25 Interesting facts about Sweden

Are you looking for facts about Sweden? Then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s a list of 25 Interesting Sweden facts, and further down in the article you can also see some more general facts about Sweden, such as population, biggest lake, highest mountain, land area and much more.

To make this even more fun, I want to ask you a question and challenge you. What do you know about Sweden? And how many of these Sweden Facts did you know before reading this article?

Leave a comment at the end of the article and let me know how many you knew. It’s always fun to compare and see if there were some specific facts you found shocking or especially interesting to know.

2/3 of Sweden’s land area is covered by forest

Most people are probably aware that Sweden has a lot of forests, but the fact is that 2/3 of the total country’s land area is covered by forest with a total area of 280 650km².

Half of the land is owned by private people, and 1/4 is owned by private companies. The biggest single owner is the state though, via Sveaskog AB. The forested area includes tree plantations as well.

North Korea has a 2.7 billion SEK in debt to Sweden

This was a fact about Sweden that I myself didn’t know before making this article, but apparently, it was agreed that North Korea was to buy around 1000 Volvo Cars back in 1974.

The problem is that the money that Kim II-Sung promised to pay has not been paid yet. So, 40 years later, the Swedish government is still sending invoices to North Korea to get back their 2.7 billion SEK.

Photo: P.F.Mayer / Shutterstock.com

The fifth biggest country in Europe (in terms of area)

The total land area is 447 435 km²making it one of the largest countries in Europe. But despite that, Sweden has one of the lowest population per square kilometer in all of Europe.

There are about 300 000 – 400 000 moose roaming freely in the woods

Our national pride – the moose could potentially form one of the biggest cities in Sweden if they gathered as one group.

There are lots of Swedish moose, and the total number depends on the year and how many that are being killed by hunters.

The Swedish Passport is among the world’s best passports

Another interesting fact about Sweden that we can pride ourselves on is the fact that our passport gives us entry without a visa to 124 countries in the world. And at arrival, we can obtain a visa to another 33 countries.

Currently, the Swedish Passport is ranked at number 6 in the latest ranking of the best passports in the world.

Swedish Music is one of our biggest exports

ABBA is still one of the world’s most famous bands in history, and when you travel abroad it’s not uncommon that people will mention ABBA when they think about Sweden. However, not only ABBA has made it to the international scenes when it comes to music.

There are a lot of Swedish artists such as Zara Larsson, Avicii (R.I.P), Swedish House Mafia, Alesso, Robyn, Måns Zelmerlöv, and Lykke Li.

But also artists and bands such as Roxette, Europe, Alcazar, and Ace of Base have given the world some top hits throughout the years. In addition to that, a lot of songwriters and producers are of Swedish origins.

In short, we give the world a better music experience, which is definitely one of the interesting facts about Sweden that you might not know!

If that wasn’t enough, Sweden is also home to many famous heavy metal bands such as In Flames, Hammerfall, Meshuggah, and rock bands such as Mando Diao, The Hellacopters, The Hives, and The Sounds.

First country in the world to ban smacking

Since 1979 it’s forbidden to smack your children, which means that we were the first country in the world who made a law against flogging. After this, another 35 countries around the world have done the same.

One of the highest VAT in the whole world

With 25% as standard VAT, the Swedish VAT is among the highest in the world together with countries like Croatia, Norway, and Denmark. Only Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, and Djibouti, as well as Hungary, have higher VAT:

We have the highest number of Mcdonald’s restaurants in Europe per capita

Swedes are not known for being unhealthy or obese, but still, you can find the highest number of Mcdonald’s restaurants per capita in all of Europe. So, there’s definitely not a shortage of fast food here.

With that said, in recent years, many fast-food chains have tried to establish themselves in Swedish cities, but most of them have failed.

The only country in the world where donations stand for more than 1% of the GDP

Swedes are known for being generous and generally, Sweden is a country that tries to help out around the world even though we are far from the biggest country.

The fact that Sweden is the only country in the world where donations stand for more than 1% of the total GDP, is definitely one of the many interesting facts about Sweden that Swedes can be proud of.

We are so good at recycling that we even import other countries’ waste.

