Sweden is located in Europe.

It is bordered by Norway on the west and Finland on the

east. It is also bordered by Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Sweden is the fourth largest country in Europe and is the 55th largest country in the world.
Sweden is between latitudes 55 degrees and 70 degrees North and longitudes 11 degrees and
25 degrees east.

Sweden is in the geographical region of Scandinavia. Large forests cover over half of the
country. There are also 100,000 lakes and 24,000 islands all open to the public. The Skagerrak,
the Kattegat and the Oresund straits separate Sweden and Denmark. 15 percent of Sweden lies
north of the Arctic Circle. Sweden has 25 different provinces based on culture, geography, and
history. They play an important role in a person’s self-identity. They are grouped into three
large parts, the northern Norrland, the Central Svealand and the southern Gotaland.

According to the 2013 census, Sweden has 9,723,809 as the population. Sweden has a
low population compared to other countries because it is fewer than 10 million which other
countries are well above. 85 percent of the population lives in urban areas though Sweden is an
agricultural country.

Stockholm is the capital city of Sweden. Its population according to the 2007 census is
789,024. Stockholm is built on 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden at the mouth
of Lake Malaren, by the Stockholm Archipelago and the Baltic Sea. The area has been settled
since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Birger Jarl.

Sweden has a mild climate with four distinct seasons. Although rainfall is higher in the
summer than in the winter, Sweden is humid all year round. The country can be separated into
three different climate zones. The southern climate zone has an oceanic climate, the central
climate zone has a humid climate, and the northern climate zone has a subarctic climate zone.
Sweden is high in latitude so the hours of daylight vary. The sun never sets for part of the
summer and it never rises for part of the winter since Sweden is north of the Arctic Circle. In
Stockholm daylight lasts for more than 18 hours in June and only 6 hours in December.

Interesting Facts About Sweden:

● The name Sweden comes from a warlike tribe that became powerful during 500 A.D.
● Sweden high school students get paid $187 a month to attend school
● Sweden has won over 625.5 Olympic medals in total
● There are over 260,000 reindeer in Sweden
● Minecraft, a popular video game, was created by a Swedish programmer named,
Markus “Notch” Persson
● Sweden is so good at recycling that they have to import trash from Norway to keep it up
 The first inhabitants of Sweden came 10,000 years ago and were hunter and gatherers.
The Swedish Viking Age lasted from the 8th century to the 11th century. Swedish Vikings mostly
traveled east and south. They traveled to Finland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, The Black Sea, and
Baghdad. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos saw that the Vikings were great at war and asked
them to be his personal bodyguards. They were known as the Varangian Guard. The Vikings
themselves, were perfect specimens, were very tall, blond and ruddy. They wore a garment
that covered half of their body but let a hand free. Each man had an axe, a sword, and a knife.

Sweden was a part of many wars but did not fight, only helped. The Thirty Year War
lasted from 1618 to 1648(29 years, 11 months and 22 days). It was one of the most destructive
wars in European history. It all began when the Holy Roman Empire tried to impose religious
rules and conformity on the people.

Sweden remained neutral throughout World War One. They played a huge role in
offering shelter to refugees. Sweden was under German influence for most of the war because
of the blockades that cut them off from the rest of the world. Sweden supplied steel to
Germany during the war. They also supported the Norwegian Resistance during the war and in
1943 helped rescue many Danish Jews from Nazi concentration camps.

The Swedish Empire started on the 17th century. Before the start of the empire, Sweden
was poor and barely populated. In the middle of the century, Sweden was the third largest in
Europe in land and area. Sweden had its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X.
The reason for Sweden’s success is because of Gustav I’s big changes on his Swedish economy
in the 16th century. He introduced the religion of Protestantism. In the 17th century Sweden
joined in many wars, like the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth and the horrible Battle of
Kircholm. One third of Finland population died in a famine in 1696. It also killed 10% of
Sweden’s population.
Sweden

By: Savannah Stachelek

General Information
 Table of Contents

1. General Information
2. History
3. Culture
4. Economy and Tourism
5. Conclusion
6. Pictures
7. Bibliography
History
Culture
Economy and Tourism
 The official language of Sweden is Swedish. Swedish is a North Germanic language. It
quite similar to Danish and Norwegian. Norwegian people have a hard time learning the
language, but Swedish people find it easy to learn Norwegian. Swedish is different than Danish
and Norwegian because of its pronunciation and spelling. Also, 90 percent of Swedes actually
only speak English.

The education system in Sweden is very different than the United State’s. In Sweden,
children in between the ages of 1-5 years old are guaranteed a spot in public kindergarten. It
emphasises the importance of play. The next stage is compulsory schooling. There are three
stages of compulsory schooling, lagstadiet- grades first through third, mellanstadiet- grades
fourth through sixth, and hogstadiet- grades seventh through ninth.

