1. Midsummer's Eve (Midsommar): Observed on the Saturday between 20th and 26th June, Midsummer's Eve is one of Sweden's most important holidays. People gather around maypoles decorated with flowers and foliage, dance traditional folk dances, eat pickled herring and drink schnapps.
2. Christmas (Jul): Celebrated on December 24-25, Christmas is a time for family and friends to come together and enjoy traditional Swedish food such as ham, meatballs, and gingerbread cookies. Gifts are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and many attend church services on Christmas Day.
3. Easter (Påsk): Easter in Sweden is a combination of Christian and pagan traditions. It falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. Many people decorate their homes with twigs, feathers, and painted eggs, and children dress up as witches and go door-to-door asking for candy.
4. Lucia Day (Luciadagen): Observed on December 13, Lucia Day celebrates Saint Lucy, a Christian martyr who was said to have brought light into darkness. Young girls dress in white robes with red sashes and wear wreaths of candles on their heads, while singing traditional songs.
5. National Day (Nationaldagen): Celebrated on June 6, National Day commemorates the day Sweden became a sovereign state in 1523. There are usually flag-raising ceremonies and public gatherings, and many people spend the day picnicking and enjoying the outdoors.
Sweden has four distinct tourist seasons:
1. Winter Season (December-February): Winter in Sweden can be very cold and snowy, but it's also a great time for winter sports like skiing and snowboarding. Popular destinations include Åre, Sälen, and Idre.
2. Spring Season (March-May): Spring is a beautiful time to visit Sweden as the snow melts and flowers begin to bloom. Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö are great cities to explore during this season.
3. Summer Season (June-August): Summer is peak tourist season in Sweden, with long days and warm weather. The archipelago outside of Stockholm is a popular destination for swimming, boating, and hiking.
4. Autumn Season (September-November): The fall foliage in Sweden is stunning, especially in northern areas such as Abisko National Park. It's also a good time for outdoor activities like hiking and fishing.
Recommendations:
- Be prepared for cold temperatures and snow if visiting during the winter season.
- Book accommodation and activities well in advance if traveling during the summer season as it can be crowded.
- Enjoy the beautiful colors of nature during the autumn season by taking scenic drives or hikes.
As an AI language model, I do not have access to real-time information about current visa rules or fees for specific countries. Visa requirements and fees can change frequently and are subject to a range of factors such as the purpose of the visit, length of stay, and the applicant's nationality.
However, in general, citizens of certain countries may require a visa to enter Sweden, while others may be exempt from the requirement. The type of visa required will depend on the purpose of the visit, e.g., tourism, business, study, or work.
It is recommended that travelers check the website of the Embassy of Sweden in their country or the Swedish Migration Agency for up-to-date information on visa requirements, processing times, and fees. In addition, applicants may need to provide supporting documents such as a passport, travel itinerary, and proof of sufficient funds for their stay.
Overall, the cost of a Swedish visa will vary depending on various factors such as the type of visa, the country of application, and the length of stay. It is best to consult official sources for the most accurate and up-to-date information on visa requirements and fees.
1. Dala Horse - a hand-carved wooden horse, which is a symbol of Sweden. The average price for a small one is around 100 SEK ($12 USD) and can be found in souvenir shops all over Sweden.
2. Swedish crystal - known for its high quality and intricate designs, Swedish crystal can vary in price depending on the size and complexity of the piece. A small vase or bowl can cost around 500-1000 SEK ($60-$120 USD). You can find it in Glassworks and gift shops.
3. Swedish candy - a popular souvenir that is easy to find and transport home. Expect to pay around 30-50 SEK ($4-$6 USD) for a bag of assorted candies. Many supermarkets and convenience stores sell them.
4. Reindeer skin - a warm and cozy souvenir that is perfect for cold winters. The price varies depending on the size and quality of the skin but expect to pay around 2000-3000 SEK ($240-$360 USD). These can be found in specialty shops or at markets in Lapland.
5. Viking souvenirs - replicas of Viking artifacts like jewelry, weapons, and clothing are popular souvenirs in Sweden. Prices vary depending on the item and quality, but basic items start at around 100 SEK ($12 USD). These can be found in museums or specialty shops in Stockholm.
