39 Facts About Sweden

Sweden is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, officially known as the Kingdom of Sweden.

Sweden is a Scandinavian country with thousands of inland lakes and coastal islands, as well as vast boreal forests and glaciated mountains.

Its main cities, the eastern capital Stockholm, as well as the southwestern Gothenburg and Malmö, are all coastal. Stockholm is made up of 14 islands.

It has over 50 bridges, a mediaeval old town called Gamla Stan, royal palaces, and museums like the open-air Skansen.

Sweden has 63% forest cover, making it one of the greenest countries in the world.

In addition, the Scandinavian country has over 90,000 lakes and more than 3,000 kilometres of coastline.

Sweden is one of the world's cleanest countries.

Many global companies and iconic brands have their roots in Sweden, including Ericsson, H&M, Volvo, Saab, Scania trucks, and Electrolux, to name a few.

The Swedish capital has one of the coolest public transportation systems in the world. Walking into a Stockholm metro station is said to be entering the "world's longest art exhibition," which spans more than 68 miles (110 kilometres).

Moose are Sweden's national pride; there are so many of them that the total number varies depending on the year and how many are hunted (moose is also a national delicacy). The woods are home to 300,000 to 400,000 moose.

Sweden's standard VAT rate is currently 25%, ranking it among the highest in the world alongside Norway, Denmark, and Croatia. The only countries with a higher VAT than Sweden are Bhutan, Myanmar, Djibouti, and Hungary.

The Swedish Passport is one of the most powerful passports in the world. The Swedish Passport is currently ranked fifth in the latest list of the best passports in the world, granting Swedes visa-free entry to 133 countries worldwide.

Södermalm is one of the coolest neighbourhoods in Stockholm, Sweden's capital. The hipster haven was named one of the "15 Coolest Neighborhoods in the World" by Vogue.

The Swedes were the first to develop nicotine replacement gum. Nicorette, the first product, was developed by Leo AB in Helsingborg in response to studies on smoking Swedish submariners who would switch from tobacco to chewing tobacco or snus to get their nicotine fix while on duty.

The Church of Sweden, which is Evangelical Lutheran, is the country's main religion, but it has been separated from the state since the millennium's turn.

Sweden is responsible for numerous inventions and innovations, including Tetra Pak (Erik Wallenberg), the Pacemaker (Rune Elmqvist), Dynamite (Alfred Nobel), and the Spherical ball bearing.

Sweden is a global astronomy pioneer, with the world's largest scale model of the solar system.

The sun is represented by the Ericsson Dome in Stockholm, the world's largest hemispherical building, and the model reaches 950 kilometres away in Kiruna, where the concept of Termination Shock - the end of the solar system - is marked. The scale is 1:20 million, and each object is marked with a model or statue. Mercury is only 3 kilometres from the centre, Earth is 7.6 kilometres away, and Pluto is 300 kilometres away.

Sweden is the only country on the planet where donations exceed 1% of GDP.

Sweden's geographical location in the far north causes the country to swing from one end of the daylight spectrum to the other throughout the year.

The Swedes are Viking descendants.

Sweden is Europe's sixth-oldest country.

The Kingdom of Sweden, founded in 970 AD by Eric the Victorious, is the world's eighth oldest monarchy. Carl XVI Gustaf is the current heir.

Since 1523, Stockholm has served as the permanent capital.

The Treaty of Stockholm, signed in 1813, secured military cooperation between the two kingdoms against Napoleon, and Sweden agreed to end its slave trade.

Sweden, one of the world's oldest parliamentary democracies, is officially a Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy.

Same-sex relationships were legalised in 1944, and Sweden was the first country in the world to allow transgender people to legally change their sex while also providing free hormone therapy in 1972. Sweden became the seventh country to legalise gay marriage in 2009.

One of the world's most progressive and peaceful countries.

Coffee is popular in Sweden, so much so that the Nordics are the world's largest coffee drinkers.

Sweden has one of the oldest monarchies in the world, dating back over a thousand years. In Sweden, there are numerous castles to visit, including the sprawling Royal Palace in Stockholm.

Fika is a nationally recognised break time in Sweden that occurs twice daily, where workers relax and enjoy a coffee, cake, and a chat.

Every year, the Swedes consume 20 million Semlor cakes!

Sweden was the first country in the world to make smacking (spanking) your children illegal in 1979. Since then, 35 more countries have joined the movement.

The famous ICEHOTEL is located in the village of Jukkasjärvi in Sweden's Arctic Lapland region. Every year, the hotel is built from scratch using two-tonne blocks of ice from the nearby Torne River.

Sweden is so good at recycling that it imports waste from other countries.

North Korea owes Sweden 2.7 billion SEK ($322 million).

Swedish (Svenska) is the country's primary official language, but it also has five other official languages: Finnish, Yiddish, Sami, Meänkieli, and Romani.

Sweden shares a land border with its Scandinavian neighbours Finland and Norway, as well as a bridge with Denmark.

Sweden's main sports are ice hockey and football (soccer), but other popular sports include handball, golf, gymnastics, athletics, and cross-country skiing.