20 Things You Didn't Know About Sweden

In line with worldwide tributes to the late Swedish EDM producer, Avicii - born Tim Bergling, here's an article on his homeland, Sweden. Tim Bergling passed away on the 20th of April, 2018, in Muscat, Oman. 

Sweden is located in Northern Europe, bordered by Norway and Finland, and connected to Denmark via a land bridge. Stockholm is the country's capital, and is home to approximately 871,990 people. 

Although Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, it has one of the lowest population densities in Europe - Sweden is home to only 9.5 million people. The official language spoken in Sweden is Swedish, and their currency since 1873 is the Swedish krona. Herewith 20 astonishing facts about Sweden.

1. Sweden became the first European country to establish national parks, in 1910. This is due to the Swede's love for nature.

2. Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies - 80.4 years for men, and 84 years for women.

3. Dynamite was invented in Sweden, by Swedish chemist, engineer, inventor, businessman, and philanthropist, Alfred Brenhard Nobel. Alfred Nobel is the founder of the Nobel Prize, which honors men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in chemistry, physics, physiology/medicine, literature and for work in peace. In his will, Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today's equivalent of 265 million dollars) as funding for Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prize initiative was founded "for the greatest benefit to mankind", in 1901.

4. Over half of Sweden's land (57% or 23 million hectares) is covered in forests, mainly pine and spruce.

5. Although English is not Sweden's official language, it is spoken by many Swedes. In 2013, for the second year in a row, Swedes were ranked as best in the world at speaking English, by EF Education First - a language proficiency company.

6. Parents are by law entitled to receive 480 days of leave upon the birth or adoption of a baby, applicable to both mothers and fathers.

7. Sweden is the world's third largest exporter of popular music. In 2011, Sweden produced music exports worth more than $150 million - the largest per capita in the world. The trail of Swedish pop music success begins with ABBA - veterans of Stockholm's pop scene.

ABBA's greatest hits compilation Gold is the United Kingdom's second best-selling album of all time. ABBA is the most successful Swedish band in pop history. Swedish House Mafia became the first Swedish group to ever play New York City's Madison Square Garden in December 2011; and Swedish DJ Avicii became the first dance music act to play Radio City Music Hall in New York in 2012.

8. Sweden is a tech superstar being behind some of the most recognizable global tech brands. Companies like IKEA, Spotify, Skype, Ericsson, H&M, Electrolux and Volvo were founded by Swedes. 

9. Sweden is one among nine of the European Union countries that do not use the Euro. The other eight are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the United Kingdom).

10. Sweden was the first country in the world to implement a ban on smacking children. 

Countries where corporal punishment is banned:

Albania (2010), Andorra (2014), Argentina (2014), Austria (1989), Benin (2015), Bolivia (2014), Brazil (2014), Bulgaria (2000), Cabo Verde (2013), Republic of Congo (2010), Costa Rica (2008), Croatia (1999), Cyprus (1994), Denmark (1997), Estonia (2014), Finland (1983), Germany (2000), Greece (2006), Honduras (2013), Hungary (2004), Iceland (2003), Ireland (2015), Israel (2000), Kenya (2010), Latvia (1998), Liechtenstein (2008), Lithuania (2017), Luxembourg (2008), TFYR Macedonia (2013), Malta (2014), Republic of Moldova (2008), Mongolia (2016), Montenegro (2016), the Netherlands (2007), New Zealand (2007), Nicaragua (2014), Norway (1987), Paraguay (2016), Peru (2015), Poland (2010), Portugal (2007), Romania (2004), San Marino (2014), Slovenia (2016), South Sudan (2011), Spain (2007), Sweden (1979), Togo (2007), Tunisia (2010), Turkmenistan (2002), Ukraine (2003), Uruguay (2007), Venezuela (2007)

11. Minecraft - the sandbox video game, was invented by Swedish game designer Markus "Notch" Persson. The game was later fully developed and published by the Mojang AB - the company he founded alongside Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser in 2010. Markus Persson sold the company in 2014 to Microsoft for $2.5bn. 

12. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is referred to as the "Venice of the North" or "Beauty on Water" because the city spreads out over 14 islands and 42 bridges.

13. The world's first ice hotel, Icehotel, was built in the village of Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, by architect Yngve Bergqvist. The hotel is entirely made of snow and ice from the Torne River, and is rebuilt annually, from December to April. Occupancy of its 60 rooms is available from December to April. Interior temperatures get as low as -22° C (-8° F).

14. The Swedish monarchy is one of the oldest in the world, and one of the few that allow female succession. Worth noting is the fact that there are 26 monarchies in the world. Sweden has had a king for more than a thousand years (1048 years as of date). 

15. Sweden's most revered scientist is Carl von Linné, née Carl Linnaeus, a botanist. He is best known for his work in taxonomy. Linnaeus created the system for classifying and naming organisms (plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, etc.). The foundation of his system of nomenclature is still in use today throughout the scientific world. An adage was developed after Linnaeus. 'God created, Linnaeus classified.' Linnaeus is also credited with the invention of the word Homo sapiens.

16. Astrid Lindgren is one of Sweden's most popular authors. She is the 18th most translated author in the world. She was a writer of children's fiction and screenplays.

17. The Swedish word Gift (or Yeft) has two meanings - as an adjective, it means married; as a noun it means poison.

18. Football, or soccer, is the most organized sport in Sweden, with over 240,000 licensed players.

19. The gray wolf (Canis lupus), also called the timber wolf or western wolf is a protected animal in Sweden. There are about 250 wolves in Sweden. Swedish wolves feed mainly on moose. A wolf's howl can be heard over ten kilometers away. Wasps are generally the most dangerous animal in Sweden, as they kill more people than any other animal there.

20. Blood donors in Sweden are sent a text message each time their blood saves a life. The aim of this initiative is to raise awareness for the need for blood donation, which has been on the decline in recent times.