Note: Prices are estimates and may vary depending on location and store.
Hello and thank you for providing me with your location. Based on that, I suggest the following itinerary for a one week trip.
Day 1: Begin your trip by visiting Gamla Stan in Stockholm, Sweden's capital city. This historic district is home to colorful buildings, cobblestone streets, and numerous shops, cafes, and restaurants. Spend your day exploring the area and taking in the beautiful scenery.
Day 2: Take a trip to Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. Known for its vibrant music scene, delicious seafood, and world-renowned art museum, this city has much to offer. Visit the Gothenburg Maritime Museum, where you can learn about the area's seafaring history and see an impressive collection of ships and other maritime artifacts. End your day with dinner at one of the city's many seafood restaurants.
Day 3: Explore the beautiful countryside of Sweden's Småland region. This area is known for its lush forests, rolling hills, and charming small towns. Visit the town of Vimmerby, the birthplace of beloved children's author Astrid Lindgren. You can tour her childhood home and visit the nearby theme park dedicated to her famous character, Pippi Longstocking.
Day 4: Take a trip to Malmo, Sweden's third-largest city. This cosmopolitan city offers plenty of cultural attractions, including the Moderna Museet Malmo, a contemporary art gallery housed in a former power station. You can also take a stroll through the city's picturesque parks and gardens or explore the local food scene.
Day 5: Head north to visit the stunning Lofoten Islands in Norway. This archipelago is known for its dramatic landscapes, including towering mountains, pristine beaches, and crystal-clear lakes. Take a scenic drive through the islands and stop to go fishing or kayaking.
Day 6: Spend a day in the university town of Uppsala, located just north of Stockholm. Visit the city's grand cathedral and the nearby botanical gardens. You can also take a stroll through the charming streets lined with shops and cafes.
Day 7: End your trip with a visit to the Abisko National Park in northern Sweden. This park is known for its stunning Northern Lights displays, as well as its beautiful hiking trails, lakes, and forested areas. You can also take a guided tour of the park's famous Sky Station, which offers incredible views of the night sky.
I hope you find this itinerary enjoyable and informative. Have a great trip!
Since you're looking for a two-week itinerary, I suggest exploring some lesser-known destinations in addition to the more popular ones. Here are some ideas:
Uppsala: Just an hour north of Stockholm, Uppsala is a charming university town with a rich history and plenty to see and do. Visit the 13th-century cathedral, the castle ruins, or explore the botanical gardens and parks. In the evenings, enjoy the lively student nightlife.
Luleå: Another northern Swedish town, Luleå is known for its ice roads, which freeze in winter and allow cars to drive over the frozen sea. You can also visit the Gammelstad Church Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with well-preserved 17th-century wooden buildings and a museum showcasing local culture and traditions.
Öland: If you want to experience Sweden's coastline and countryside, head to the island of Öland, located off the east coast. The island features miles of beaches, picturesque villages, and historic castles and fortresses. You can bike or hike along the coast, visit the famous Borgholm Castle, or relax in one of the many spas and resorts.
Jokkmokk: For a truly unique experience, visit the small town of Jokkmokk in northern Sweden during the annual Sami market in early February. The market celebrates Sami culture and traditions and offers traditional foods, crafts, and performances. You can also visit the Ájtte Museum of Sami culture and learn about the indigenous people of northern Scandinavia.
Sweden has many authors of worldwide recognition including August Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren, and Nobel Prize winners Selma Lagerlöf and Harry Martinson. In total seven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to Swedes. The nation's most well-known artists are painters such as Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles.
Swedish 20th-century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and actors Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman became internationally noted people within cinema. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson, Lasse Hallström, and Ruben Östlund have received international recognition.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Sweden was seen as an international leader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality having particularly been promoted. The early Swedish film I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin" that had been introduced earlier in the US with Ingmar Bergman's Summer with Monika.
The image of "hot love and cold people" emerged. Sexual liberalism was seen as part of modernisation process that by breaking down traditional borders would lead to the emancipation of natural forces and desires.
