and handicraft industries.
Between 800 and 1000, trade brought an abundance of silver to Gotland, and according to some scholars, the Gotlanders of this era hoarded more silver than the rest of the population of Scandinavia combined.
St. Ansgar is usually credited for introducing Christianity in 829.
Both slavery and serfdom were abolished altogether by a decree of King Magnus Erickson in 1335.
Gustav Vasa started a revolution in Dalarna.
After the Swedish War of Liberation, Sweden is a free nation in 1523 after 126 years of Danish occupation.
The Plague in Sweden, in the 14th century, Sweden was struck by the Black Death. The population of Sweden was decimated.
In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united under King Magnus Eriksson.
In 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark effected the personal union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark through the Kalmar Union. However, Margaret's successors, whose rule was also centred in Denmark, were unable to control the Swedish nobility.
King Christian II of Denmark, who asserted his claim to Sweden by force of arms, ordered a massacre in 1520 of Swedish nobles at Stockholm. This came to be known as the "Stockholm blood bath".
The Swedish nobility stirred to new resistance and, on 6 June in 1523, they made Gustav Vasa their king. This is sometimes considered as the foundation of modern Sweden.
The Hanseatic League had been officially formed at Lubeck on the sea coast of Northern Germany in 1356.
Under the Hanseatic trade 2/3rds of Stockholm's imports consisted of textiles and 1/3 of salt. Exports from Sweden consisted of iron and copper.
During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states.
Gustav Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor, ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he died at the Battle of Lützen in 1632.
Sweden reached its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X after the treaty of Roskilde in 1658.
The Swedes conducted a series of invasions into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge.
Charles defeated the Polish king Augustus II and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszow in 1702.
After the success of invading Poland, Charles decided to make an invasion attempt of Russia which ended in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava in 1709.
After a long march exposed to cossack raids, Russian Tsar Peter the Great's scorched-earth techniques and the cold Russian climate, the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and enormously outnumbered against the Russian army at Poltava. The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire.
Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea.
Charles XIII launched a military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905.
The 1814 campaign was the last war in which Sweden participated as a combatant.
Sweden is the homeland of the Germanic ethnicity and culture.
In the 9th and 10th centries, Swedish Vikings invaded and settled in parts of Eastern Europe as far as Constantinople and the Caspian Sea. They founded the first kingdom of Russia.
All the Tsars of Russia until the last one, Nicholas II, were of Swedish Viking descent.
Sweden has the smallest gender employment-rate gap in the developed world, with only 4% more men in employment than women.
40% of Swedish women and 32% of Swedish men aged 25 to 64 participate in education or training. Compare it to the EU average is 10% for women and 9% for men.
As of 2006, Sweden was the most generous country in the world regarding aid to poor countries. It is the only nation where donations exceed 1% of the GDP.
With 42.7% of female parliamentarians (in 2002), Sweden has the highest proportion of women lawmakers in the world.
Sweden has the highest number or patents granted of an European country, with 271 per million people.
Sweden has, along with Denmark and Hungary, the highest standard V.A.T. rate in the world (25%).
With Ericsson, Sweden is a global leader in mobile telecommunication technology. The country also has the highest percentage of mobile phones per capita in Europe (108.4%), after Luxembourg. There are now more mobile phones than people in Sweden.
Sweden has an excellent reputation as a car maker with Volvo and Saab. Scania trucks are also Swedish.
The world-famous discount furniture chain was founded in Sweden in 1943.
The Swedish company holds 28% share of the household appliances market in the world. It owns over 40 brands, including AEG-Electrolux, Zanussi, Eureka and Frigidaire.
Europe's largest shopping mall is the Nordstan in Gothenburg, with approximately 180 shops and 150 offices on 320,000 sq. m.
The Stockholm Globe Arena is the world's largest hemispherical building, with a diameter of 110 meters, an inner height of 85 meters, and a total volume of 600,000 m³. It is also the world's largest scale model of the Solar System.
Stockholm is a beautiful city with Lake Malaren on it’s West Side and the Baltic Sea on it’s East Side.
Sweden is a member of the European Union (EU).
The National Anthem Of Sweden is - Du Gamla Du Fria (Thou Ancient, Thou Free).
The National Day of Sweden is celebrated on June 6.
The Swedish flag is based on the Scandinavian Cross design first adopted by Denmark about 800 years ago. The colors were taken from the Swedish coat of arms, which depicts three golden crowns on a blue background. The flag has a yellow cross on a blue background.
The Swedish Parliament is called Riksdag and is situated in Stockholm. The house of Parliament is called Riksdagshuset. There are 349 Members of Parliament (MPs).
The Prime Minister is called Statsminister in Sweden.
The King is the Head of State and his functions and duties are defined in the 1974 Constitution Act.
There are three levels of governments; national level, the counties and the municipalities.
The municipality council’s supreme decision-making body is called kommunstyrelsen.
In total there are 286 municipalities.
Police protection, highways and major roads, power plants etc. are matters handled by the national government.
Sweden is divided into three major regions, from south to north; Götaland, Svealand and Norrland.
Norrland is the biggest region by area, 58% of Sweden and covers the land from the city of Gävle and north.
At the parliament (riksdag) in Västeras in 1544, Sweden was proclaimed an evangelical kingdom.
Sweden is divided into 13 Lutheran dioceses; each one headed by a bishop.
The Swedish language is similar to the English alphabet as, but we three more letters: å, ä and ö. In alphabetical order, these are at the end of the alphabet, in that order.
When you say "Grandfather" in English you don’t know if it’s your father’s father or your mother’s father. In the Swedish language we can tell from the word if the "Grandfather" is on your father’s side or your mother’s.
The Swedish word for father is far and mother mor.
If a man called Anders Nilsson had a son named Peter and a daughter named Anna, the children’s full name would be - Peter Andersson and Anna Anderssdotter. That is Peter son of Anders and Anna daughter of Anders.
If Peter had a son called Nils, then Nils’s full name would be Nils Petersson. The women did not change their last name when they married.
Surnamnes ending in "son" were normally spelled with two "s". Example: Andersson, Johnsson, Pettersson, Olsson etc.
These ways of giving surnames (patronymic) are still used on Iceland.
In the Swedish language we do have a word for century, "arhundrade", but it’s seldom used. The period between 1700 and 1799 would be referred to as "1700-talet" in Swedish. In English that would be the 1700’s.
The expressions with AM or PM regarding clock time would not mean much for them. So if you write 9 PM most people would be confused and wonder if you mean 9 o’clock in the morning or in the evening.
In the Swedish language we have a word for a 24-hour period called dygn. There are 7 "dygn" in a week. In English you would say "day and night".
The currency of Sweden is called krona (crown). The currency code is - SEK. There are 100 ore in one krona.
The central bank of Sweden is the Sveriges Riksbank, or Bank of Sweden (founded in 1668).
In Sweden we have a medieval right, The Right of Public Access ("Allemansrätten"). It allows you to roam about freely in the countryside, forests and fields or to go camping by a lake etc. There is no need to go to special nature reserve.
- By Sunil R Yadav
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