Area: total area: 449.964 sq. km
land area: 410.928 sq. km
comparative area: slightly smaller than California
Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subartic in north
Natural resources: zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower potential
Population: 8.778.461 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.52 % (1994 est.)
Birth rate: 13.5 births/1.000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate: 10.9 deaths/1.000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate: 2.62 migrants/1.000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 5.7 deaths/1.000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population 78.25 years
male 75.47 years
female 81.20 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Stockholm
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces
Independence: 6 June 1809 (constitutional monarchy established)
National holiday: Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June
Constitution: 1 January 1975
Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICY jurisdiction, with reservations
The king is Head of State, but he has no authority in the governing the state.
The Kings task has a representative and ceremonial character, he has a symbolic function. It is the government, Regeringen - consisting of the prime minister and the other ministers - that governs the state and is answerable to the parliament, Riksdagen. Parliamentarism means that Riksdagen must have confidence in Regeringen. Sweden applies a so-called negative parliamentarism, which means that Regeringen can stay in office as long as Riksdagen does not openly show a lack of confidence.
All public power in Sweden comes from the people. This is the first sentence in the Swedish constitution. The people are represented by the parliament. The Swedish parliament, Riksdagen, has since 1970, a unicameral system. It has 349 members who are elected in proportional elections for a period of four years at a time. The term of office was recently extended (in 1994) from three to four years. The right to vote in the general election is one that every Sweden citizen of age eighteen, residing in Sweden, provided that he or she is listed in the electoral register, has. Also Swedish citizens living abroad have the right to vote if they are he listed in the electoral register. The participation in the election is generally high in Sweden (between 1970 and 1994 it has ranged from 88.3 % to 91.8 %). The number of female M.Ps in Riksdagen is one of the highest in the world. After the 1994 election, approximately 40 % of the M.Ps are women.
National product - GDP: $153.7 billion (1993)
National product real growth rate: -2.7% (1993)
National product per capita: $17.600 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1993)
Unemployment rate: 8.2 % (1993)
Budget: revenues: $45.1 billion
expenditures: $73.1 billion
External debt: $19.5 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.8 % (1993 est.)
Currency: 1 Swedish krona (Skr) = 100 oere
800 - 1050 AD
The Viking Age. The Vikings worshipped the Asa gods such as Oden and Thor. The origin of the word Thursday comes from the Swedish word Torsdag, meaning ... you guessed it ... Thors day. Actually, most of the days of the week come from Nordic mythology.
900
Sweden becomes unified. Olof Skoetkonung is the first king.
1050
Sweden becomes christianized.
1610-1718
The Great Power period. Many wars lead to the expansion of Swedish territory.
1812
Sweden acquires its present borders. This is also the last time Sweden was engaged in war.
1850
The breakthrough of industrialism in Sweden.
1939-1945
Sweden is neutral during the World War II.
1950
With industry intact after World War II, and with high quality engineering, Sweden becomes one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
1951-1994
Almost nothing happened during this period...
1994
Sweden becomes a member of European Union.
Well, this was the serious part of this report about our research on Sweden over Internet.
And now, ladies and gentlemen, the funny part...
The most popular sports in Sweden are: what else than Football, Ice hockey, Bandy - the fastest team sport in the world. What? Bandy? What could that be? You can find everything on Internet, including the explanation of that, what Bandy is. This ball game was introduced in Sweden in 1894. The game is nowadays confined to: Nordic countries, Russia, Netherlands, North America, and Hungary. The World Championship were introduced in 1957, and since then Sweden has taken five titles. This game as such includes eleven players in each team, plus three substitutes. The playing ground should be on ice, measuring 90-110 meters in length, shielded by a 15 cm high wooden fence. The playground measures 45-65 m in width, and the goals are to be 3.5 m in width and 2.1 m in height. The kernel of the ball is made of cork which is enclosed in red cord, and is not to be more than 120 cm long, with a bend of a maximum of 6 cm in width including the wrap. The goalkeeper does not have a club. The game is played 2x45 minutes. Noteworthy is that the rules pretty much resemble those in football. Due to the large number of teams there is an elite series, and a division system also within this sport.
Do you hate Football, Ice hockey and have no idea what Bandy could be? So do I. In that case you still have the possibility to find out something more about squash and squash rules. You do more like individual sports, like athletics. Than I'm sure you must have heard about the high jumper Patrik Sjoeberg or another Patrik, this time Boden. Have you seen the last European Championships in Swimming this august in Vienna? I'm sure you will remember the name Anders Holmerz and some other names.
You missed this year's World Championships in Athletics in Goeteborg? You still have a chance to see many famous sportsmen in Goeteborg. The world Championships in Swimming will be held in Goeteborg in 1997.
Meatballs - "Koettbullar"
1 dl (0.5 cup) fine dry bread crumbs
1 dl (0.5 cup) light cream
1 dl (0.5 cup) water
200 g ground beef
200 g ground lean pork
1.5 tsp. salt
0.5 tsp. ground allspice
2 tbl grated yellow onion
(and/or 2 crushed garlic cloves)
1 egg, beaten
3 tbl margarine or butter
Mix the bread crumbs, cream and water; set aside for 5 minutes. Work together the beef, pork, salt, allspice and onion. Gradually add the bread crumbs, then the egg. Blend well and fry a sample to test the seasoning. Shape into balls. Make large meatballs to be served for dinner or small meatballs for the smoergasbord. Heat part of the margarine or butter in a skillet. Add 10 to 15 meatballs. Fry over moderate heat until the meatballs are beautifully brown and cooked through. Transfer to a serving dish and keep hot while frying the remaining meatballs. Serve with boiled potatoes, lingonberry preserve and a tossed salad.
And just for the end:
In many respects Sweden is a country of relatively small class differences. Many people consider the very concept of social class outdated, since it has become notoriously hard to define. A Swedish manual worker may well earn as much as a lower official, and his children can choose to study at the same university as those of the company president. All in all, the principal of equal opportunity has had a strong position in Swedish society, much due to the long predominance of the Social Democratic Party in Swedish political life. The ideal that each and everybody has the same value is manifested in the Swedish forms of address. Just as in Anglo-Saxon countries, Swedes use only one form when speaking to a single person: du ("you"). Irrespective of the sex, age or social class of an addressee, du can always be used. Formerly there was a more polite form, Ni (corresponding to German "Sie") which was to be used, for instance, between strangers and by children who were addressing adults. Today it is only rarely used, and most of all by elderly people. Note, however, that it is still the form employed when talking to more than one person. Another characteristic of Swedish mentality is the urge to agree on things. Heated discussions are rare, and the best way to convince somebody in a matter is not to put maximum emotional energy into the discussion, but to give some good arguments. For this reason, foreigner sometimes think Swedish people undercooled and formal. They probably have a point there, but it should be remembered that the tendency towards rationality and objectivity most of all is seen in public and professional life. Swedish people can be very emotional, too, especially after 2 a.m. in a bar.
So. This is it. What else to add? Maybe that Swedes love foreign visitors. Most Swedes speak English, and many also French or German. It is ensured that you will feel welcome there (as it's written somewhere). If you don't have enough time or money to travel there, you can still surf on Internet and I guarantee you you'll learn lot about this Nordic country. To help you on your surfing after data's about Sweden, we (that's Sasa and Tasa) picked up some must-try-it sites:
first part of URL can tell you all
a lot of interesting links about Sweden
150 pages about SwedenMany happy hours on InterNet from Sasa & Tasa.