Sweden has also become very liberal towards homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Show Me Love, which is about two young lesbians in the small Swedish town of Åmål. Since 1 May 2009, Sweden repealed its "registered partnership" laws and fully replaced them with gender-neutral marriage. Sweden also offers domestic partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Cohabitation (sammanboende) by couples of all ages, including teenagers as well as elderly couples, is widespread. As of 2009, Sweden is experiencing a baby boom.
Historical re-creations of Norse music have been attempted based on instruments found in Viking sites. The instruments used were the lur (a sort of trumpet), simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums. Sweden has a significant folk-music scene. The joik, a type of Sami music, is a chant that is part of the traditional Sami animistic spirituality. Notable composers include Carl Michael Bellman and Franz Berwald.
Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition. Out of a population of 9.5 million, it is estimated that five to six hundred thousand people sing in choirs.
In 2007, with over 800 million dollars in revenue, Sweden was the third-largest music exporter in the world and surpassed only by the US and the UK. According to one source 2013, Sweden produces the most chart hits per capita in the world, followed by the UK and the USA. Sweden has a rather lively jazz scene. During the last sixty years or so it has attained a remarkably high artistic standard, stimulated by domestic as well as external influences and experiences. The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research has published an overview of jazz in Sweden by Lars Westin.
Before the 13th century almost all buildings were made of timber, but a shift began towards stone. Early Swedish stone buildings are the Romanesque churches on the countryside. As so happens, many of them were built in Scania and are in effect Danish churches. This would include the Lund Cathedral from the 11th century and the somewhat younger church in Dalby, but also many early Gothic churches built through influences of the Hanseatic League, such as in Ystad, Malmö and Helsingborg.
Cathedrals in other parts of Sweden were also built as seats of Sweden's bishops. The Skara Cathedral is of bricks from the 14th century, and the Uppsala Cathedral in the 15th. In 1230 the foundations of the Linköping Cathedral were made, the material was there limestone, but the building took some 250 years to finish.
Among older structures are also some significant fortresses and other historical buildings such as at Borgholm Castle, Halltorps Manor and Eketorp fortress on the island Öland, the Nyköping fortress and the Visby city wall.
Around 1520 Sweden was out of the Middle Ages and united under King Gustav Vasa, who immediately initiated grand mansions, castles and fortresses to be built. Some of the more magnificent include Kalmar Castle, Gripsholm Castle and the one at Vadstena.
In the next two centuries, Sweden was designated by Baroque architecture and later the rococo. Notable projects from that time include the city Karlskrona, which has now also been declared a World Heritage Site and the Drottningholm Palace.
1930 was the year of the great Stockholm exhibition, which marked the breakthrough of Functionalism, or funkis as it became known. The style came to dominate in the following decades. Some notable projects of this kind were the Million Programme, offering affordable living in large apartment complexes.
The Ericsson Globe, located in Stockholm, is the largest hemispherical building on Earth. Its dome has a diameter of 110 metres (360 feet) and took two and a half years to build.
Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper. The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter (liberal), Göteborgs-Posten (liberal), Svenska Dagbladet (liberal conservative) and Sydsvenska Dagbladet (liberal). The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (liberal). The ad-financed, free international morning paper, Metro International, was founded in Stockholm, Sweden. The country's news is reported in English by, among others, The Local (liberal).
The public broadcasting companies held a monopoly on radio and television for a long time in Sweden. Licence-funded radio broadcasts started in 1925. A second radio network was started in 1954, and a third opened 1962, in response to pirate radio stations. Non-profit community radio was allowed in 1979 and in 1993 commercial local radio started.
The licence-funded television service was officially launched in 1956. A second channel, TV2, was launched in 1969. These two channels (operated by Sveriges Television since the late 1970s) held a monopoly until the 1980s when cable and satellite television became available. The first Swedish-language satellite service was TV3 which started broadcasting from London in 1987. It was followed by Kanal 5 in 1989 (then known as Nordic Channel) and TV4 in 1990.
In 1991 the government announced it would begin taking applications from private television companies wishing to broadcast on the terrestrial network. TV4, which had previously been broadcasting via satellite, was granted a permit and began its terrestrial broadcasts in 1992, becoming the first private channel to broadcast television content from within the country.
Around half the population are connected to cable television. Digital terrestrial television in Sweden started in 1999 and the last analogue terrestrial broadcasts were terminated in 2007.
