1. Sweden is one of the few European countries where a king still rules. Carl XVI Gustaf, the current king of Sweden, came to power in 1973. However, the king has no political power at all and simply represents the country to his subjects and the rest of the world. The Swedish kingdom is the oldest in the world (after Denmark) and the largest.

2. There are many forests in Sweden – 2/3 of the country’s territory is covered with trees. Half of this territory belongs to individuals, private companies, the rest is owned by the state.

3. The Swedish passport is the third most important in the world! Swedes are very proud of the fact that they can enter 124 countries of the world without a visa, and also receive a visa directly upon arrival in 33 countries.

4. Sweden is considered one of the most taxed countries in the world. The tax system here is thought out to the smallest detail, and the tax rate varies from one third of income to 51%.

5. Sweden is a real revolutionary in waste recycling. In this country, 99% of waste is recycled (for comparison: in Russia, only 7-8% goes to waste processing plants). Sweden has taken this industry to a new level and began to recycle garbage even in neighbouring countries. Sorting garbage, namely glass separately, plastic material separately, food waste separately, paper separately – this is instilled in him from early childhood and is done in every house, in every family already out of habit. After that, re-sorting is performed at the general landfill. The Swedes are just crazy about ecology and nature protection!

6. In all countries there are donors who donate blood. But only in Sweden donors receive SMS notifications when their blood saves the life of another person. The country’s authorities believe that such information prompts the person to return to the hospital, because he really sees that his blood helped someone.

7. Sweden is home to the world’s most prestigious scientific award – the Nobel Prize. Its presentation has been held annually since 1901 in Stockholm under the bequest of Alfred Nobel.

8. The capital of Sweden, Stockholm, is located on fourteen islands. The city is practically surrounded by water. The area was inhabited as early as the 6th century and became a city in 1187. About 940 thousand people live directly in Stockholm, and more than 2 million inhabitants live in the built-up area.

9. Sweden became the first country in the world to prohibit the physical punishment of children at school and at home. This happened in 1979 and became an example for other European countries.

10. Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave. Of these, the father can sit with the child for 60 days, and Swedish fathers often use this opportunity.

11. In the Swedish province of Dalarna grows a tree that is called the oldest living tree in the world. This 9,560-year-old spruce even has a name – Old Tikko. Among spruces, it is definitely a long-liver, and among other trees it takes third place in terms of age.

12. Since 1904, Sweden has won medals at all Olympic Games. Only Finland can boast of such success – these two countries did not miss a single match, and each of their teams won medals. But in the country itself, the Olympic Games were held only once in 1912.

13. In the Swedish municipality of Elvdalen, the Viking language is still preserved – the dialect of Elvdal. Believe it or not, speakers used runes 100 years ago, while the rest of Scandinavia was already using the Latin alphabet. For linguists, this language is a real find.

14. In the European Union, Sweden ranks third in terms of area (447 thousand square kilometers). At the same time, the population density is in second place after Finland – only 29 people per km2. For comparison, Malta has a population density of 1,500 people per km2.

15. It is not for nothing that the Swedes are called a peace-loving nation, even if several centuries ago it was not so. But over the past 200 years, this state has not participated in any military conflicts. Even in two of the most powerful wars of the 20th century, Sweden managed to maintain neutrality. Sweden’s last military conflict was the war with Norway in 1814.

16. Inventions of the Swedes include a pacemaker, ultrasound, computer mouse, refrigerator, dynamite, ship propeller, Celsius scale, three-point belt and much more.

17. In Sweden on December 13, the holiday of St. Lucia is celebrated, with which the legend of a girl killed for her faith is associated. On this day, a carnival takes place, during which girls put on white clothes and put on a wreath.

18. There is a Swedish Choir Association in Sweden – the Swedish Choir Association. According to rough estimates, about 600 thousand Swedes sing in the choirs, and there are 500 organizations in the trade union. This gives Sweden the right to be considered the country with the largest number of choirs per capita in the world.

19. Sweden has the highest number of McDonald’s restaurants per capita than any European country. In total, there are 230 establishments in this fast food network in the country.

20. Sweden became the first country in the world to allow legal gender identity change. It happened in 1972, and already in 1944 the Swedish government legalized relations between men.

21. On the territory of Sweden there are 95 thousand lakes with a size of more than 100 x 100 meters. This corresponds to approximately 9% of the country’s total area.

22. In Sweden the big day for Christmas celebration is on the 24^th of December, in contradiction to most countries in the world who celebrate 25^th.

23. The second biggest celebration in Sweden is the Middle Summer celebration, which is celebrated on the day which has the most light hours of the year. This day Swedish people drink snaps/vodka, eat new potatoes with herring. 

24. The world’s first Ice Hotel was built in Sweden. It was built in the 1980s in Jukkasjärvi by the architect Yngve Bergvist. The hotel is popular from December to April and has 60 rooms. In March-April, the hotel begins to melt and gradually disappears altogether .. Therefore, every December the hotel is rebuilt. That is why every year the hotel acquires a new architectural design and theme. Artists and painters and all creative people from all over the world are invited. Each of you can express yourself and carve a hotel room out of ice in the style of your country’s culture or your imagination. On the ice wall at the entrance to the hotel room, there is a plaque with the name of the creator of each room. It takes 2 weeks to build a hotel. You can send an application every year that you want to take part in the construction of the hotel. Around 100 people are selected each year. Who knows, one day you will be lucky too.

25. The best service that you can find in the World is in Sweden. “The client is always right” – is the Swedish morality.