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Facts about Sweden
Facts about Sweden
www.sweden.se
www.sweden.se/fact_sheets
CONTENTS
• General Information 3
• Arts & Culture 15
• Economy & Trade 22
• Education & Research 34
• Government & Politics 43
• Society & Welfare 57
• Sports & Leisure 72
• Technology & Infrastructure 73
• Travel & Tourism 77
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Facts about Sweden
www.sweden.se/fact_sheets
GENERAL INFORMATION
General Facts
• Area: 450,000 km2 (174,000 sq miles)
• 9 million inhabitants
• Capital: Stockholm
• Other major cities: Göteborg, Malmö
• Language: Swedish
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GENERAL INFORMATION
General Facts
• Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
• Head of state: King Carl XVI Gustaf
• Prime minister: Göran Persson (leader of the Social Democratic Party)
• Currency: 1 Swedish krona (SEK) = 100 öre, equal to approximately
EUR 0.11or USD 0.14
• Average life expectancy: men 77 years, women 82 years
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Geography
• Forests (mostly coniferous): 54%
• Mountains: 17%
• Cultivated land: 8%
• Lakes and rivers: 9%
• Highest mountain: Kebnekaise, 2,111 m (6,926 ft)
• Distance north–south: 1,574 km (977 miles)
• Distance east–west: 499 km (310 miles)
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Geography
• Average temperature IN JANUARY IN JULY
Malmö -0.2°C (31.6°F) +16.8°C (62.2°F)
Stockholm -2.8°C (30.0°F) +17.2°C (63.0°F)
Kiruna -16.0°C (3.2°F) +12.8°C (55.0°F)
• Daylight (approx. values) JANUARY 1 JULY 1
Malmö 7 hours 17 hours
Stockholm 6 hours 18 hours
Kiruna 0 hours 24 hours
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GENERAL INFORMATION
History
• Approx. 10,000 BC: Inland ice started to recede. First
settlements in Sweden date from this period.
• 8,000–6,000 BC: Population of the whole country begins
• 800–1050: Viking era. Christianization begins
• 13th century: Colonialization of Finland begins
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GENERAL INFORMATION
History
• 1350: Magnus Eriksson’s National Law Code
• 1397–1521: Sweden, Denmark and Norway united in the Kalmar Union.
Sweden gradually acquires Baltic territories.
• 1523: Gustav Vasa elected King of Sweden
• 1527: Reformation of the Church
• 1611–1718: Great Power Era
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GENERAL INFORMATION
History
• 1630–48: The Thirty Years’ War
• 1700–21: Great Northern War. Loss of Baltic possessions.
• 1719–72: The Era of Liberty. Parliamentary government.
• Gustav III (1771–1792) reintroduces absolutism
• 1809: Finland lost to Russia
• 1814–1905: Union with Norway
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GENERAL INFORMATION
History
• 1818: Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte became king under the name of
Karl XIV Johan
• 1850: Industrialization begins
• 1911:Universal suffrage for men. Women’s suffrage follows in 1921.
• Sweden remains neutral in world wars I and II
• 1986: Assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme
• 1995: Membership of the European Union
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GENERAL INFORMATION
The Swedish Language
• Swedish—national language of Sweden, native tongue of some
90 per cent of its inhabitants
• Nordic language, belonging to the Germanic branch of the Indo-Europea
family of languages
• Also spoken by about 300,000 Finno-Swedes in Finland
• One common language in Scandinavia until the 9th century. Many runic
inscriptions from this period
• German has influenced Swedish more than any other foreign language
• Swedish taught at some 200 universities outside Sweden
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GENERAL INFORMATION\
Monarchy
• Early Middle Ages: Elected kings.The Code of Kings 1350
• 15th century: Establishment of a parliament, the Riksdag, with four
estates: nobility, clergy, burghers, and landowning farmers
• Gustav Vasa. Monarchy becomes hereditary
• The Era of Liberty: reaction against royal absolutism
• 1771 Gustav III ascends the throne
• 1914 Conflict between Gustav V and Parliament over the defence issue
• Carl XVI Gustaf, king of Sweden since 1973
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Population
• World’s oldest system of population records (since 1686)
• 71% live in nuclear families (1990 census)
• 80% live in urban areas and along the coast
• Fertility rate: 1.65 children per woman
• Sámi (Lapp) minority of some 15,000
• 15% of Sweden’s population were either born outside Sweden
or have two foreign-born parents
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Religion
• Christianity gained ground during the 10th and 11th centuries
• 80% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church
• The Church of Sweden ceased to be the state church in 2000
• Sweden has a large number of free churches, immigrant religious
denominations and other faiths
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ARTS & CULTURE
Artists and authors
• Endeavors to expand cultural institutions, support for independent
groups and cultural centres as well as purchasing works of art
for public buildings to create job opportunities for artists
• The state remunerates artists and sculptors for their works on display
in public settings and authors, translators and book illustrators
whose works are available at libraries
• Authors, translators and book illustrators can be awarded
a guaranteed author’s allowance
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ARTS & CULTURE
Cultural Policy
• The State finances central cultural institutions including the
Royal Opera, the Royal Dramatic Theatre and the national museums
• The State supports local and regional cultural activities through
financial contributions
• The municipalities bear responsibility for cultural policy at local level.
