Sweden

1
Sweden

• Land of legends home of kings

2
Geography
Surface area 449 964 km2 Population 9,0
millions Largest cities Stockholm ( apr. 1
million) Göteborg (apr. 500 000) Malmö (apr. 270
000) Uppsala (apr. 180 000) Linköping (apr. 140
000)
3
Geography (cont.)

• Population density 20/km2
• Compare with e.g. India 324/km2
• About 80 of population live south of Uppsala

4
Geography (cont.)

• Highest mountain Kebnekaise (2111m)
• Biggest lakes Vänern
• (5 585 km2) and Vättern
• Longest river Torneälv

5
Geography (cont.)

• Sweden is relatively close to the north pole.
  This means long days in the summer, short in the
  winter
• North of the arctic circle, the sun wont rise
  at all at the end of December and it will never
  set at the end of June

6
Flag etc.
Swedens flag Origin and symbolism debated, but
the flag has been the same since about 16th
century
National coat of arms Symbols for different kings
and rulers between 13th and 16th century
7
The monarchy

• Sweden is a constitutional monarchy
• King Carl XVI Gustav
• Queen Silvia
• Princesses Victoria (crown princess) and
  Madeleine
• Prince Carl Philip

8
Government

• Parliamentary system with one chamber Riksdagen
  (349 delegates)
• No president, King official head of state but the
  Statsminister (Prime minister) holds actual
  power.
• Elections every 4th year

9
Government (cont.)

• Government parties Moderaterna (Right-wing),
  Folkpartiet (Liberal Party), Centern (Centre
  Party) and Kristdemokraterna (Cristian Democrats)
• Other big parties
• Socialdemokraterna (Social democrats).
• Vänsterpartiet (Left-wing)
• Miljöpartiet

10
Government (cont.)

• Statsminister Fredrik Reinfeldt (Moderaterna)

11
Government (cont.)

• State body devided into three levels
• Stat (national)
• Landsting (regional, 21 in all of Sweden)
  Linköping belongs to Östergötlands län
• Kommun (city, county, 290 in all of Sweden)
• We live in Linköpings kommun

12
European Union

• Sweden has belonged to the European Union (EU)
  since 1994
• In a 2004 referendum we voted not to join the
  European Monetary Union (EMU).
• Sweden is one of the EU-countries where the EU
  has lowest rate of popularity

13
Currency

• Krona (SEK) Aprox. 9 Euros, or 6.2 US
• 100 öre 1 krona, only pieces of 50 öre are used
• Bills of 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 kronor
• Famous swedes on bills include
• Carl Von Linné (botanist and naturalist, 100
  kronor bill)
• Jenny Lind (soprano singer, 50 kronor bill)
• Selma Lagerlöf (writer, 20 kronor bill)

14
Religion

• Official religion is Lutheran church
• About 82 belong to this church but Sweden is a
  highly secularised society and church attendance
  is generally low
• Catholic church about 180 000 members
• Muslim communities about 130 000 members
  (estimated in 2003)
• Orthodox church about 100 000 members

15
Religion (cont.)

• Small comunties of almost every other faith in
  the world Jewish, Hindu, Buddist etc.
• In religious terms, Sweden is a very tolerant
  society

16
Demography (cont.)

• Average life expectancy
• 77 years for men (3rd highest in the world)
• 82 years for women (5th highest in the world)
• Mortality and fertility is generally low (on
  average, every woman gives birth to 1.7 children)
• Population increase almost exclusively due to
  immigration

17
Festivites

• Christmas - Jul
• 24th of December most important, thats when
  Santa Claus shows up with present for the kids
• 25th and 26th of December also national holidays
• Originally celebrated to commemorate the birth of
  Jesus Christ in Bethlehem
• Christmas dinners usually include ham, swedish
  meatballs, sill and porridge.

18
The snaps

• Snaps is a traditional swedish strong liquor,
  similar to vodka but with spices.
• Every region and many destilleries have their own
  way of making snaps and there are literally
  hundres of different kinds.
• We drink it at most of the traditional
  festivities

19
Festivities (cont.)

• New years eve - Nyårsafton
• Celebrated on the 31th of December
• People dress up, have dinner or party.
• When the clock strikes 24.00, fireworks are shot
  off and we toast in champagne

20
Festivities (cont.)

• Easter - Påsk
• Dates change from year to year. In 2008 easter
  week is 20th to 24th of March with the most
  important night, Påskafton on the 22th of March
• People get together and eat easter dinner
  consisting of, among other things eggs, Janssons
  frestelse and sill
• For the kids, parents hide eastereggs filled with
  candy in the house or garden.

21
Festivities (cont.)

• Valpurgis Night
• On the 30th of April
• Bonfires are lit and songs are sung to
  commemorate the conquest of spring over winter

22
Festivities (cont.)

• National day Nationaldagen
• 6th of June
• Not widely celebrated but it is a national
  holiday
• Origin among other things, Gustav Vasa, a famous
  swedish king in the 16th century, was coronated
  on the 6th of june 1523

23
Festivities (cont.)

• Midsummers eve Midsommarafton
• Always on the Friday closest to the longest day
  of the year. In 2008 that happens on the 20th of
  June
• Based on old heathen tradition and fertility
  rituals
• In olden days, this night had a number of magical
  properties (compare to e.g. A midsummer nights
  dream by William Shakespeare)
• People get together, eat the new seasons
  potatoes, sill and drink snaps. Also, we dance
  silly dances imitating frogs.

24
Festivities (cont.)

• Kräftskiva
• No specific date but parties are held during the
  crayfish season in the end of August
• We eat crayfish, sing songs and drink snaps

25
Famous Swedes

• Alfred Nobel
• Inventor of dynamite whose fortune is the basis
  for the Nobel prize
• Ingrid Bergman
• Hollywood
• ABBA
• Popgroup with international successes in the
  1970s
• Olof Palme
• Politician and statsminister with many
  international ties, assasinated in 1986
• Ingvar Kamprad
• Founder of IKEA
• Björn Borg
• Famous tennisplayer in the 1970s
• Selma Lagerlöf
• Nobel Prize winner in literature