The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone, carved during the Viking Age c. 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore, there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only began to flourish when the language was standardised during the 16th century. This standardisation was largely due to the full translation of the Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible.
With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm (17th century), who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren (18th century), the first to write fluent Swedish prose; Carl Michael Bellman (late 18th century), the first writer of burlesque ballads; and August Strindberg (late 19th century), a socio-realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame. The early 20th century continued to produce notable authors, such as Selma Lagerlöf, (Nobel laureate 1909), Verner von Heidenstam (Nobel laureate 1916) and Pär Lagerkvist (Nobel laureate 1951).
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. The Swedish writer to have made the most lasting impression on world literature is the children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, and her books about Pippi Longstocking, Emil, and others. In 2008, the second best-selling fiction author in the world was Stieg Larsson, whose Millennium series of crime novels is being published posthumously to critical acclaim. Larsson drew heavily on the work of Lindgren by basing his central character, Lisbeth Salander, on Longstocking.
Apart from traditional Protestant Christian holidays, Sweden also celebrates some unique holidays, some of a pre-Christian tradition. They include Midsummer celebrating the summer solstice; Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) on 30 April lighting bonfires; and Labour Day or May Day on 1 May is dedicated to socialist demonstrations. The day of giver-of-light Saint Lucia, 13 December, is widely acknowledged in elaborate celebrations which betoken its Italian origin and commence the month-long Christmas season.
6 June is the National Day of Sweden and has since 2005 been a public holiday. Furthermore, there are official flag flying day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar. In August many Swedes have kräftskivor (crayfish dinner parties). Martin of Tours Eve is celebrated in Scania in November with Mårten Gås parties, where roast goose and svartsoppa ('black soup', made of goose stock, fruit, spices, spirits and goose blood) are served. The Sami, one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on 6 February and Scania celebrate their Scanian Flag day on the third Sunday in July.
Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway and Finland), was traditionally simple. Fish (particularly herring), meat, potatoes and dairy products played prominent roles. Spices were sparse. Preparations include Swedish meatballs, traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam; pancakes; pyttipanna, a spiced fried hash of meat and potatoes originally meant to use up any leftovers of meat; lutfisk; and the smörgåsbord, or lavish buffet. Akvavit is a popular alcoholic distilled beverage, and the drinking of snaps is of cultural importance. The traditional flat and dry crisp bread has developed into several contemporary variants. Regionally important foods are the surströmming (a fermented fish) in northern Sweden and eel in southern Sweden.
Swedish traditional dishes, some of which are many hundreds of years old, are still an important part of Swedish everyday meals, in spite of the fact that modern-day Swedish cuisine adopts many international dishes.
In August, at the traditional feast known as crayfish party, kräftskiva, Swedes eat large amounts of crayfish boiled with dill.
Swedes have been fairly prominent in the film area through the years. A number of Swedish people have found success in Hollywood, including Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo and Max von Sydow. Amongst several directors who have made internationally successful films can be mentioned Ingmar Bergman, Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström.
Interest in fashion is big in Sweden and the country headquarters famous brands like Hennes & Mauritz (operating as H&M), J. Lindeberg (operating as JL), Acne, Lindex, Odd Molly, Cheap Monday, Gant, WESC, Filippa K, and Nakkna within its borders. 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.
Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating in organised sporting activities. The two main spectator sports are football and ice hockey. Second to football, horse sports (of which most of the participants are women) have the highest number of practitioners. Thereafter, golf, orienteering, gymnastics, track and field, and the team sports of ice hockey, handball, floorball, basketball and bandy are the most popular in terms of practitioners. The Swedish national men's ice hockey team, affectionately known as Tre Kronor (English: Three Crowns; the national symbol of Sweden), is regarded as one of the best in the world. The team has won the World Championships nine times, placing them third in the all-time medal count. Tre Kronor also won Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006. In 2006, Tre Kronor became the first national hockey team to win both the Olympic and world championships in the same year. The Swedish national men's football team has seen some success at the World Cup in the past, finishing second when they hosted the tournament in 1958, and third twice, in 1950 and 1994.
