Christie McManus
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Quick Facts Geography Society Lifestyle Economy Education Stereotypes
Christie McManus
Quick Facts Capital: Stockholm Language: Swedish. Population: 9.4million inhabitants – 0.14% of the worlds population. Currency: Swedish Krona (SEK) Area: 174,000 sq mi. – The third largest country in Western Europe. Working hours: 40hours a week Urban and Industrial land: 3% Christie McManus
Geography Sweden is a country in Northern Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsula. Its borders are Norway to the west; Finland to the northeast; and the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia to the east and south. Sweden has a long coastline on the eastern side and the Scandinavian mountain chain on the western border, a range that separates Sweden from Norway. At 450,295 km2, Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world. It is the 5th largest in Europe, and the largest in Northern Europe. Administratively Sweden is divided into 21 counties. In each county there is a County Administrative Board which is appointed by the government. In each county there is also a separate County Council, which is the municipal representation appointed by the county electorate. Sweden's natural resources include copper, hydropower, iron ore, lead, silver, timber, uranium, and zinc. Acid rain has become an issue because it is damaging soils and lakes and polluting the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The HBV hydrology transport model has been used to analyze nutrient discharge to the Baltic from tributary watersheds.
Christie McManus
Society Sweden remains one of the most egalitarian countries in terms of income distribution, and has one of the world’s lowest levels of poverty. It’s no surprise that Sweden consistently appears near the top of the Human Development Index, which ranks countries according to life expectancy, education and standard of living. While Swedes pay high taxes to maintain their prized social welfare system, they are no longer the highest-taxed people in the world. All power comes from the people. This is the foundation of Sweden’s parliamentary democracy. Everyone has the same rights and a chance to have their say, and everyone is free to scrutinize how politicians and public agencies exercise their power. General elections are held every four years. Some 7 million people in the country are entitled to vote and influence which political party will represent them in the Riksdag (the national parliament), county councils and municipalities. The 349 members of the Riksdag make the decisions and the Government implements those decisions. The Government may also submit proposals for new laws or amendments to laws for a parliamentary vote. In the latest election, in September 2010, Fredrik Reinfeldt became the first conservative Prime Minister to win reelection. Election turnout is normally high by international comparisons, although it has fallen to about 80 percent in recent decades. Swedish governance as a whole is built on decentralization. On a local and regional level, municipalities and county councils are autonomous political bodies with clearly defined areas of responsibility. Local councils deal with city planning and schools, for example, while county councils are in charge of areas such as healthcare and infrastructure. Sweden has been a member of the EU since 1995. This means that many new laws enacted in Sweden start out as EU directives. Christie McManus
Lifestyle The Swedish lifestyle varies greatly with the seasons. During the darker winter months, there are lights in the windows, evenings in the cinema, and winter sports during the day. In spring and summer, life is lived outdoors: music festivals, outdoor theatres and open-air museums are popular. Not only are the flowers blooming, the Swedes themselves are too. The Swedish lifestyle brings together a love of nature, good housing, environmental thinking and lots of culture – all tied up with awareness of health and a strong sense of equality. Efficiency is combined with a laid-back attitude, and old traditions blended with openness for new technologies. Swedes in general work hard but treasure their free time and enjoy long relaxing holidays. Swedish fashion ‘Less is more’ accurately describes much of Swedish fashion. There’s a fondness for discreet colors and a pared-down, refined appearance. As with so many aspects of life, Swedes tend to take a practical approach to what they wear, but this doesn’t mean there is any lack of creativity — as the Beckmans College of Design’s fashion show proves each year. Sport & leisure in Sweden Sweden is a nation of amateur athletes and sports enthusiasts. Swedes have a long history of international success in ice hockey, soccer, golf, skiing, athletics and tennis. In fact, Sweden has won the world championships eight times and the Olympics twice in ice hockey. It has also produced three of the best tennis players in history – Björn Borg (11 grand slam titles), Mats Wilander (7) and Stefan Edberg (6). Christie McManus
Soccer striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is Sweden’s unquestionably biggest sports star today. The technically gifted forward has been one of Europe’s top strikers for nearly a decade, reaping success with Ajax Amsterdam, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona and now AC Milan. Most people engage regularly in some sort of physical activity, such as team sports, working out at the gym, jogging or skiing, while football and ice hockey attract big TV audiences. Keeping fit and enjoying the great outdoors are very much part of Swedish culture. Many companies subsidize their employees’ sporting activities or gym memberships. Swedish schools shut for a week’s “sports vacation” in February each year, when many families head north to ski. This widespread involvement in sports helps explain why Sweden, as a relatively small country, has had such success on the international sporting stage. Swedish language Swedish has officially been the main language of Sweden since July 1, 2009, when a new language law was implemented. Besides protecting Swedish, the law also promotes and protects Sweden’s five national minority languages: Finnish, all Sami dialects, Torne Valley Finnish (Meänkieli), Romani and Yiddish. Swedish is a northern Germanic language, spoken by almost 10 million people. Norwegian, Danish and Swedish people normally understand each other, but Finnish is completely different, with its roots in what are called the Uralic languages. The Swedish alphabet has 29 letters, using the basic 26-letter Latin alphabet plus the three additional letters Å/å, Ä/ä and Ö/ö.
Christie McManus
Economy Sweden is today among the world’s richest and most technologically advanced nations. It has not always been this way: Sweden was a largely impoverished agrarian society until it was transformed into a center of heavy industry in the 19th and 20th centuries. Now the country has an impact on global business and industry far beyond its size, and companies with Swedish roots such as IKEA, H&M and Volvo are household names from Boston to Beijing. Sweden’s transformation has been helped by several factors, including avoiding involvement in the 20th century’s many wars and the country’s long history of entrepreneurialism. Economists and politicians have long pointed to Sweden as a role model because of its successful combination of generous welfare benefits and high-tech capitalism. It constantly places near the top in international rankings of competitiveness, innovation and standard of living. Taxes are high, but the streets are clean. The Swedish economy is built on rich reserves of iron ore and timber, and plentiful hydroelectric power. The main industrial sectors are forestry, telecoms, and the automotive and pharmaceutical industries. Today the country is among the world’s 15 richest in terms of GDP per capita, a status helped by high levels of education and a skilled workforce, excellent internal and external communications, and one of the highest levels of internet access.
Christie McManus
Education The educational system is based on tax-financed education for all, supported by publicly subsidized programs for further education, retraining, adult schools and study groups. The private business sector, meanwhile, offers an advanced system of further education and self-improvement. Interestingly, the proportion of high-school graduates is slightly higher among people with disabilities than those without. The opposite is true in higher education, although an increasing number of students with disabilities are now going to university and college. Â Almost all schools in Sweden, public and private, are free. The basic education consists of a nine-year compulsory school and a voluntary secondary school. Universities in Sweden offer well over 500 programs in English. The home of Alfred Nobel, Sweden has a proud tradition of innovation and cutting-edge research. Karolinska Institutet is one of several modern centers for research.
Christie McManus
Stereotypes Tall?
Shy?
Blonde?
Quiet?
Blue Eyes? Beautiful? Just like ABBA
Christie McManus
Thank You! Any Questions?
Christie McManus