CLASSROOM COUNTRY PROFILES SWEDEN (Sverige)
The Kingdom of Sweden is a country in Northern Europe, bordering Norway, Denmark, Finland, and the Baltic Sea. Its name derives from the North Germanic Svear tribe, which inhabited central Sweden and is first mentioned in the first centuries A.D. It gained its independence on June 6, 1523, marking June 6 National Day, the Swedish national holiday. Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1995 and is considered part of Scandinavia. While it constituted a mili- tary power in the 17th century, it has not participated in any war for more than two centuries, including both world wars. Operating under a democratic constitutional monarchy , the current Swedish government has been led by Prime Minister Stefan Löfven of the Swedish Social Democratic Party since October 2014.
Sweden is a primarily Christian country, with 87% identify as Evangelical Lutherans. The remaining 13% are split across Roman Catholics, Ortho- dox, Baptists, Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists, as well as non-affiliated Population: 9,880,604 (2016) people. The Church of Sweden (Lutheran) has been separated from the Area: 450,295 sq. km. (slightly larger than Califor- nia) state since 2000, making it the only Nordic country without a state Capital: Stockholm (935,619 pop.) church. Although a lot of Swedes identify as Evangelical Lutherans, Languages: Swedish (official) Sweden is a pretty secular country. Religion plays a big cultural role in GDP Per Capita: $49,700 (2016) traditional rituals and ceremonies, but only 29% of Swedes actually Head of State: King Carl XVI Gustav claim to be religious, according to the 2012 Global Index of Religion and Head of Government: Prime Minister Stefan Löfven Atheism, making it one of the least religious countries in the world. In 2014, Antje Jackelén became the first woman to hold the post of Arch- bishop of Uppsala, the chief representative of the Church of Sweden. School attendance in Sweden is compulsory for nine years for all children starting from the year they turn seven. The school system consists of three stages: The Swedish indigenous population is mainly made up of Swedes, with elementary school (years 1-3), middle school (years 4 Finnish and Sami minorities. Furthermore, foreign-born or first- -6), and secondary school (years 7-9). There is also generation immigrants living in Sweden include Finns, Danes, Norwe- an optional upper secondary school for years 10- 12,which most students complete as well. Sweden gians, Yugoslavs, Greeks, and Turks. spends 7.7% of its GDP on education. Sweden’s birth rate outscores its death rate, and further the country has a positive net migration rate. This leads Sweden to have a population growth rate of 0.81% (2016). However, like many other European coun- tries, Sweden faces the growing issue of its population aging, which could eventually jeopardize the Swedish welfare model.
Updated: 05/11/17 Drottningholm Palace
Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living with its combina- tion of free-market capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. Its econ- omy is heavily oriented toward foreign trade, with timber, hydropower,
and iron ore constituting the resource base of this arrangement. Due Split to continued economic weakness in Sweden’s European trading part- Oresund Bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark ners, Sweden’s economic growth slowed in 2013, but experienced modest growth in 2014-2015. Yet, Sweden continues to struggle with deflationary pressure. Famous Swedes include the music group As of January 1995, Sweden is a member state of the European Un- ABBA, soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Nobel ion. Likewise, it is part of the border-free Schengen area. Sweden has Prize founder Alfred Nobel, tennis stars Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, and Stefan Edberg, 20 seats in the European Parliament and has held the Presidency of authors Astrid Lindgren and Stieg Larsson, the Council of the EU twice, once in 2001 and again in 2009. It is, actress Ingrid Bergman, and scientist Anders however, not part of the eurozone as it remains concerned that joining Celsius. the European Economic and Monetary Union would diminish the coun- try’s sovereignty over its welfare system. The Swedish currency is the krona. Moreover, Sweden is not a member of NATO, instead opting for
a non-alignment in peace and neutrality in war policy. Hi ………………………………..………… Hej! Bye …………………………..………. …..Adjö! Good morning ………..…………God morgon! Yes ……………………………………….... Ja No ………………………………………….. Nej Please…………………..……………… Snälla! Thank you ………………………………. Tack! How are you? ...... Hur mar du? I do not understand ……….… Jag förstar inte I understand ...... Jag förstar What is your name?...... Vad heter du? My name is …………………….. Jag heter …
17th century Vasa battle Where are you from? …Varifran kommer ni? ship at Vasa Museum Do you speak English?...Pratar du engelska?
The United States experienced a major immigration wave from Sweden in the second half of the 19th century. In fact, Chicago in 1900 was considered the second-largest Swedish city in the world with a popula- tion of 150,000 Swedes and Swedish Americans at the time. As of 2009, more than 4,000,000 people in the United States claim some form of Swedish heritage. Most Swedish Americans live in Minnesota, California, and Illinois.
The flag is blue with a golden yellow cross USEFUL LINKS extending to the edges https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sw.html of the flag. The colors reflect those of the http://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/countries/member-countries/ Swedish coat of sweden_en arms—three gold crowns on a blue field. https://sweden.se/