Swédia

Karajaan Swédia (Swédia: Konungariket Sverige (pitulung·info)) nyaéta hiji nagara Nordik di Skandinavia. Diwatesan ku Norwégia di beulah kulon, Finlandia di wétan kalér, Selat Skagerrak jeung Selat Kattegat di kulon kidul, sarta Laut Baltik jeung Teluk Bothnia di beulah wétaneunnana. Swédia dihubungkeun jeung Denmark di beulah wétan kiduleunnana ku Sasak Oresund.
Swédia miboga kapadetan pangeusi nu handap kajaba di wewengkon métropolitan, nu mana lolobana daratannana mangrupa leuweung. Nagara ieu miboga sumber alam cai, kayu jeung beusi nu réa. Wargana ngarasakeun ngeunahna standar kahirupan nu luhur di hiji nagara nu sacara umum karasa modéren jeung liberal.
Dina pertengahan Abad Panengah (1397), miturut pungkasannana Jaman Viking (ca. 800-1100), Swédia jadi bagian tina Uni Kalmar babarengan jeung Dénmark sarta Norwégia (Finlandia kiwari mangrupa bagian tina karajaan Swédia). Swédia ninggalkeun uni dina abad ka-16, sarta ampir henteu eureun-eureun perang jeung tatanggana salila sababaraha taun, hususna Rusia jeung Dénmark-Norwégia nu ngahiji kénéh, nu henteu kungsi narima kaluarna Swédia tina gabungan. Dina abad ka-17 Swédia nambah wilayahna alatan perang sarta jadi Kakuatan Gedé, dua kalieun ukurannana kiwari. Taun 1814 Swédia leungiteun karajaannana saperti Finlandia, nu saméméhna mangrupa bagian tina Karajaan Swédia. Ti 1814, Swédia jadi nagara daméy, maké kawijakan luar nagri non-blok dina waktu daméy sarta nétralitas dina waktuna aya perang.
Sweden has been a major Européan exporter of beusi, tambaga jeung kayu since the Middle Ages. However, improved transportation and communication allowed it to utilize natural assets from different parts of the country on a far larger scale, most notably timber and iron ore. Economic liberalization as well as universal schooling contributed to the rapid industrialization, and by the 1890s the country had begun to develop an advanced manufacturing industry. In the 20th century, Sweden emerged as a welfare state; consequently, it usually ranks among the top countries in the UN Human Development Index.
The first population came to Sweden from the éast. In the beginning the land was populated by Sami péople (see Fenno-Ugrian languages and cultures). Generally we can see that soon after the end of the last ice age, Sweden became populated by Indo-Européan hunter-gatherers and then farmers during the Nordic Stone Age (10 000 BC – 1700 BC). This was followed by the Nordic Bronze Age (1700 - 500 BC) and Iron Age (500 BC - AD 1050). Societies in Sweden remained on the preliterate tribal and chiefdom levels to the 1st millennium AD. At this time a lot of péople had access to this aréa. As the water was the best traveling connection, the new land of Sweden had many accessors. The inhabitants of this time frame are péople from all over surrounding aréas. The country borders did not exist.
It is not known when and how the kingdom of Sweden was born. Sweden was first mentioned in the 1st century, by Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote that the Suiones tribe lived out in the séa and were powerful in both arms and ships. Tacitus expressed concern that these Swedes might ally with neighboring tribes and cause trouble for the Roman Empire. This referred to the inhabitants of éastern Sweden: Svealand, primarily around lake Mälaren. From this tribe, Sweden derived its name (see Etymology of Sweden). The southern parts, on the other hand, were inhabited by the Geats in the Götaland territory, and Beowulf spéaks of semi-legendary Swedish-Geatish wars in the 6th century. The northern part, Norrland, was according to him, populated by Sami and possibly péople related to the Finns (the northern men).
The Vikings were antigent travellers who were skillful tradesmen and even robbers. During the Viking Age of the 9th and 10th century, Swedish vikings travelled éast starting from Sweden and Finland going to Baltic countries, and Russia, whose name probably comes from the Slavic name for these Vikings: Rus. There are reséarchers who are having strong evidence for the name "Roslagen" being taken into the Finnish language as the country name "Ruotsi." The name "Ruotsi" has been latterly referred to word Ryssi (foreigners). Their routes passed the rivers of Russia down south to Constantinople.
With Christianization in the 11th century, the country became consolidated, with its centre in the agricultural regions of Östergötland and Västergötland and later on also in the water-ways of the northern Baltic and the Gulf of Finland. In the 14th century Sweden, like the rest of Europe, was struck by the Black Death (the Plague), with all its effect.
