Sweden October 2020 Basic facts Geography Largest north

Sweden October 2020

Basic facts

Geography • Largest north european country • Borders with Norway, Finland Denmark Finland Norway Stockholm • The capital is called Stockholm Denmark Ös Denmark ter sjö n • Öresundsbron bridge connects Sweden and

Stockholm Yerevan

GMT + 2 (+1 during daylight savings) GMT + 4

Ruling • Monarcy but no formal powers (constitutional monarchy) • Family Bernadotte (since 1810) • King Carl Gustav XVI • Lots of charity work • Funded by ”apanage”, an annual, small sum paid from each tax payer

Politics • Representative democracy • Elections every 4 years • 4% to get a seat in the parlament • 349 seats in the parlament • 8 parties currently in the parlament

Languages • Indoeuropean language • Germanic language branch • 5 minority languages: Finnish, Meänkieli, Sami, Romani, Yiddish • English is widely spread and almost counts as a second language • Elective languages in schools

Nature • Archipelagos and lakes • Allemannsrätten • Fell • Vänern/Vättern/Mälaren • Northern lights

Wild animals • Moose, deer and other hoof animals • Lynx • Wolves • Foxes • Wild boars • Beavers

Weather • Temperate climate • Colder in the north • July is usually the warmest month • Gulf stream • Climate change is affecting the weather

Population • Population of Sweden is 10, 343, 403 (population density of 25/km 2) • 2, 634, 967 inhabitants have a foreign background (25% of the population) • Largest groups of foreign-born persons • Syria, Iraq, Finland, Poland, Iran

Armenians in Sweden • 3 282 armenians born in Armenia live in Sweden (2019) • Total amount of inhabitants with armenian heritage was 12 000 as of 2012 • Mainly concentrated in Stockholm, Uppsala and Södertälje • Alma Johansson helped orphaned Armenians during and after the genocide

Import • Most common imports (2019) • Road vehicles • Mineral oils • Both electronic and non-electrical machines and products • Most import from Europe and China

Export • Sweden exports more than it imports • Most common exports (2019) • Road vehicles • Medicine and pharmaceutical products • Paper and other wood products • Almost 73% of all export is to Europe

Inventions • Dynamite (1865) • Wrench (1892) • Zipper (1910) • Pacemaker (1958) • Three-point seat belt (1959) • Bluetooth (initiated by Ericsson 1989)

Music • Popular musical artists/bands like Avicii, ABBA, Roxette, Zara Larsson, First Aid Kid, Swedish House Mafia • Music festivals • Dansband • Rock/metal • Producers like Max Martin

Culture • Many free museums • Subsidized music lessons for kids • Nobel prize

Swedish design • Scandinavian design: Functional, minimaistic design with clean colors • IKEA is common • Packaging design • Mumin-collectibles

Popular buildings • Turning torso • Kaknästornet • City hall – Stadshuset • Stockholms stadsbibliotek • Globen

Popular sports • High interest in sports • Football • Floorball • Handball • Tennis • Horseback riding

Popular sports • Swimming • Winter sports (like skiing, hockey, skating) • Sport of athletics • Golf • Gymnastics

Famous athletes • Björn Borg (tennis) • Börje Salming (hockey) • Sarah Sjöström (swimming) • Ingemar Stenmark (slalom skiing) • Zlatan (football) • Gunde Svan (cross-country skiing)

Swedish companies • Fjällräven • Tetrapak • IKEA • Mojang DICE, Paradox Interactive • H&M • Spotify

Life in Sweden

Stockholm • Capital of Sweden • Most populated city with over 960 000 inhabitants (2020) • Most job opportunities • Archipelagos • Lots of bridges connecting the land

Housing • Housing shortage, especially in the larger cities • Expensive in the large cities • High standard

Education • Free education from kindergarten to university • 10 years of compulsory schooling • Theoretical or practical high school programs • CSN (financial aid – loans and grants) • Around 10 weeks of summer break

Work • Minimum 5 weeks paid holiday • Typical work week 40 hours • Casual dresscode in offices • Social security • Maternity and paternity leave

Holidays • National day of Sweden 6 th of June • International workers’ day (1 st of May) • Christian holidays • Christmas Eve 24 th • ”Klämdagar”

Transportation • Bus, tram, metro (Stockholm), commuter train, biking, car, taxi and boat • Mid and southern part of Sweden is better connected • Main airport is Stockholm Arlanda airport as well as Landvetter • Metro art in Stockholm

Agriculture • More agriculture in the southern parts of Sweden • Commonly grown crops include rapeseed, potatoes, wheat, corn, sugar beets and oat • Pigs, chickens, cows

Traditional food • Meatballs often served with potatoes, lingonberry jam • Surströmming (fermented fish) and other fishbased food (like sill) • Knäckebröd • Kaviar

Food • Coffe lovers • We love our candy! • Many vegetarians/vegans • Liqorice • ”Swedish” tacos • Chanterelle and blueberries

Food • Fika • ”Food” holidays • Semmeldagen / fettisdagen • Kanelbulledagen (cinnamon roll day) • Våffeldagen (waffle day) • Kräftskiva (crayfish party)

Health • Exercising and eating healthy is important for many in Sweden • Common ways to exercise • Walking/running - Midnattsloppet • Bicykling - Vätternrundan • Skiing – Vasaloppet • Hiking

Health • Subsidized public healthcare • Free dentist appointments up to age 24 • Free glasses for kids up to 20 years old • Low amount of smoking (7% as of 2018)