They support libraries, run music schools and give grants to theatres,
music, dance, exhibitions, museums etc.
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ARTS & CULTURE
Literature and Libraries
• 1,500 public libraries which loan books free of charge
• Authors receive payments from state funds when their books are
borrowed from public libraries
• Activities to promote reading among children and young people
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ARTS & CULTURE
Museums
• A group of national museums coordinates activities throughout
the entire museum system within their particular field
• Every county has a museum which acts as the centre for
museum-related activities in the region
• Rural heritage associations with collections or preserved environments
• An increasing number of new museums depict more recent times
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ARTS & CULTURE
Music
• The Swedish National Concert Institute, Svenska Rikskonserter,
supplements regional and local music production in cooperation with
the county music organization, Länsmusiken
• Eleven professional symphony and chamber orchestras playing
at regional level
• Independent groups, representing all musical genres
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ARTS & CULTURE
Popular Education
• Cultural activities mostly under the auspices of popular movements
and amateur theatre organizations
• 11 educational associations, each with its own ideological profile,
have local branches in most municipalities
• 1,700 art clubs
• 400,000 sing regularly in choirs
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ARTS & CULTURE
Theatre, Film and Dance
• Operan and Dramaten are the national stages for opera
and drama
• Svenska Riksteatern performs throughout the country
• 28 municipal/city and county theatre companies
• Around 200 independent theatre groups (also children’s theatre)
• Five permanent dance ensembles
• Around 20 films which are partly or wholly Swedish-financed are
premiered each year
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Agriculture and Food Processing
• Fewer than 3% of labor force in agriculture and forestry
• Crop-growing season averages around 240 days/year in the south,
120 days/year in the north
• 74% of agricultural enterprises combine farming with forestry
• Structural changes have resulted in fewer and larger farms
with fewer employees
• Food exports more than doubled between 1994–2000
• High standars in the field of animal welfare
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Economy
• GDP: SEK 2,440 billion; per capita: SEK 272,000 (2003)
• Unemployment: 4.9 % (2003)
• Enrolled in government-financed labor market programs: 2 %
• Sweden is in 17th place in the GDP per capita ranking (OECD)
• Expansion of the public sector came to a halt during the 1990s
• Most forecasts for 2004 and 2005 indicate a GDP growth
of 2–3 % per year
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Economy
• Diversified economy. Large public sector. Growing private sector
• Strong dependence on international trade
• High R&D expenditure
• Floating exchange rate
• New, stricter Competition Act 1993
• Dependence on a number of very large international companies
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Engineering industry
• Accounts for just over 50% of Sweden’s industrial production and
10% of total GDP
• 2/3 of Swedish-produced engineering products exported
• 50% of the sector are engine and vehicle manufacturers
• Most companies small or medium-sized
• High degree of specialisation
• Focus on knowledge-intensive engineering, services and R&D
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Foreign Trade
• Exports by important commodity groups (percent of total value)
January–November 2003:
– Forestry products 13.5%
– Mineral products 8.5%
– Chemical products 12.8%
– Energy products 3.2%
– Engineering products 50.5%
– Other 11.4%
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Foreign Trade
• Imports by important commodity groups (percent of total value)
January–November 2003:
– Forestry products 3.5%
– Mineral products 8.1%
– Chemical products 12.5%
– Energy products 9.5%
– Engineering products 45.5%
– Other 20.8%
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Forestry and the Forest Products Industry
• National forest policy: a reliable yield of timber while preserving
biological diversity
• Private individuals the largest category of owners
• Nearly 12 million hectares of forest certified as sustainably managed
• Original genetic material of Sweden’s tree species preserved in a fores
gene bank
• Sweden is among the world’s leading exporters of forest products
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Industry
• Some important Swedish industries:
– industries based on iron ore and wood
– telecommunications industry
– pharmaceutical industry
– aviation industry
– automotive industry
– defence material industry
– nuclear power industry
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Industry
• Supply of indigenous raw material an important for Swedish industry
• The main increase in output has been in knowledge-intensive
manufacturing and service sectors.