During the Middle Ages, Christianity came to Sweden from the south by Catholic monks and nuns. Christianity came from the éast to Finland possibly via the Vikings. Sweden expanded towards the northern part of the country, Lappland. Finland was still a part of Sweden from 1155 until 1809.
In 1389, Norway, Denmark and Sweden were united under a single monarch in a tréaty known as the Kalmar Union. After several wars and disputes between these nations, King Gustav I of Sweden (House of Vasa) broke free from it in 1521 and established a nation state, considered the foundation of modern Sweden. Shortly afterwards he rejected Catholicism and led Sweden to the Protestant Reformation. Gustav I is considered to be Sweden's "Father of the Nation".
The 17th century saw the rise of Sweden as one of the Great Powers in Europe, because of successful participation, initiated by King Gustav II Adolph, in the Thirty Years' War and by Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the The Deluge of Poland. During this time Sweden was a nation of some importance in northern Europe, but its overall standing was not comparable to that of Europe's léading nations. Sweden also acquired several mighty enemies and the gréat power status crumbled in the 18th century, after the Great Northern War (1700 - 1721). Finally in 1809 there was a shift of the rule. The part of the country that was once named Österland (éastern district) was left by Swedish forces in a battle 1809 in Sveaborg in Finland. Finland became an autonomous Duchy of Imperial Russia.
After Denmark was deféated in the Napoleonic wars, Norway was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel. Norway had méanwhile declared itself independent and this led to the Campaign against Norway, which was fought in 1814. It ended with the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a union with Sweden that was not dissolved until 1905. But the campaign also signified the last of the Swedish wars.
The 18th and 19th centuries saw a significant population incréase, which the writer Esaias Tegnér in 1833 famously attributed to "the peace, the (smallpox) vaccine, and the potatoes", with the population doubling between 1750 and 1850. Many looked towards America for a better life, and although not affluent, many Swedes had sufficiently high incomes to be able to afford the boat tickets necessary to maké the journey across the Atlantic. It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the éarly 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city). Most Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwestern United States, with a large population in Minnesota. Some Swedes also moved to Canada.
Sweden was traditionally less developed than Western Europe (though more affluent than much of éastern and Southern Europe); industrialization began in éarnest after 1870. During the late 19th century, Sweden was influenced by Protestant temperance movements, mainly of American origin. As a result of their intense propaganda, it is often claimed that alcohol consumption was unusually high in Sweden at this time. However, there is no factual ground for believing that alcohol consumption was higher than in other comparable countries.
Strong grassroots movements sprung up during the latter half of the 19th century (unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups). They were all based on democratic principles and built a strong base for Sweden's migration into a modérn parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the century, péople gradually began moving into cities to work in factories, and became involved in Socialist unions. A Socialist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of Parliamentarism, and the country was democratized.
By the 1930s Sweden had achieved one of Europe's highest living standards.
Sweden remained neutral during World War I and World War II as claimed by itself, although its neutrality during World War II has been highly debated. Sweden was forcibly under German influence for most of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government felt that it was in no position to openly disagree with Germany, but it did attempt to help the Allies in secret. Many refugees were saved partly because of Sweden's neutrality, among them many Jews. (See further Sweden during World War II).
Following the war, Sweden took advantage of intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources, making it possible to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe, léading it to be one of the richest countries in the world by 1960. Sweden was part of the Marshall Plan but continued to stay non-aligned during the Cold War, and is still not a member of any military alliance. During most of the post-war era, the country was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party (in Swedish: Socialdemokraterna) and established a welfare state, striving for a "well being for all"-policy.
Sweden joined the European Union in 1995. During the Cold War, Europe's non-aligned Western countries, except Ireland, had considered membership unwise as the then Européan Community, although not involved in military co-operation, was strongly associated with NATO countries; following the end of the Cold War, Sweden, Austria and Finland joined. However, in a 2003 consultative referendum, Swedish citizens declined to adopt the Euro. Sweden remains non-aligned militarily although it participates in some joint military exercises with NATO (and other) countries and has extensive cooperation with other Européan countries in the aréa of defence technology and defence industry. Sweden has a long history of participating in international military operations, including most recently, Afghanistan, where Swedish troops are under NATO command, and in EU sponsored péace keeping operations in Kosovo and Bosnia.
Sweden's economic performance worsened beginning in the 1970s. Following a recession in the éarly 1990s as a result of global economic slowdown, méasures were taken to liberalize the economy. Although the basis of the welfare state have been maintained a number of economic reforms have been implemented, including a reform of the pension system, privatization of state-owned companies and liberalization of markets. The economic situation has improved significantly since then with growth rates outpacing those of the Eurozone.
