Are you looking for facts about Sweden? Then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of 17 Interesting facts about Sweden.
Sweden is officially called the Kingdom of Sweden. The land area of Sweden is the 4th largest in Europe. Around 2,000 years ago, the Svear people gave Sweden its name. In their language, svear meant “us” and rike meant “kingdom.” So, Sverige, the modern Swedish name of the country, means “Our Kingdom.” Sweden shares a land border with its Scandinavian counterparts Finland and Norway and is connected to Denmark by a bridge. The main official language of Sweden is Swedish (Svenska), but the country also has 5 other official languages – Finnish, Yiddish, Sami, Meänkieli and Romani. Low unemployment, a low birth rate, a highly developed welfare system and one of the world's longest life expectancies all contribute to modern Sweden having one of the highest standards of living in the world. Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave—and of those, 60 days are reserved for the father. In 2012, dads used 24% of the total parental leave. 89% of people in Sweden speak English. Forests cover over 50% of Sweden, there are also around 100,000 lakes and over 24,000 islands throughout the country. Sweden's right to public access laws allows these areas to be fully accessible by the public. There are 9.7 million people in Sweden. 85% of them live in cities. Wasps actually kill more people directly than any other animal in Sweden, about one per year. The Swedish Vikings of the 8th-10th centuries were a fearsome group, highly skilled at warfare they invaded and settled throughout Northern and Eastern Europe. During the 17th century, Sweden again emerged as a great power in Europe with the Swedish Empire gaining territories in Eastern Europe. There are 260,000 reindeer in Sweden. They eat mushrooms, lichen, grass, and herbs. Suovas is a word in the language of the indigenous Sámi people that refers to smoked reindeer meat fillets. Reindeer milk tastes sweet and looks like melted ice cream. While being part of the EU Sweden has retained its own currency the krona. A traditional and famous dish of Sweden is Swedish meatballs, served with gravy, boiled potatoes, and lingonberry jam. Ice hockey and football (soccer) are Sweden's main sports, other popular sports include handball, golf, gymnastics, athletics and cross country skiing. The Swedish monarchy is one of the oldest in the world. It dates back a thousand years and has included 11 dynasties, with the current one, the House of Bernadotte, ruling the longest.