People and Society of Sweden

Nationality

Swede(s)

Ethnic Groups

indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks

Population

9,074,055

Population in Major Urban Areas

STOCKHOLM (capital) 1.385 million

Medical care in Sweden is comparable to that found in the United States. The Swedish medical system is state-run, so instead of visiting a local private general practitioner, you can visit a local medical center or clinic, called an "Akutmottagning" or "Vardcentral." You should be prepared to present your passport. The Swedish medical system does not cover people who don’t live in Sweden; nonresidents are expected to pay their own medical costs. In case of a medical emergency, use the emergency telephone number "112" to contact the appropriate emergency service. If you have special needs, you should consult your personal physician and take appropriate precautions, including bringing adequate supplies of necessary medication. You can bring medicines into the country as long as they are intended for a medical reason and your personal use. Medications categorized as narcotics may only be brought into the country to cover your personal use for a maximum of five days, three weeks, or three months,depending on the type, and must be accompanied by a note from your medical doctor stating why you need them. Class II and Class III narcotics may only be brought into Sweden to cover your personal use for a maximum of five days each time you enter Sweden. Medications categorized Class IV and Class V narcotics may be brought into the country to cover your personal use for three weeks, however if you are a foreign resident and in Sweden only temporarily, you may bring enough for the duration of your stay in Sweden, up to a maximum of three months. To find out the classification of your medication contact the Medical Products Agency in Sweden. In addition, stringent Swedish customs regulations prohibit travelers from receiving drugs from abroad after having arrived in the country. You may find local physicians reluctant to prescribe equivalent quantities or dosages. Prescriptions are dispensed at pharmacies called "Apotek" in Swedish. Most pharmacies are open only during normal shopping hours, but major cities will have a 24-hour pharmacy.

Literacy Definition

age 15 and over can read and write

Education Culture

Pre-school education in Sweden belongs to the public-care sector and is regulated under the Social Services Act of 1980. Only preschool for 6-year-olds is free of charge. All public child care is co-educational. Swedish children are required to attend school from ages 7 to 16.  The government provides free elementary and high school education.  Swedish schools include primary and secondary education.  The primary school has three divisions, first through third graders are in the junior state, and fourth through sixth graders are in the intermediate state.  Children in the intermediate state must study English and many continue to study English in high school.  Students enter the Senior state in seventh grade.  They begin to choose their own subjects.  In ninth grade, students select a specific course of study such as general education, home economics, or technology.  Some children go to secondary school after primary school. Children can choose from three types of secondary schools.  One type prepares students for a university. Another type provides courses in social, economic, and technical subjects. The third type offers programs in areas such as industry, handicrafts, and home economics.

• Lutheran87.0%
• Other13.0%

Swedish

The numbers in Swedish and in English are very similar. If, for example, you want to say 31 you just take the word for 30, "trettio", and the word for 5, "fem", and put them together to make "trettiofem". This works in exactly the same way as it does in English.  Sweden uses the Roman alphabet with three extra letters.  å ö ä.  Some words are the same in English and Swedish for example "man" and "person" are the same.

• Swedish

• 

  Anders Celsius

  Scientist · 1701–1744

  Anders Celsius was born in 1701 in Sweden. He succeeded his father as professor of astronomy at the University of Uppsala in 1730. It was there that he built Sweden’s first observatory in 1741. One of the major questions of that time was the shape of the Earth. Isaac Newton had proposed that the Earth was not completely spherical, but rather flattened at the poles. Cartographic measuring in France suggested that it was the other way around - the Earth was elongated at the poles. In 1735, one expedition sailed to Ecuador in South America, and another expedition traveled to Northern Sweden. Celsius was the only professional astronomer on that expedition. Their measurements seemed to indicate that the Earth actually was flattened at the poles. Celsius was not only an astronomer, but also a physicist. He and an assistant discovered that the aurora borealis had an influence on compass needles. However, the thing that made him famous is his temperature scale, which he based on the boiling and melting points of water. Celsius’ fixed scale for measuring temperature defines zero degrees as the temperature at which water freezes, and 100 degrees as the temperature at which water boils. This scale, an inverted form of Celsius’ original design, was adopted as the standard and is used in almost all scientific work. Anders Celsius died in 1744, at the age of 42. He had started many other research projects, but finished few of them. Among his papers was a draft of a science fiction novel, situated partly on the star Sirius.

• Alfred Bernhard Nobel

  Inventor · 1833

  Alfred Bernhard Nobel, Swedish inventor of dynamite who established the Nobel Prizes, was born in Stockholm, Sweden on Oct. 21, 1833.

Crime Information

Sweden has a low crime rate, though violent crime does occur on occasion. Most crimes involve the theft of personal property from cars or residences or in public areas. Pickpockets and purse-snatchers are becoming more prevalent. Many U.S. citizens fall victim to these highly-skilled thieves, especially at the main train stations in Stockholm and Gothenburg, and while riding the bus or train to and from airports. Do not put any bags containing valuables, such as your passport, down on the ground. Thieves particularly like computer bags. Pickpockets and purse-snatchers often work in pairs or groups so one can distract the victim while the other grabs the items; often, they operate in or near major tourist attractions such as Stockholm's Old Town, and also at restaurants, amusement parks, museums, bars, public transportation, including airports. Hotel breakfast rooms and lobbies attract professional, well-dressed thieves who blend in with guests and target purses and briefcases left unguarded by unsuspecting tourists and business travelers. Don’t leave your valuables in parked vehicles. Don’t buy counterfeit and pirated goods, even if they are widely available. Not only are the bootlegs illegal to bring back into the United States, if you purchase them, you may also be breaking local law.

Criminal Penalties

While you are traveling in Sweden, you are subject to its laws even if you are a U.S. citizen. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different than our own. There are also some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but illegal in the United States, and you can be prosecuted under U.S. law. Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking illegal drugs in Sweden are severe, and convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences and heavy fines. There is no bail system in Sweden, and U.S. citizens who are arrested may be held in custody until the trial is complete. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime prosecutable in the United States. If you break local laws in Sweden, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. It’s very important to know what’s legal and what’s not at your destination. Arrest notifications in host country: While some countries will automatically notify the U.S. Embassy if a U.S. citizen is detained or arrested in a foreign country, that might not always be the case. To ensure that the United States is aware of your circumstances, request that the police and prison officials notify the U.S. Embassy as soon as you are arrested or detained overseas.