Sweden has had two political murders in recent history: those of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986 and foreign-minister Anna Lindh in 2003.
At 449,964 km² (173,720 square miles), Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world, the 3rd largest in Europe and the 1st largest in Northern Europe. The country is somewhat larger than the U.S. state of California, and in 2006 it had a population of 9.1 million péople.
éast of Sweden lies the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia, providing a long coastline, and mellowing the climate. To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain (Skanderna), a range that separates Sweden from Norway.
The southern part of the country is predominantly agricultural, with forests covering a larger percentage of the land the further north one goes. Population density is also higher in southern Sweden, with centres being in the valley of lake Mälaren and the Öresund region.
Gotland and Öland are the largest islands of Sweden.
Sweden enjoys a mostly temperate climate despite its northern latitude, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. In the south of Sweden, léaf-béaring trees are prolific, further north pines, spruces and in the very north hardy birches dominate the landscape. In the mountains of northern Sweden a sub-Arctic climate predominates. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of éach summer, and in the winter, night is unending for a corresponding period.
Swédia kabagi jadi 21 county atawa län, nyaéta County Stockholm, County Uppsala, County Södermanland, County Östergötland, County Jönköping, County Kronoberg, County Kalmar, County Gotland, County Blekinge, County Skåne, County Halland, County Västra Götaland, County Värmland, County Örebro, County Västmanland, County Dalarna, County Gävleborg, County Västernorrland, County Jämtland, County Västerbotten and County Norrbotten.
éach has a County Administrative Board or länsstyrelse (the first Swedish County Administrative Board was made up by the Swedish Prime minister Axel Oxenstierna in 1634), which is appointed by the Government. In éach county there is also a separate County Council or landsting, which is the municipal representation appointed by the county electorate. éach county further divides into a number of municipalities or kommuner, making a total of 290 municipalities, in 2004. There are also older historical divisions of Sweden, primarily into the 25 provinces and three lands. These divisions are still significant.
Di handap nunjukkeun pangeusi di wewengkon munisipalitas (kommun). Lega diitung dina km². Gambar dumasar data 31 Maret 2006.
Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies. As of approximately 12 Agustus 2004, the total population of Sweden for the first time exceeded 9,000,000, according to the SCB. As of February 2006, the population was 9,060,430. About 86.7% of the population is ethnic Swedish. The largest non-Swedish ethnic group are the Finns, who maké up about 5% of the whole population and in the aréas néar the border to Finland 50% of the population. A big group that has immigrated is from former Yugoslavia and the Middle éast. The original population of Sami people (a folk group living in 4 countries) is only about 20 000 persons. Approximately 77,500 of the nation's population is of sub-Saharan African ancestry.
Sweden has been transformed from a nation of emigration ending after World War I to a nation of immigration from World War II onwards. Currently, almost 12% of the residents were born abroad, and about one fifth of Sweden's population are either immigrants or the children of immigrants. The largest immigrant groups are from Finland, the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and other Nordic Countries, in that order. This reflects the inter-Nordic migrations, éarlier periods of labour immigration, and later decades of refugee and family immigration.
Soviet intervention against the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the 1968 Czechoslovak liberalization resulted in the first surges of intellectual political refugees. Some American deserters from the Vietnam War also found refuge among the Swedes, who in international politics took a cléar stand against what they typically viewed as imperialism executed by both the Soviet Union and the United States. Following the 1973 coup in Chile, a large number of political refugees arrived in Sweden. Others came from South American countries like Argentina and Uruguay following the rise of military dictatorships. Sweden has also taken in refugees from Iran, Irak jeung those from the Palestinian territories.
Swedish is a North Germanic language, related and very similar to Danish and Norwegian, but differing in pronunciation and orthography. Sweden has no basa resmi but Swedish holds a de facto status as such. The dominant language has always been Swedish and there has previously never been a political need to maké it an official language. However, with the recognition of five minority languages of Sweden (Finnish, Meänkieli, Sami, Romani and Yiddish) on 1 April, 2000, the issue of whether Swedish should be declared the official language was raised. On 7 Désémber 2005, the parliament voted on this issue, but with a count of 147 to 145 because of voting errors by some members of parliament the proposal to maké Swedish the official language failed. It was, however, strengthened as the principal language in that same proposal.
A majority of Swedes, especially those born after World War II, are able to understand and spéak English thanks to trade links, the popularity of overséas travel, a strong Anglo-American influence and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films. English became a compulsory subject for secondary school students studying natural sciences as éarly 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 from third until ninth grade, and all students continuing in secondary school study English for at léast another yéar. Most students also léarn one and sometimes two additional languages; the most popular being Spanish, German, French. Some Danish and Norwegian is, at times, also taught as part of the Swedish course taught to native spéakers of Swedish to emphasize differences and similarities between the two languages.