Sweden hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics, Equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 1958. Other big sports events include the UEFA Euro 1992, 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup, 1995 World Championships in Athletics, UEFA Women's Euro 2013, and several championships of ice hockey, curling, athletics, skiing, bandy, figure skating and swimming.
In 2016, the Swedish Poker Federation (Svepof) joined The International Federation of Poker (IFP).
Before the 11th century, Swedes adhered to Norse paganism, worshiping Æsir gods, with its centre at the Temple in Uppsala. With Christianisation in the 11th century, the laws of the country changed, forbidding worship of other deities until the late 19th century. After the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s, a change led by Martin Luther's Swedish associate Olaus Petri, the authority of the Roman Catholic Church was abolished and Lutheranism became widespread. Adoption of Lutheranism was completed by the Uppsala Synod of 1593, and it became the official religion. 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. The Sami originally had their own shamanistic religion, but they were converted to Lutheranism by Swedish missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.
With religious liberalisations in the late 18th century believers of other faiths, including Judaism and Roman Catholicism, were allowed to live and work freely in the country. However, until 1860 it remained illegal for Lutherans to convert to another religion. The 19th century saw the arrival of various evangelical free churches, and, towards the end of the century, secularism, leading many to distance themselves from church rituals. 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. The right to stand outside any religious denomination was formally established in the law on freedom of religion in 1951.
In 2000, the Church of Sweden was disestablished. Sweden was the second Nordic country to disestablish its state church (after Finland did so in the Church Act of 1869).
At the end of 2022, 52.8% of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden; this number has been decreasing by 1-2 percentage points each year since 2001. Approximately 2% of the church's members regularly attend Sunday services. The reason for the large number of inactive members is partly that, until 1996, children automatically became members at birth if at least one of the parents was a member. Since 1996, only children and adults who are christened become members. Some 275,000 Swedes are today members of various Evangelical Protestant free churches (where congregation attendance is much higher), and due to recent immigration, there are now some 100,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians and 92,000 Roman Catholics living in Sweden.
The first Muslim congregation was established in 1949, when a small contingent of Tatars migrated from Finland. Islam's presence in Sweden remained marginal until the 1960s, when Sweden started to receive migrants from the Balkans and Turkey. Further immigration from North Africa and the Middle East have brought the estimated Muslim population to 600,000. However, only about 110,000 were members of a congregation around 2010.
According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2010,
* 18% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god".
* 45% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
* 34% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
According to a Demoskop study in 2015, the beliefs of the Swedish showed that
* 21% believed in a god (down from 35 percent in 2008).
* 16% believed in ghosts.
* 14% believed in creationism or intelligent design.
Sociology professor Phil Zuckerman claims that Swedes, despite a lack of belief in God, commonly question the term atheist, preferring to call themselves Christians while being content with remaining in the Church of Sweden. Religion continues to play a role in Swedish cultural identity. This is evidenced by the fact that the majority of Swedish adults continue to remain members of the Lutheran Church despite having to pay a church tax; moreover, rates of baptism remain high and church weddings are increasing in Sweden.
The total resident population of Sweden was 10,377,781 in October 2020. The population exceeded 10 million for the first time on Friday 20 January 2017.
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). , 87% of the population live in urban areas, which cover 1.5% of the entire land area. 63% of Swedes are in large urban areas. It is substantially higher in the south than in the north. 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 second- and third-largest cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. Greater Gothenburg counts just over a million inhabitants and the same goes for the western part of Scania, along the Öresund. The Öresund Region, the Danish-Swedish cross-border region around the Öresund that Malmö is part of, has a population of 4 million. Outside of major cities, areas with notably higher population density include the agricultural part of Östergötland, the western coast, the area around Lake Mälaren and the agricultural area around Uppsala.
Norrland, which covers approximately 60% of the Swedish territory, has a very low population density (below 5 people per square kilometre). The mountains and most of the remote coastal areas are almost unpopulated. Low population density exists also in large parts of western Svealand, as well as southern and central Småland. An area known as Finnveden, which is located in the south-west of Småland, and mainly below the 57th parallel, can also be considered as almost empty of people.
Between 1820 and 1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population at the time, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States. There are more than 4.4 million Swedish Americans according to a 2006 US Census Bureau estimate. In Canada, the community of Swedish ancestry is 330,000 strong.