Another positive fact about Sweden is the fact that we are so good at recycling, that we nowadays import garbage from other countries and make a lot of money from it at the same time.

For instance, Sweden imports waste from Norway. Swedish waste recycling is considered to hold one of the highest standards in the world. However, there is still a lot to improve since only 20% of all plastic waste is recycled, while the rest is being burned.

Photo: srvatervinning.se

One of the Swedish Kings became a pirate after he was forced away from the crown

Erik XIII was more famous for the title “Erik of Pommern”, but did you know that this Swedish King was forced away from the crown in 1439? And then, he fled to Gotland, where he crowned himself the Pirate King of the Baltic sea for a period of 10 years!

We have the highest number of patents per capita in Europe

There is no shortage of Swedish innovations and innovators, and some of the more famous ones are Tetra Pak (Erik Wallenberg), the Pacemaker (Rune Elmqvist), the Dynamite (Alfred Nobel), and the Spherical ball bearing.

Sweden is the country with the highest number of patents per capita in Europe.

The world’s oldest limited company is Swedish

Falu Koppargruva AB was founded already in 1288, and is thereby the oldest limited company in the world, at least if you are looking for who has the oldest preserved share certificate.

Photo: Tommy Alven / Shutterstock.com

One of the few countries where the landmass is growing without war

Since the inland ice was drawn back circa 10 000 years ago, there has been a land elevation in several parts of Sweden. At most the uplift has been around the area of the High Coast in Ångermanland.

Since the inland ice, the land elevation has been more than 800 meters. Nowadays, the biggest land elevation is at Furuögrund, which currently is around 9.2 mm per year.

In the southern part of Sweden, however, it’s currently lowering, even though we’re talking about negligible values of – 0,5 mm per year.

Photo: Roland Magnusson/Shutterstock

10 x Quick Sweden Facts

Want to know some more interesting facts about Sweden? Here are 10 x Quick Sweden Facts!

Swedes consume 20 million “Semlor” per year
More than 20 000 Sami people live in Sweden
Swedes work an average of 1611 hours per year
86% of the Swedes live in cities
Swedes have 480 paid parental days
52% of the energy is renewable
Gay Relationships have been legalized since 1944
There are 95 700 lakes in the country
Guadeloupe used to belong to Sweden (1813-1814)
99% of Sweden’s waste is recycled

Bonus Fact: Sweden has the freedom to roam (Allemansrätten)

Did you know that Sweden is one of the few countries in the world that gives every person the freedom to roam in nature? This means that you don’t have to pay to set up a tent or get permission to cross private land.

The only exceptions are private gardens, near a dwelling house, or land under cultivation. Other than that you’re free to walk, cycle, ride, ski and camp, etc.

The only thing you have to do is respect nature and don’t litter. Freedom to Roam and the right to public access also allow visitors and locals to pick wild berries, flowers, and mushrooms.

Swimming in lakes is also allowed, and there are around 100,000 Swedish lakes to choose from around the country, from north to south.

Photo: Tomas Utsi/imagebank.sweden.se

General Facts about Sweden

Below are some general info such as total population, land area, biggest lake, highest mountain, and other general facts about Sweden that might be interesting to know.

Total Population: 9 995 000 (2021)
Highest Mountain: Kebnekaise at 2 097 meters above sea level.
Land area: 447 435 km²
Biggest Lake: Vänern – 5 648 km²
National Day: 6 June.
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Parliament: Riksdagen (349 seats)
Currency: Swedish crowns (SEK)
Official language: Swedish. But there are also official minority languages such as Finnish, Jiddisch, Meänkieli, Romani, and Sami.
Official Website: www.sweden.se
Member of EU: Since 1995.
Member of Nato: No.
National song: “Du gamla du fria”
Time zone: CET (UTC +1), summertime, CEST (UTC +2)
Country Number/Prefix: +46
Country Code: SE, SWE
Capital: Stockholm

The biggest cities in Sweden

If you’re looking for facts about Sweden, it might also be interesting to know what cities are the most populated ones. Below is a list of the 10 biggest Swedish cities according to the number of inhabitants.

Stockholm
Göteborg (Gothenburg)
Malmö
Uppsala
Linköping
Örebro
Västerås
Helsingborg
Norrköping
Jönköping