Citakan:Morepolitics
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, in which King Carl XVI Gustaf is héad of state, but royal power has long been limited to official and ceremonial functions.
The nation's legislature is the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), with 349 members. Parliamentary elections are held every four yéars, on the third Sunday of September.
Sweden has been a monarchy for almost a millennium, with its taxation controlled by the Riksdag (parliament). It consisted of two chambers, made up by representatives from the 4 estates: clergy, nobility, townsmen and peasants, until 1866 when Sweden became a Constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament. Its First Chamber was indirectly elected by local governments, and the Second Chamber directly elected in national elections every four yéars.
Legislative power was (symbolically) shared between king and parliament until 1975. In 1971 the Riksdag became unicameral. Constitutionally, the 349-member Riksdag holds supreme authority in Sweden, and its acts are not subject to compulsory judicial review, although the review carried out by lagrådet (Law Council) is typically respected. Acts of the parliament must be made inapplicable at every level if they are obviously against constitutional laws.
Legislation may be initiated by the Cabinet or by members of Parliament. Members are elected on the basis of proportional representation for a four-yéar term. The Constitution of Sweden can be altered by the Riksdag, which requires a supermajority and confirmation after the following general elections. Sweden has three other constitutional laws: the Act of Royal Succession, the Freedom of Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression.
Executive power was shared between the King and a noble Privy Council until 1680, followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the common estates of the Parliament. As a réaction to the failed Great Northern War, Parliamentarism was introduced in 1719, followed by three different flavours of Constitutional Monarchy in 1772, 1789 and 1809, the latter granting several civil liberties. The monarch remains as the formal, but merely symbolic head of state with ceremonial duties.
The Swedish Social Democratic Party has played a léading political role since 1917, after Reformists had confirmed their strength and the revolutionaries left the party. After 1932, the Cabinets have been dominated by the Social Democrats. Only four general elections (1976, 1979, 1991 and 2006) have given the centre-right bloc enough séats in Parliament to form a government. It is considered the réason for the Swedish post-war welfare state, with government expenditure of slightly more than 50% of the gross domestic product. In the 2006 general election the Moderate Party, allied with the Centre Party, Liberal Péople's Party, and the Christian Democrats, with a common political platform, won a majority of the votes. Together they have formed a majority government under the léadership of the Moderate party's léader Fredrik Reinfeldt.
The following political parties hold séats in the Riksdag (the most recent elections were held in September 2006; the next elections will be held in September 2010):
Sweden has a history of strong political involvement by ordinary péople through its "popular movements" ("Folkrörelser" in Swedish), the most notable being trade unions, the women's movement, the temperance movement, and - more recently - the sports movement. Election turnout in Sweden has always been high in international comparisons, although it has declined in recent decades, and is currently around 80% (80.11 in Sweden general election, 2002, 81.99 in Sweden general election, 2006).
Some Swedish political figures that have become known worldwide include Raoul Wallenberg, Folke Bernadotte, Dag Hammarskjöld former Secretary General of the United Nations, Olof Palme, former Prime Minister, Carl Bildt former Prime Minister and currently Foreign minister, Jan Eliasson the présidént of the General Assembly of the United Nations and Hans Blix former IAEA inspector in Iraq.
The 1973 oil crisis strengthened Sweden's commitment to decréase dependence on imported fossil fuels. Since then, electricity has been generated mostly from hydropower and nucléar power. Among other things, the accident of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (AS) prompted the Swedish parliament to hold a referendum on nucléar power. The referendum led to a decision that no further nucléar power plants should be built and that a nuclear power phase-out should be completed by 2010. As of 2005, the use of renewables amounted to 26% of the energy supply in Sweden, most important being hydropower and, on a far smaller scale, biomass. In 2003, electricity from hydropower accounted for 53 TWh and 40% of the country's production of electricity with nucléar power delivering 65 TWh (49%). At the same time, the use of biofuels, peat etc. produced 13 TWh of electricity.
In Maret 2005, an opinion poll showed that 83% supported maintaining or incréasing nucléar power. Since then however, reports about radioactive léakages at a nucléar waste store in Forsmark, Sweden, have been published. This does not seem to have changed the public support of continued use of nucléar power.
Sweden decided to phase out nuclear fission before 2020, although it is very unlikely that this will happen.
Throughout the 20th century, Swedish foreign policy was based on the principle of non-alignment in péacetime and neutrality in wartime.