There are no official statistics on ethnicity, but according to Statistics Sweden, 2,752,572 (26%) inhabitants of Sweden were of a foreign background in 2021, defined as being born abroad or born in Sweden with both foreign-born parents. Of these inhabitants, 2,090,503 persons were born abroad and 662,069 persons were born in Sweden to parents born abroad. In addition, 805,340 persons had one parent born abroad with the other parent born in Sweden.
Sweden has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 41.1 years.
The official language of Sweden is Swedish, a North Germanic language, related and very similar to Danish and Norwegian, but differing in pronunciation and orthography. Norwegians have little difficulty understanding Swedish, and Danes can also understand it, with slightly more difficulty than Norwegians. The same goes for standard Swedish speakers, who find it far easier to understand Norwegian than Danish. The dialects spoken in Scania, the southernmost part of the country, are influenced by Danish because the region traditionally was a part of Denmark and is nowadays situated closely to it. Sweden Finns are Sweden's largest linguistic minority, comprising about 5% of Sweden's population, and Finnish is recognised as a minority language. Owing to a 21st-century influx of native speakers of Arabic, the use of Arabic is likely more widespread in the country than that of Finnish. However, no official statistics are kept on language use.
Along with Finnish, four other minority languages are also recognised: Meänkieli, Sami, Romani, and Yiddish. Swedish became Sweden's official language on 1 July 2009, when a new language law was implemented. The issue of whether Swedish should be declared the official language had been raised in the past, and the Riksdag voted on the matter in 2005, but the proposal narrowly failed.
In varying degrees, a majority of Swedes, especially those born after World War II, understand and speak English, owing to trade links, the popularity of overseas travel, a strong Anglo-American influence and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films, and the relative similarity of the two languages which makes learning English easier. In a 2005 survey by Eurobarometer, 89% of Swedes reported the ability to speak English.
English became a compulsory subject for secondary school students studying natural sciences as early as 1849, and has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since the late 1940s. Depending on the local school authorities, English is currently a compulsory subject between first grade and ninth grade, with all students continuing in secondary school studying English for at least another year. Most students also study one and sometimes two additional languages. Some Danish and Norwegian is also taught as part of Swedish courses for native speakers. 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.
Before the 11th century, Swedes adhered to Norse paganism, worshiping Æsir gods, with its centre at the Temple in Uppsala. With Christianisation in the 11th century, the laws of the country changed, forbidding worship of other deities until the late 19th century. After the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s, a change led by Martin Luther's Swedish associate Olaus Petri, the authority of the Roman Catholic Church was abolished and Lutheranism became widespread. Adoption of Lutheranism was completed by the Uppsala Synod of 1593, and it became the official religion. 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. The Sami originally had their own shamanistic religion, but they were converted to Lutheranism by Swedish missionaries in the 17th and 18th centuries.
With religious liberalisations in the late 18th century believers of other faiths, including Judaism and Roman Catholicism, were allowed to live and work freely in the country. However, until 1860 it remained illegal for Lutherans to convert to another religion. The 19th century saw the arrival of various evangelical free churches, and, towards the end of the century, secularism, leading many to distance themselves from church rituals. 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. The right to stand outside any religious denomination was formally established in the law on freedom of religion in 1951.
In 2000, the Church of Sweden was disestablished. Sweden was the second Nordic country to disestablish its state church (after Finland did so in the Church Act of 1869).
At the end of 2022, 52.8% of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden; this number has been decreasing by 1-2 percentage points each year since 2001. Approximately 2% of the church's members regularly attend Sunday services. The reason for the large number of inactive members is partly that, until 1996, children automatically became members at birth if at least one of the parents was a member. Since 1996, only children and adults who are christened become members. Some 275,000 Swedes are today members of various Evangelical Protestant free churches (where congregation attendance is much higher), and due to recent immigration, there are now some 100,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians and 92,000 Roman Catholics living in Sweden.
The first Muslim congregation was established in 1949, when a small contingent of Tatars migrated from Finland. Islam's presence in Sweden remained marginal until the 1960s, when Sweden started to receive migrants from the Balkans and Turkey. Further immigration from North Africa and the Middle East have brought the estimated Muslim population to 600,000. However, only about 110,000 were members of a congregation around 2010.