The next stage is upper secondary or gymnasium. It’s grades tenth through twelfth.
This stage is optional but recommended. There are many different universities and colleges in
Sweden. People who aren’t Swedish born are able to go to college tuition free.

Before the 11th century, Swedes followed the Norse Paganism religion. They
worshiped the AEsir gods. Also in the 11th century, Christianity changed the laws of the
country. The laws: forbidding the worship of other religions. Soon, Lutheranism became the
official religion of Sweden.

Sweden has many natural resources. They are iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver,
tungsten, uranium, feldspar, timber, and hydropower.
 Sweden’s main industries are iron and steel, wood pulp and paper products, bearings,
radios, and telephone parts.

There are many points of interest for tourists in Sweden. Stockholm is a great place to
visit in Sweden. It's the capital of the country and is widely celebrated. It is also one of the most
beautiful cities in the world.

The Ice Hotel is also a awesome place to visit. It's the largest hotel made of ice and
snow. It includes an Ice Church and a Ice Bar.

Kosterhavet is a Marine National Park in Sweden. It is around the car-free Koster Island.
It has many different plants and flowers on the island. It also has lobster and seal safaris!

The official currency of Sweden is Swedish krona. The Swedish krona is equivalent to .12
of a US dollar.
Conclusion
 The official language of Sweden is Swedish. Swedish is a North Germanic language. It quite
similar to Danish and Norwegian. Norwegian people have a hard time learning the language,
but Swedish people find it easy to learn Norwegian. Swedish is different than Danish and
Norwegian because of its pronunciation and spelling. Also, 90 percent of Swedes actually only
speak English.

The education system in Sweden is very different than the United State’s. In Sweden,
children in between the ages of 1-5 years old are guaranteed a spot in public kindergarten. It
emphasises the importance of play. The next stage is compulsory schooling. There are three
stages of compulsory schooling, lagstadiet- grades first through third, mellanstadiet- grades
fourth through sixth, and hogstadiet- grades seventh through ninth.

The next stage is upper secondary or gymnasium. It’s grades tenth through twelfth.
This stage is optional but recommended. There are many different universities and colleges in
Sweden. People who aren’t Swedish born are able to go to college tuition free.

Before the 11th century, Swedes followed the Norse Paganism religion. They
worshiped the AEsir gods. Also in the 11th century, Christianity changed the laws of the
country. The laws: forbidding the worship of other religions. Soon, Lutheranism became the
official religion of Sweden. Until 1860, it was illegal for Lutheran Swedes to convert to another
religion. Leaving the Church of Sweden became legal with the dissenter law of 1860. But, you
had to announce what religion you were going to worship. In 2000, Sweden ceased to have any
official church. At the end of 2012, 67.5 percent of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden.
That means only 2 percent of the church’s members attend Sunday services regularly.

Instead of having a president, Sweden has a king and a prime minister. The current prime
minister is Stefan Lofven. The current king is Carl XVI Gustaf. Kjell Stefan Lofven is a Swedish
politician who has been the Prime Minister since 2014. He has also been the Leader of the
Social Democrats since 2012. Carl XVI Gustaf has been the king since 1973. He is passionate
about environment, technology, and trade.

Sweden has many of the United States major holidays such as, Christmas, Easter, and
New Year’s Day.

Swedish fashion is very pivotal. Its also very elegant and regal. H&M, a popular clothing
store, is a very good example of the fashion in Sweden.
 Interesting Cultural Facts About Sweden:
● Every Saturday in Sweden children are allowed to visit a local store to buy a bag of pick
and mix candy. It is the one day of the week where children are allowed to have candy.
● Sweden is the country with the highest number of McDonald’s in Europe
● Sweden has won 30 nobel prizes
● Sweden has also won 5 peace prizes
● ABBA and Ace of Base are Swedish bands and were popular in the 70s, 80s, and 90s
 Sweden is a beautiful country and is a must see. It has many points of interests for tourist and locals
alike. I would love to go to Sweden, visit Stockholm, go to the Ice Hotel, and look at the castles. Sweden
is a great place to vacation at, go to school, and take many pictures!
- Ice Hotel

- Reindeer, Over 260,000 reindeer in Sweden

- KosterHavet Marine National Park

- Swedish coat of arms

- Swedish Beach

- Swedish Little Houses

 Bibliography
1. “Sweden” <https://sweden.se>

2. “Wikipedia” <https://www.wikipedia.org>

3. “Factslides” <www.factslides.com/s-Sweden>

4. “Fact Monster” <www.factmonster.com>