• Fast expansion in the telecommunications industry and
the pharmaceutical industry
• Mergers and acquisitions have been among the most important elements
of Swedish business restructuring in recent decades
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Mining and steel industries
• Iron played a dominant role for many centuries
• Manufacture of iron and non-ferrous metal goods started the
modern engineering industry
• Iron ore and sulfide extracted in northern Sweden
• Smelting of non-ferrous metals including copper, lead, silver and gold
• Focus on making high-value specialty steels
• Around 20,000 people employed in the steel industry
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Motor vehicle industry
• Central role in Swedish economy
• Exports of automobiles and automobile parts 15% of total
Swedish exports 2003
• One fifth of the global heavy truck production 2003 either Volvo
or Scania.
• Catalytic exhaust emission checks mandatory in Sweden.
Around 85% of cars fitted with catalytic converters
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ECONOMY & TRADE
Service sector
• 3.7 million people (85% of total workforce) employed in service sector
• Extensive public service sector funded by central or local government,
mainly health care, education and social services
• Expansion of private sector in late 1990s. Most job growth in knowledge
intensive fields
• Company and household-oriented services dominate private service sec
• Services have become more important in international trade
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Alfred Nobel and the Nobel Prizes
• Alfred Nobel (1833–1896), inventor, global industrial magnate,
linguist, philosopher and humanist
• The Nobel prizes are awarded for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or
Medicine, Literature and Peace (Norway). Since 1969 there is also
a prize in Economics in honor of Alfred Nobel
• In 2003 the prizes were each worth SEK 10 million
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Compulsory Schooling
• 9 years’ compulsory education
• More than 97% of all pupils attend municipal compulsory schools
• Few private schools. They generally receive government grants
• Parents and pupils shall have a free choice of municipal schools
and can also opt for publicly-funded independent schools
• The municipalities bear overall responsibility for the implementation
and development of education within the school system
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Compulsory Schooling
• Instruction, teaching material, school lunches and school
transport are free of charge
• Parents and pupils shall have a free choice of municipal schools
and can also opt for publicly-funded independent schools
• School health care for all pupils
• Schooling for pupils with learning difficulties is compulsory
for nine years plus one optional year
• English is the compulsory first foreign language
• Home language instruction available for pupils speaking a language
other than Swedish
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Education and research
• All children and young people in Sweden have equal access to
education, regardless of ethnic and social background or
residential locality
• Education is free on all levels
• Very few private schools and colleges
• Strong ambition to increase the number of women in leading
academic posts
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Higher Education
• No tuition fees
• Undergraduate education:
– Diploma or certificate (2 years)
– Bachelor’s degree (3 years)
– Master’s degree (4 years)
• Courses of varying length for professional degrees
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Higher Education
• To be admitted to post-graduate education, an undergraduate
program of at least 3 years’ duration must be completed
• Four years of doctoral studies and an approved dissertation are
required for a doctorate
• Study assistance available to all students who need help to finance
their studies
• Students are represented on decision-making bodies
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Research System
• Sweden is one of the countries that invests the largest
percentage of its Gross Domestic Product in R&D
• Most research carried out in universities,university colleges,
institutes of technology, professional schools etc
• Companies account for some 75% of R&D expenditure
• Long tradition of state funding for research
• Ministry of Education and Science has overall responsibility
for research policy
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Upper Secondary and Adult Education
• Municipalities are obliged to provide upper secondary schooling (16+)
for all residents who start studying before the age of 20
• Instruction is free of charge
• 17 national programs, 14 mainly vocational and three which
prepare for university studies
• About 98% of school leavers go on to the three-year upper secondary
school with vocational and academic programs
• Pupils aged 16–20 receive study assistance
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EDUCATION & RESEARCH
Upper Secondary and Adult Education
The public school system for adults comprises:
- municipal adult education
- adult education for people with learning difficulties
- basic Swedish for immigrants
Other forms of adult education (usually affiliated with political parties or
special-interest organizations):
- Folk high schools
- Voluntary educational associations
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Foreign Policy
• Sweden has not been at war since 1814
• Non-participation in military alliances with the aim of remaining
neutral in the event of conflict in Sweden’s vicinity
• High priority to working with the United Nations
• EU membership in 1995
• Participation in the multilateral disarmament negotiations in Geneva
since they started in 1962
• Active participant in efforts to address environmental threats
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Foreign Policy
• Sweden supports EU efforts to establish civilian and military
capacity for crisis management. Close cooperation with NATO