According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2010,
* 18% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god".
* 45% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
* 34% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
According to a Demoskop study in 2015, the beliefs of the Swedish showed that
* 21% believed in a god (down from 35 percent in 2008).
* 16% believed in ghosts.
* 14% believed in creationism or intelligent design.
Sociology professor Phil Zuckerman claims that Swedes, despite a lack of belief in God, commonly question the term atheist, preferring to call themselves Christians while being content with remaining in the Church of Sweden. Religion continues to play a role in Swedish cultural identity. This is evidenced by the fact that the majority of Swedish adults continue to remain members of the Lutheran Church despite having to pay a church tax; moreover, rates of baptism remain high and church weddings are increasing in Sweden.
Healthcare in Sweden is mainly tax-funded, universal for all citizens, and decentralised, although private health care also exists. The health care system in Sweden is financed primarily through taxes levied by regional councils and municipalities. A total of 21 councils are in charge of primary and hospital care within the country.
Private healthcare is a rarity in Sweden, and even those private institutions work under the mandated city councils. The city councils regulates the rules and the establishment of potential private practices. While care for the elderly or those who need psychiatric help is conducted privately in many other countries, in Sweden, publicly funded local authorities are in charge of this type of care.
Healthcare in Sweden is similar in quality to other developed nations. Sweden ranks in the top five countries with respect to low infant mortality. It also ranks high in life expectancy and in safe drinking water. In 2018, health and medical care represented around 11% of GDP.
Children aged 1–5 years old are guaranteed a place in a public kindergarten (förskola or, colloquially, dagis). Between the ages of 6 and 16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Swedish 15-year-old pupils score close to the OECD average. After completing the ninth grade, about 90% of the students continue with a three-year upper secondary school (gymnasium), which can lead to both a job qualification or entrance eligibility to university. The school system is largely financed by taxes.
The Swedish government treats public and independent schools equally by introducing education vouchers in 1992 as one of the first countries in the world after the Netherlands. Anyone can establish a for-profit school and the municipality must pay new schools the same amount as municipal schools get. School lunch is free for all students in Sweden, and providing breakfast is also encouraged.
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. In 2000, 32% of Swedish people held a tertiary degree, making the country fifth in the OECD in that category. Along with several other European countries, the government also subsidises tuition of international students pursuing a degree at Swedish institutions, although a recent bill passed in the Riksdag will limit this subsidy to students from EEA countries and Switzerland.
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.
In recent centuries the country has been transformed from a nation of net emigration, ending after World War I, to a nation of net immigration, from World War II onwards. In recent years the country has received a massive influx of refugees and immigrants mainly due to the Syrian war which broke out in 2015. Sweden received more refugees per capita than anywhere else in Europe. In 2015 alone a record-breaking 163,000 people applied for asylum to a country of barely 10 million people.
The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, effects on upward social mobility, crime, and voting behaviour. There are no exact numbers on the ethnic background of migrants and their descendants in Sweden because the Swedish government does not base any statistics on ethnicity. This is, however, not to be confused with the migrants' national backgrounds, which are recorded.
Immigrants in Sweden are mostly concentrated in the urban areas of Svealand and Götaland. Since the early 1970s, immigration to Sweden has been mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in Asia (particularly Western Asia) and Latin America. In 2019, Sweden granted 21,958 people asylum, up from 21,502 in 2018.
In 2021 one in five people (2,090,503) in Sweden were born abroad. The ten largest groups of foreign-born persons in the Swedish civil registry in 2021 were from:
* 1) Syria (196,077)
* 2) 🇮🇶 Iraq (146,769)
* 3) 🇫🇮 Finland (136,607)
* 4) 🇵🇱 Poland (95,076)
* 5) 🇮🇷 Iran (83,122)
* 6) 🇸🇴 Somalia (70,087)
* 7) 🇦🇫 Afghanistan (62,803)
* 8) Former Yugoslavia (62,444)
* 9) 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina (60,194)
* 10) 🇹🇷 Turkey (54,004)
According to an official investigation by The Swedish Pensions Agency on order from the government, the immigration to Sweden will double the state's expenses for pensions to the population.