Losec, an ulcer medicine, was the world's best-selling drug in the 1990s and was developed by AstraZeneca. During the early stages of the Scandinavian Viking Age, Ystad in the Danish province Scania and Paviken on Gotland were flourishing centres of trade, but they were not parts of the early Swedish Kingdom. [222][223] Since 1990, taxes as a percentage of GDP collected by Sweden have been dropping, with total tax rates for the highest income earners dropping the most. elm at one time formed forests, but have been heavily reduced due to Dutch Elm disease. [158] Regional Councils and Municipalities are independent of one another, the former merely covers a larger geographical area than the latter. Gamla Stan. Leaving the Church of Sweden became legal with the so-called Dissenter Act of 1860, but only under the provision of entering another Christian denomination. [232] Sweden has moved to generate electricity mostly from hydropower and nuclear power. However, Sweden's wealth Gini coefficient at 0.853 was the second highest in developed countries, and above European and North American averages, suggesting high wealth inequality. While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role in people's self-identity. On 1 July 2010, Sweden ended routine conscription, switching to an all-volunteer force unless otherwise required for defence readiness. Vnern is the third largest in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia. Both the prominent role of collective bargaining and the way in which the high rate of coverage is achieved reflect the dominance of self-regulation (regulation by the labour market parties themselves) over state regulation in Swedish industrial relations. The contemporary English variation was derived in the 17th-century from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German. The Judiciary is independent from the Riksdag, Government and other State administrative authorities. The new government will be backed by the biggest right-wing party, Sweden Democrats (SD) led by Jimmie kesson, meaning tougher immigration policies as a crucial part of a policy deal with the SD.[127]. [76] After a long march exposed to Cossack raids, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great's scorched-earth techniques and the extremely cold winter of 1709, the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and were enormously outnumbered against the Russian army at Poltava. [107], Between 1970 and 1990, the overall tax burden rose by over 10%, and the growth was low compared with other countries in Western Europe. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition. Sweden is divided in five major vegetation zones. A second radio network was started in 1954, and a third opened 1962, in response to pirate radio stations. Sweden ranks in the top five countries with respect to low infant mortality. Book Overview: The primary goal of language learning is to communicate with the native speakers in a natural and productive way. Later investigations revealed that the plane was actually gathering information for NATO. Trelleborg is the busiest ferry port in Sweden in terms of weight transported by lorry. [154][155][156][157] The local authorities, rather than the State, make up the larger part of the public sector in Sweden. Only Denmark has a larger public sector (38% of Danish workforce). About Sweden. The election saw Andersson resigning from her post, with the Moderate leader Ulf Kristersson the likely replacement. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the 20th century, people gradually moved into cities to work in factories and became involved in socialist unions. The country ranks among the highest for telephone and Internet access penetration. In August, at the traditional feast known as crayfish party, krftskiva, Swedes eat large amounts of crayfish boiled with dill. In 2006, Tre Kronor became the first national hockey team to win both the Olympic and world championships in the same year. Municipalities are also divided into a total of 2,512 parishes (frsamlingar). This model has been shown to be particularly effective at decarbonizing the nation's economy. [238] Its route to Sassnitz started as a steam-operated railway ferry in the 19th century, and today's ferry still carries trains to Berlin during the summer months. [322], The large influx of immigrants to Swedish schools has been cited as a significant part of the reason why Sweden has dropped more than any other European country in the international PISA rankings.[323][324][325][326]. Following the 1986 assassination of Olof Palme and with the end of the Cold War, Sweden has adopted a more traditional foreign policy approach. The health care system in Sweden is financed primarily through taxes levied by regional councils and municipalities. I hope to visit Peru again in the future. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. [233], Sweden is considered a "global leader" in decarbonisation. [320], There are a number of different universities and colleges in Sweden, the oldest and largest of which are situated in Uppsala, Lund, Gothenburg and Stockholm. Protester burns Koran at Stockholm mosque on Eid holiday [237] This includes a route from Ume across the Gulf of Bothnia to Vaasa in Finland. [246] After World War II a succession of governments expanded the welfare state by raising the taxes. This has largely been attributed to the reduction in state benefits and a shift toward the privatisation of public services. [111] The secretary general of NATO Jens Stoltenberg spoke of a fast-track membership process of just a few weeks, however NATO member Turkey has repeatedly hindered Sweden from joining the alliance, demanding Swedish action against the PKK and for Sweden to extradite alleged Kurdish "terrorists" to Turkey, the situation straining relations between the two countries. Earlier kings, for which no reliable historical sources exist, can be read about in mythical kings of Sweden and semi-legendary kings of Sweden. Since 1 May 2009, Sweden repealed its "registered partnership" laws and fully replaced them with gender-neutral marriage. If you would like to, you can change your cookie settings at any time. [198] At the same time, the country maintained relatively close informal connections with the Western bloc, especially in the realm of intelligence exchange. [239] Another ferry route to Travemnde originates from Malm. Most students also study one and sometimes two additional languages. [69], The Swedes conducted a series of invasions into the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge. Sweden also has a number of car ferry connections to several neighbouring countries. There are older historical divisions, primarily the twenty-five provinces and three lands, which still retain cultural significance. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. The obvious choice of home port was Gothenburg at Sweden's west coast, the mouth of Gta lv river is very wide and has the county's largest and best harbour for high-seas journeys. The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (liberal). The actual age of the kingdom of Sweden is unknown. During the era following the Reformation, usually known as the period of Lutheran orthodoxy, small groups of non-Lutherans, especially Calvinist Dutchmen, the Moravian Church and French Huguenots played a significant role in trade and industry, and were quietly tolerated as long as they kept a low religious profile. Soon, McDonald and El Rancho . If I were famous for a day, I'd like to My bedroom is the smallest room in the house. When you have Swedish in your back pocket, you have a passport to many new corners of the world. [276][277] About two million tonnes of waste are imported from neighbouring countries to make profitable recycling products. Certain items are subject to additional taxes, e.g. 4. Ystad and Trelleborg near the southern tip of Sweden have ferry links with the Danish island of Bornholm and the German ports of Sassnitz, Rostock and Travemnde, respectively, and ferries run to winoujcie, Poland, from both of them. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side, an expansion of its territories began, forming the Swedish Empire, which remained one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. [218] GDP per-hour-worked is growing 2.5% per year for the economy as a whole and the trade-terms-balanced productivity growth is 2%. [48] As a result, the peasantry remained largely a class of free farmers throughout most of Swedish history. You will hardly ever overhear conversations that are filled with social pleasantries and small talk, so don't rush to fill the gap. With these concessions, Lbeck merchants flocked to Stockholm, where they soon came to dominate the city's economic life and made the port city of Stockholm into the leading commercial and industrial city of Sweden. Sweden - Wikipedia The capital city Stockholm has a municipal population of about 950,000 (with 1.5 million in the urban area and 2.3 million in the metropolitan area). The ride at the Grna Lund park in Stockholm came partly off the rails, witnesses said . Low population density exists also in large parts of western Svealand, as well as southern and central Smland. In the first case, Svealand was first mentioned as having one single ruler in the year 98 by Tacitus, but it is almost impossible to know for how long it had been this way. The average population density is just over 25 people per km2 (65 per square mile), with 1 437 persons per km2 in localities (continuous settlement with at least 200 inhabitants). Olsen, Gregg M. 1999. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. [280], On average, 27% of taxpayers' money in Sweden goes to education and healthcare, whereas 5% goes to the police and military, and 42% to social security. Spices were sparse. Arts & Ideas. Because of the extensive mutual intelligibility between the three continental Scandinavian languages, Swedish speakers often use their native language when visiting or living in Norway or Denmark. Legislative power was (symbolically) shared between the King and the Riksdag until 1975. Copenhagen Airport also is the largest international airport in Scandinavia and Finland. [77] The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire. These companies, however, are composed largely of buyers who import fashionable goods from throughout Europe and America, continuing the trend of Swedish business toward multinational economic dependency like many of its neighbours. Written Danish hardly differs from written Norwegian. These texts were written by professionals in the teaching of the Swedish language. The Ericsson Globe, located in Stockholm, is the largest hemispherical building on Earth. [191] The Global Gender Gap Report 2006 ranked Sweden as the number one country in terms of gender equality.[192]. Out of a population of 9.5 million, it is estimated that five to six hundred thousand people sing in choirs. Alma's celebrating her birthday with friends and family. The foundations laid by Gustav would take time to develop. [28][29][30] The native Swedish name, Sverige (a compound of the words Svea and rike, with lenition of the consonant [k], first recorded in the cognate Sworice in Beowulf),[31] translates as "realm of the Swedes", which excluded the Geats in Gtaland. [38] Which kings (*kuningaz) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, Estonia, the Baltic countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad. As for literacy in Sweden itself, the runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the second century AD, but all that has come down to the present from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions on artefacts, mainly of male names, demonstrating that the people of south Scandinavia spoke Proto-Norse at the time, a language ancestral to Swedish and other North Germanic languages.[39]. Do the different Scandinavian countries understand each others In 2006 Sweden got its first majority government for decades as the centre-right Alliance defeated the incumbent Social Democrat government. Furthermore, there are official flag flying day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar. The sisters keep themselves very busy in their free time. Best places to visit in Sweden - Lonely Planet Their routes passed through the Dnieper south to Constantinople, on which they carried out numerous raids. The country's unique nature can be experienced from award-winning . [341] The law is enforced in Sweden by several government entities. Sweden held the chair of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2009. Up until the beginning of the 1920s, all laws in Sweden were introduced with the words, "We, the king of Sweden, of the Goths and Wends". In recent decades, a handful of Swedish writers have established themselves internationally, including the detective novelist Henning Mankell and the writer of spy fiction Jan Guillou. Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating in organised sporting activities. The main exports from Sweden were iron and copper. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Already during the first of those three periods, the 'Era of Liberty' (171972) the Swedish Rikstag had developed into a very active Parliament, and this tradition continued into the nineteenth century, laying the basis for the transition towards modern democracy at the end of that century.[189]. Gotland is a special case of being a region with only one municipality and the functions of region and municipality are performed by the same organisation.[185]. Sweden also has the Vindelfjllen Nature Reserve, one of the largest protected areas in Europe, totaling 562,772 ha (approx.