• Membership in Partnership for Peace (PFP)
• Endeavors to develop and reinforce UN peacekeeping operations
• Pursues a policy of non-participation in military alliances
• Supports the strengthening of open, multilateral trading
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Law and Justice
• Power to enact laws is vested in the Riksdag (Parliament)
• The Government has the power to issue decrees concerning less
important matters
• Spadework in preparation of bills is done by commissions of inquiry,
legal experts in the ministries and Parliament standing committees
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Law and Justice
• Hierarchy of general courts:
– district courts (tingsrätt)
– courts of appeal (hovrätt)
– Supreme Court (Högsta domstolen)
• Only cases which may set legal precedent are tried before the
Supreme Court
• Appeals against administrative authorities are heard in a three-tier
administrative court system
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Law and Justice
• Prosecution system divided into seven districts. Prosecutors conduct
preliminary investigations in criminal cases
• Defence counsel in criminal proceedings for serious crimes is
appointed by the court.
• Legal aid available under certain conditions
• Supervision of courts and administrative organs by the Chancellor of
Justice (Justitiekanslern, JK)
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Local Government
• 290 municipalities (kommun) with responsibility for:
– schools
– social services
– elder care, care of people with physical or intellectual disabilities
– physical planning and building
– certain environmental tasks
– rescue services
• 21 county councils (landsting) with responsibility for:
– health care services at hospitals and local health centres
– public dental services
– psychiatric care
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
National Government
• The Swedish Constitution consists of
– the Instrument of Government (1974)
– the Act of Succession (1810)
– the Freedom of the Press Act (1949)
– the Freedom of Expression Act (1991)
– the Parliament Act (1974)
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
National Government
• Unicameral Parliament, Riksdag, with 349 seats
• Direct parliamentary elections every 4 years. Right to vote from
the age of 18.
• The Government governs the country but is answerable to Parliament
• The monarch is head of state, with primarily ceremonial functions
• Government decisions are prepared by the ministries
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
The Ombudsmen
• The government-appointed ombudsmen:
– The Consumer Ombudsman
– The Equal Opportunities Ombudsman
– The Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination
– The Ombudsman against Discrimination because of Sexual Orientation
– The Children’s Ombudsman
– The Disability Ombudsman
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
The Ombudsmen
• The Press Ombudsman:
This self-disciplinary system of the Swedish press is not based on
legislation. It is entirely voluntary and wholly financed by Sweden’s
three press organizations
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Political Parties
• Two blocs: socialist and non-socialist
• Percentage of votes in last parliamentary election, September 2002:
– Social Democrats 39.8%
– Moderates (Conservative) 15.5%
– Liberals 13.3%
– Christian Democrats 9.1%
– Left Party 8.3%
– Centre Party 6.1%
– Green Party 4.6%
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Sweden in the European Union
• EU membership in 1995
• No to participation in the euro currency union in a referendum in 2003
• Sweden participates in the common foreign and security policy of the
EU although it retains its military non-alignment
• 10 votes in the Council of Ministers, 19 members of the European
Parliament, 1 member of the European Commission, 1 judge at
the Court of Justice
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Sweden and the United Nations
• Since joining the UN in 1946, Sweden has been a member of the
Security Council three times
• ‘Small countries need the UN’ – UN Secretary General
Dag Hammarskjöld (1905–61)
• About 15% of Swedish development assistance goes to UN social
and economic programs
• Emphasis on importance of conflict-prevention measures and operations
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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Taxes
• Income tax (local and national) on employment, capital and business
• VAT on goods and services
• Payroll fees (social security contributions) around 33% to finance the
national social insurance system, old age pensions and certain other
social services
• Capital is taxed at a standard rate of 30 %
• The tax system includes many direct and indirect taxes and contribution
• Local authorities are free to set income tax rates in their respective
municipalities and county council districts
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Child Care
• Municipalities obliged to provide preschool care and school-age
care. Grants provided to non-municipal childcare
• Preschool care for children aged 1–5 is provided at preschools,
family daycare homes and open preschools
• After-school childcare for children aged 6–12 is provided at leisure-tim
centres, in family daycare homes and at open leisure-time centres
• 75% of all children aged 1–5 are registered with preschools
and 74% of children aged 6–9 with leisure time centres
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Disability Policies
• Disability policies aim for full participation and equality
• Organizations for disabled people are run and dominated by people
with physical disabilities
• Institutional living replaced by group accommodation, service housing
and adapted homes
• Local authorities have ultimate responsibility for personal assistance,
preschool places, housing, home-help services etc. for the
disabled
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Equality between Women and Men
• 480 days’ leave of absence on parental benefit to look after a child
aged 0–8 years can be shared by parents.
