Things to know about Sweden before you visit ⋆ Lifeguin

Interesting facts about Sweden you should know

Are you looking for facts about Sweden? Then you’ve come to the right place. We all know Sweden for IKEA or even H&M, but there is much more to the country. Sweden, or the Kingdom of Sweden, is part of the geographical region known as Scandinavia in northern Europe. Large forests cover half of the country, over 100,000 lakes dot the landscape, and let’s not forget the 24,000 islands. Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy with a head of government – the prime minister – and a head of state – the monarch.

Sweden is the fifth largest country in Europe and the largest Scandinavian nation. So let’s take a closer look at the most interesting facts before visiting.

Basic Facts about Sweden

Name: Sweden (Sverige)
Full Name: The Kingdom of Sweden (Konungariket Sverige)
Capital: Stockholm (the largest city). The second-largest city is Gothenburg.
Land area: 528,447 km² (172,754 square miles)
Population: 10,416,585 (July 2021)
Official language: Swedish
Currency: Swedish krona

Regions: Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities and 21 regions. But traditionally, it’s divided into three major “lands”, from north to south: Norrland, Svealand and Götaland. These regions are called “landsdelar”.
The Swedish flag is a blue field charged with a yellow Nordic cross that extends to the edges; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. The meaning of the Swedish flag colors is quite simple. The blue represents justice, loyalty, truth, vigilance, and perseverance. The yellow or gold color used on the cross is a representation of generosity.

Forests cover most of Sweden

More than half of Sweden is covered in forest. More precisely, 2/3 of Sweden’s land area is covered by forest, with a total area of 280 650km2. Private people own half of the land, and private companies own 1/4. The biggest single owner is the state, Sveaskog AB. The forested area includes tree plantations as well. The Swedish Forestry Act regulates forest management in both production and environmental terms.

Moose roam freely in the woods

With so much forest area, there is no wonder animals run freely. But with moose, we talk about 300 000 – 400 000 of them running freely in the woods.

The moose is the most popular animal in Sweden. They are often referred to as the king of the Swedish forest.

Each year 100,000 moose are hunted in autumn, but at the same time, the same amount is born in spring!

So, the moose population becomes stable in the summer. Moose are the national pride of Sweden, but at the same, it is a national delicacy.

Allemansrätten, the right of public access

Allemansrätten invites everyone to roam free and explore the beauty of Sweden. As long as you do not disturb and do not destroy, you are welcome to enjoy nature as much as you want.

The right of public access allows you to indulge in almost any form of outdoor recreational activity – from hiking and riding to swimming and berry picking.

It allows anyone to light a fire out in nature. But there are restrictions on safeguarding Sweden’s countryside.

Coffee is very popular

“Fika” is a thing! Swedes drink a lot of coffee, which is fostered through a tradition called “fika” – where friends, family, or colleagues meet for coffee or tea, often with something sweet on the side.

Most Swedes will enjoy at least one “fika” a day as an opportunity to bond. “Fika” is frequently translated as “a coffee and cake break.”

Sweden is a master of pop music

Swedish-produced or Swedish-written songs, including top British and American hits, have dominated the charts for years. There are many artists you don’t even know who are from Sweden.

Among the most popular ones is ABBA, which is still one of the world’s most famous bands in history, and when you travel abroad, it’s not uncommon for people to mention ABBA when they think about Sweden. But not only has ABBA made it to the international scene regarding music. Oh no. Among other famous ones are Zara Larsson, Avicii (R.I.P), Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Robyn, Måns Zelmerlöv, and Lykke Li.

Most Swedes live in urban areas

Sweden has three large cities – Malmö, Gothenburg, and the capital, Stockholm, and many smaller cities like Uppsala.

The trend for Swedes is to live in cities instead of the countryside.

Over 80% of the population lives in urban areas.

Read also about Things To Know About Finland Before Visiting

Be Lagom

As the Danes have Hygge, the Swedes have Lagom. Loosely translated, the word lagom means “just enough,” “in moderation,” and “appropriate.” It is interpreted in many aspects of life, but when talking about societal behavior, it means blending in appropriately without extreme displays of emotion.

Some will argue that lagom is a norm; some will say it’s something of a cliché.

Sweden has the highest number of patents per capita in Europe

We thank Sweden for a lot of inventions. Many of the things they invented we use every day in our lives.

GPS. Yep, the GPS system we use daily. It was Hokan Lans who came up with it, and it soon became the world standard for shipping and civil aviation – and is the basis for the GPS we use on our phones and everywhere else today. He also invented the computer mouse.
Adjustable wrench. It was invented by Johan Petter Johansson, who actually obtained more than 100 patents in his lifetime.
Skype. Once again, yes, we are talking about the software developed by Niklas Zennström where we could video call. Now we have a lot of other apps providing such services, but Skype was at the beginning of it all.
Tetra Pak. I am not sure about you, but for me, it’s hard to imagine a life without cardboard cartons. Invented by Eric Wallenberg during World War II.
The three-point seatbelt was invented by Nils Bohlin for Volvo. It helped the car company cement its reputation for safety and save lives around the world in the process. What’s most impressive is that Volvo gave the invention away, putting the safety of the world ahead of profit.
Zipper. Developed by Gideon Sundbäck and was called the ‘separable fastener.’ It was patented in 1917.
The nicotine replacement gum also originates in Sweden. The first product – Nicorette – was developed by Leo AB in Helsingborg.

And those are just a few innovations that have come from Sweden. Among others is also Candy Crush. Well, not exactly an everyday invention, but a beloved game. With 500 million downloads and counting, Candy Crush is crushing it. It was created by the Swedish gaming company King.

