17 Interesting Facts About Sweden

Sweden has the densest moose population in the world. If they all gathered together, they could form one of the country’s largest cities!

In 1979, Sweden was the first country to forbid hitting your children. Since this revolutionary ban, 35 other countries around the world have followed suit.

Sweden is known for its legendary bands of all genres. Internationally celebrated bands such as ABBA, Robyn, Lykke Li, Ace of Bass, and many more are of Swedish origin. Many songwriters and famous producers also come from Sweden.

Sweden is not a country known for struggling with poor health or obesity. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a shortage of fast food to enjoy. Sweden is the European country with the highest number of McDonald’s restaurants per capita!

Among Sweden’s admirable qualities, one is its successful recycling efforts. The country is so good at recycling that it actually imports and recycles garbage from outside countries, like Norway, and makes money from doing so.

Many people have heard of the Swedish King Erik XIII, or “Erik of Pommern.” What people don’t know is that he was forced out of the crown in 1439. Erik then fled to Gotland, a Swedish island, and named himself the Pirate King of the Baltic Sea. He held that crown for 10 years.

Swedish snus is a moist, smokeless tobacco powder product that originated in Sweden in the 19th century as a variant of snuff, discovered in France. Snus doesn’t require spitting and can be placed in the upper lip for extended periods of time. Although it’s a popular tobacco product in Sweden, protected by the Swedish Food Act, it’s unavailable for purchase elsewhere in the European Union.

Sweden is the home of many successful inventors and innovations. Some famous inventions to come out of the country include Tetra Pak by Erik Wallenberg, the pacemaker by Rune Elmqvist, dynamite by Alfred Nobel, and the spherical ball bearing by Sven Wingquist. Sweden has the highest number of patents per capita in all of Europe.

In 1974, North Korea agreed to buy around 1,000 Volvo cars made in Sweden. The money promised to be paid by Kim II-Sung still hasn’t been received. Roughly 45 years later, Sweden’s government is still sending invoices requesting their 2.7 billion Swedish Krona from North Korea.

Sweden’s total land area measures 447,435 km2 m. Although it is large in land mass, per square kilometer, Sweden has the second lowest population in all of Europe.

The Swedish passport gives its holders entry without a visa into 124 countries. Upon arrival, Swedes can then gain a visa to 33 other countries.

The standard Value-Added Tax in Sweden is 25%, making it one of the highest in the world. The only countries with a higher VAT are Bhutan, Hungary, Burma, and Djibouti.

Sweden is known to be a very giving country. Even though it isn’t anywhere near being the largest country in the world, it is the only country whose donations amount to more than 1% of the total GDP. Swedes are extremely proud of this generous fact.

Sweden is known for its lush forests, but most people don’t realize that it accounts for two-thirds of the country’s total land area at about 280,650 square kilometers.

Inland ice in Sweden was drawn 10,000 years ago. Since then, the land elevation has gone from 800 meters to 9.2mm. In southern parts of the country, land elevation is still lowering by small values of less than .5mm per year.

While the primary official language of Sweden is known to be Swedish, the country has five other official languages as well. Those languages are Finnish, Yiddish, Sami, Romani, and Meänkieli.

Sweden is one of the only countries that gives its residents and visitors the ability to freely roam in nature. You don’t have to pay any fees to go camping or apply for any permission to travel through private land. The only exception is regarding land that belongs to a private home or land that’s being cultivated. When roaming freely, people are welcome to pick wild berries, mushrooms and flowers. The only rule is no littering!