• 60 of the days are reserved
for the mother, 60 for the father. These days cannot be transferred to t
other parent.
• More than 50% of fathers utilize their right to paid parental leave
during the child’s first year.
• Parents entitled to reduce their weekly working hours (against a
reduction in pay).
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Equality between Women and Men
• Political consensus on principles of gender equality. Gender main-strea
of day-to-day political and administrative work at the national level
• After the elections in 2002, 45.3% of Parliament members are women
• Men dominate senior positions in employer/employee organizations and
senior management in the private sector
• Efforts to encourage women to enter traditionally male-dominated
areas of labor market
• Efforts to promote gender equality in choice of study programs
and professions in upper secondary school
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Financial Circumstances of Swedish Households
• Transfer payments to households: pensions, child
allowance, housing allowance, sickness benefit, parental leave etc
• Social security benefit for those who cannot support themselves
• High income taxes
• VAT 25% on most goods and services, 12% VAT on food
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Financial Circumstances of Swedish Households
• High food prices compared to the rest of EU
• Biggest expense: housing, takes 30% of income
• Modern houses. Average living area 47 m2/p. p.
• Some 22% of households own a weekend cottage
• Price differences countryside – cities
• Well-developed, subsidized public transport.
Cars essential outside urban centres
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Health Care System
• Responsibility for health care rests primarily with the county councils
• A primary care sector treats diseases and injuries that do not require
hospitalisation
• Hospitals, nursing homes and service apartments
with 24 hours service a day
• 1 physician per 320 inhabitants
• Sweden’s costs for health care services are 8.5% of GNP
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Health Care System
• Freedom to choose health centre, doctor or hospital
• 29% of all visits to a doctor take place at private, publicly-funded,
medical establishments
• High-cost ceiling to limit personal expense for health care
• 900 pharmacies have the sole and exclusive right to retail medicines
• To become a registered doctor takes 5.5 years and a pre-registration
period of 18 months as a house officer. It takes 3 years to become a nur
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Immigrants
• About 15% of Sweden’s population were born outside Sweden or have
foreign-born parents
• Foreign citizens who have been resident for three years may vote and
run for office in local elections
• Tuition in Swedish for newly arrived immigrants
• Mother tongue tuition for school pupils
• Citizens of non-Nordic countries eligible for citizenship after five years
residence. A citizen of a Nordic country can become a Swedish citizen
after two years in Sweden
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Labor Market Policy
• The main aims of labor market policy:
– To match demand and supply in the job market
– To prevent bottle-necks
– To help those who find it difficult to get employment in the
ordinary labor market
• Programs to encourage demand for labor and generate employment
• Programs for the occupationally handicapped
• Start-your-own grants
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Labor Relations
• Basic agreement 1938. “The Swedish Model”, a compromise between
labor and capital
• Centralized collective bargaining replaced by negotiations at sector
level in the 1980s
• Biggest union confederations:
– LO, for blue–collar workers
– TCO, for white–collar employees
– SACO, mainly for graduates
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Labor Relations
• Around 80% of employees belong to trade unions
• Social welfare contributions (payroll fees) are paid by
employers
• New labor laws introduced in the 1970s to increase
employee involvement.