Smacking is banned in Sweden

You are reading correctly. If you want to physically punish your children, don’t come to Sweden. (Also, don’t smack your children in general).

They were the first country to ban smacking. You will face fines, arrest, anger management classes, and a whole lot more, including the scorn of society.

Sweden banned hitting, smacking, or spanking children in 1979, and it’s beyond rare to hear about it happening these days.

Everyone who meets a child is responsible for treating the child with respect.

Sweden has five official minority languages

Sweden’s population is very diverse, resulting in five official national minority languages and hundreds of others spoken around the country daily. The five minority languages are Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish, andMeänkieli (Tornedal Finnish).

Other frequently spoken languages include Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, Spanish, Kurdish, German, and Farsi.

There are a lot of McDonald’s

Sweden has the highest number of Mcdonald’s restaurants in Europe per capita. Even though not known for being unhealthy or obese, you still can find the highest number of Mcdonald’s in Europe here.

It’s also interesting that in recent years, many fast-food chains have tried to establish themselves in Swedish cities, but most of them have failed.

One has to wonder what the magic behind McDonald’s is.

Recycling is on a different level

The Swedish people love to recycle. Only 1% of waste ends up in landfills, with 50% being recycled or composted and 49% being incinerated for energy. That’s impressive. That’s what I call recycling.

One could not imagine this kind of recycling might cause a problem -there’s not enough waste left to keep the incinerators running. But there is a solution the Swedes came up with. They import waste from Norway and the UK to keep the lights on. And as a double bonus, the countries pay Sweden to take their waste away!

Stockholm’s metro is like a gallery

The architecture in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is stunning. However, if you want to see something extraordinary, you have to go underground.

Around 90% of the Stockholm metro stations have been decorated. Together they are forming one of the world’s most intriguing art galleries. More than 150 artists took part in the project that features mosaics, paintings, graffiti, installations, sculptures, and more.

North Korea owes a huge debt to Sweden

The debt is over 45 years old, and it’s owed to Volvo. It all happened when North Korea attempted to rebrand itself after the Korean War. They started some grand engineering projects using machinery bought from the West. Sweden was one of the first countries to jump aboard the hype and, in 1974, delivered 1000 Volvo 144GL luxury cars. But soon, it became clear that North Korea neither could nor wanted to pay for these vehicles. Instead, it was simply letting the bills pile up, and, to this day, the debt remains.

Now, the debt stands at around €300m, and while the country knows there’s little chance of seeing the money, they’re making sure it never gets forgotten!

Alcohol is a state-owned monopoly

You can buy and order alcohol and drinks in restaurants and bars as in any other place. However, if you want to buy a bottle for home, you can’t buy it in a grocery store like in many other countries. Here the Swedes resemble the U.S., although for different reasons. To buy alcohol in Sweden, you must go to Systembolaget, which are state-run liquor stores.

Sweden’s marketing is out of this world

Every country wants to attract tourists and visitors, and Sweden is no exception. But their marketing strategies are out of this world.

The Swedish Tourist Association has especially two popular ideas.

The first was Call a Swede phone line, where you called a random number, where some random Swedish citizen would pick up and answer your questions about Sweden.

The second initiative was on Twitter, where each week, a new citizen would take over the account and tweet things that interested them about their country, life, and work. Tweeters would also interact with the public and answer questions about the country as they saw it. The initiative ran for seven years, and more than 350 Swedish citizens had the chance to represent their country to the world.

The Midnight Sun

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in Sweden’s northernmost area from May to July. When the sun does not entirely sink below the horizon, 24 hours of daylight is created. So you are never in complete darkness. If you want to enjoy your sleep, don’t forget to bring a sleeping mask.

It goes the other way around as well. As winter approaches, the days become shorter. How far north you travel determines the hours of darkness you will experience. And those months make for perfect aurora sightings.

The Swedish royal family are not your typical royals

They were the first monarchy to change its rules of succession so that the first-born child of the monarch is heir to the throne, regardless of their gender. This amendment was passed by Swedish Parliament in 1980, just 3 years after Crown Princess Victoria was born and 1 year after Prince Carl Philip was born.

They are also known for being very passionate about the environment. The family does a lot of environmental work internationally as well.

Prince Carl Philip is known for being quite the athlete. For example, in 2003, he competed in the Vasaloppet, the longest cross country ski race in the world.

Note that the Swedish government is a parliamentary democracy, but there is a hereditary monarchy that acts in tandem with the Swedish government. Their role is ceremonial.

More quick facts about Sweden good to know

Be punctual. Come to the meeting at the appointed time. What is in some countries fashionably late is rude in Sweden.
Business casual means jeans. Generally, people in Sweden dress down when going to work, wearing jeans and a sweater, but they dress up more when going out in the evening.
To tip or not to tip when eating out, well, it’s okay either way. It’s common to round up to the nearest big number to show your server some appreciation.
People don’t do small talk in Sweden. A saying goes that Swedes are great friends but poor strangers. Swedes are generally helpful and welcoming to tourists, but you’ll rarely find them engaging in small talk with people they don’t know.
Attractions can have strange opening hours. Many museums are open daily during the summer high season but switch to a six-day opening schedule in the off-season, typically with Monday as the closed day.
“Semlor” is very popular (and delicious). Swedes consume 20 million “Semlor” per year.
Guadeloupe used to belong to Sweden.
Swedes are informal with names. They will all address you by your first name and expect you to do the same in conversation.
Tap water is alright to drink.

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