• Labor Court settles legal disputes on labor issues
• Leading employer organization is the Confederation of
Swedish Enterprise (Föreningen Svenskt Näringsliv)
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Facts about Sweden
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Mass Media
• 1766 – the first Freedom of the Press Act
• Current Freedom of the Press Act from 1949
• The Freedom of Expression Act covers radio, television, film and
other media
• Free access to public documents
• The responsible publisher–the individual held officially responsible
for contraventions of the Press Act
• The Press Council, the Code of Ethics and the Press Ombudsman
(non-governmental systems)
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Facts about Sweden
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Social Insurance
• The Swedish social insurance system is markedly universal in nature
• The social insurance system is financed mainly via taxes and
employer payroll fees
• Voluntary, state-subsidised unemployment insurance
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Facts about Sweden
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SOCIETY & WELFARE
Social Insurance
• Uniform social insurance system providing:
– health care
– parental insurance
– cash benefits during illness
– occupational injury insurance
– unemployment benefits
– pensions
– child allowance
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Facts about Sweden
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SPORTS AND LEISURE
General facts
• Around 22,000 clubs and associations that belong to one of 67
specialized sports federations
• Almost half of Sweden’s residents aged between 7 and 70 belong to a
sports club
• Around 650,000 participate in competitive sport
• 40% of women and 60% men in the specialized sports federations
• Central government and local authorities help to subsidize youth sports
• Voluntary sports leaders are the backbone of Swedish sporting life
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TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals
• Rapidly growing biotech industry. Drug discovery & development
dominant sub-sector
• Pharmaceutical industry annually invests around 25% of its
turnover on R&D
• Close collaboration with universities and an advanced health care
system open to testing new techniques have contributed to the
innovative nature of the Swedish pharmaceutical industry
• Extensive restructuring of pharmaceutical industry. Many international
mergers and acquisitions
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Facts about Sweden
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TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
Environment Protection
• Ecologically sustainable development an overall objective
• Active environmental work within the EU framework
• New Environmental Code January 1999 takes an integrated view
of the environment
• The right of common access, a rarely abused privilege
• About one third of Sweden’s energy supply is based on
renewable energy
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TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
Telecommunications and Information Technology
• Telecom and IT products account for about 15% of Sweden’s total
annual merchandise exports
• Sweden is second in the EU, after Finland, with regard to number of
researchers in companies with high-tech focus
• Products to enhance IT security are an expanding market
(more than 15% per year)
• Integration of mobile phone service with computer technology
• E-democracy is part of the day-to-day work of parliamentarians
• Most municipalities have advanced plans for broadband networks
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Facts about Sweden
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TECHNOLOGY & INFRASTRUCTURE
Telecommunications and Information Technology
• 98% of all companies with more than 10 employees have computers
• 74% of the population aged 16–74 use computers. 73% use
the Internet, one third with high speed connections
• Popular e-services are Internet banking, e-commerce,
contact with e-agencies and information searching
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Facts about Sweden
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TRAVEL & TOURISM
General facts
• Tourism accounts for 19% of Swedens total export of services
• Tourism accounts for 2.6% of Sweden’s GDP
• 3% of all Swedish employees work in tourism sector
• 14 million foreign visitors 2002
• Most popular destinations Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö
• Stockholm as a congress location similarly priced to rest of western Eur
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The Swedish Institute (SI) is a public agency established to disseminate knowledge abroad about Sweden's social and cultural
life, to promote cultural and informational exchange with other countries and to contribute to increased international
cooperation in the fields of education and research. The Swedish Institute produces a wide range of publications on many
aspects of Swedish society. These can be obtained directly from the Swedish Institute or from Swedish diplomatic missions
abroad, and many are available on Sweden.se.
SWEDEN.SE – the official gateway to Sweden – is Sweden's official Internet portal on www.sweden.se. It includes almost
everything you need to know about Sweden, ranging from basic facts about Swedish society to business issues, politics,
news, cultural life and current affairs.
In the Sweden Bookshop on Slottsbacken 10 in Stockholm's Old Town, as well as on www.swedenbookshop.com, you can buy
nonfiction, brochures and richly illustrated gift books on Sweden as well as a broad selection of Swedish fiction and children's
books – in English and many other languages – and Swedish language courses.
The Swedish Institute
Box 7434
SE–103 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Phone: +46–8–453 78 00
Fax: +46–8–20 72 48
E-mail: si@si.se
Internet: www.si.se
Photo page 1: Oscar Falk / Clooning / www.imagebank.sweden.se
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