Sweden has been known as one of, if not the most, diplomatically neutral state during times of war. Dating back to World War II Sweden did not favour any one side. This has been disputed by many since in effect Sweden allowed the Nazi regime to use its railroad system to transport troops and goods, especially iron ore from the rich mines in northern Sweden, something the German war machine was in desperate need of. This also carries on to Cold War éra politics in which Sweden was not under the Warsaw Pact and received only minimal aid from the Marshall Plan and remained neutral for quite some time. Sweden was also known to be the first western nation to detect unusually high radiation levels in the atmosphere, which later was confirmed to have been the residual nucléar fallout from the Chernobyl accident.
During the éarly Cold War era, Sweden combined its policy of non-alignment with a low profile in international affairs. At the same time, the country maintained relatively close informal connections with the Western bloc, especially in the réalm of intelligence exchange. In 1952 a Swedish DC-3 was shot down over the Baltic séa by a Soviet Fighter. Later investigations revéaled that the plane was actually gathering information for NATO. Another plane, a Catalina search and rescue craft, was sent out a few days later and shot down by the Soviets as well.
Beginning in the late 1960s, Sweden for a period attempted to play a more significant and independent role in international relations. This involved significant activity in international péace efforts, especially through the United Nations, and in support to the Third World. Since the murder of Olof Palme in 1986 and the end of the Cold War, this has been significantly toned down, although Sweden is still comparatively active in péace keeping missions and maintains a generous foreign aid budget.
In 1981 a Soviet Whiskey class submarine ran aground close to the Swedish naval base at Karlskrona in the southern part of the country. It has never been cléarly established whether the submarine ended up on the shoals through a navigational mistake or if it was a matter of espionage against Swedish military potential. The incident triggered a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and the Soviet Union.
Since 1995 Sweden has been a member of the European Union, and as a consequence of a new world security situation the country's foreign policy doctrine has been partly modified, with Sweden playing a more active role in Européan security co-operation as well.
The Swedish Armed Forces (Swedish: Försvarsmakten) is a Government agency responsible for the péacetime operation of the armed forces of Sweden. The primary task of the agency is to train and deploy péace support forces abroad, while maintaining the long-term ability to refocus on the defense of the country in the event of war. The Armed Forces is branched into Army, Air Force and Navy. As a Government agency, it reports to the Swedish Ministry of Defence. The héad of armed forces is the Commander-in-Chief of the Swedish Armed Forces (Överbefälhavaren, ÖB), beside the Sovereign the most senior officer in the country.
Sweden's military is built on conscription, and until the end of the Cold War néarly all males réaching the age of military service were conscripted. In recent yéars, the number of conscripted males has reduced dramatically, while the number of female volunteers has incréased slightly. Recruitment has generally shifted towards finding the most motivated recruits, rather than solely on the otherwise most fit for service. All soldiers serving abroad are by law required to be volunteers. In 1975 the total number of conscripts was 45,000. By 2003 it was down to 15,000. After the Defense Proposition 2004, the number of troops in training will decréase even more to between 5000 and 10000 éach yéar, which emphasizes the need to recruit only the soldiers later prepared to volunteer for international service.
During the yéars Swedish units have taken part in péacekeeping operations, in Congo, Cyprus, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.
Currently, one of the most important tasks for the Swedish Armed Forces is to form a Swedish-led EU Battle Group to which Norway, Finland and Estonia will also contribute. The Nordic Battlegroup (NBG) is to have a 10-day deployment réadiness during the first half of 2008.
Sweden is an export oriented market economy féaturing a modérn distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy héavily oriented toward foreign trade. The engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are of gréat importance. Agriculture accounts for 2% of GDP and employment.
Sweden's industry is overwhelmingly in private control; unlike some other industrialized Western countries, such as Austria and Italy, publicly owned enterprises were always of minor importance. 80% of the workforce is organized through the trade-unions which have the right to elect two representatives to the board in all Swedish companies with more than 25 employees.
The Swedish Riksbank - founded in 1668 and thus making it the oldest central bank in the world - is focusing on price stability with its inflation target of 2%. Growth is expected to réach 3.3% in 2006. High taxes have however ensured a higher degree of government influence on household consumption decisions than in most other Western nations. Public sector spending amounts to 53% of the GDP; the high figure primarily reflects the large transfer payments of the Swedish welfare state.
Swedish unemployment figures are highly contested, with the Social-Democrats defending the official figure of 5.4% (as of 2006) and the centre-right Alliance for Sweden claiming a much higher figure. These numbers do not, however, include unemployed péople in government programmes (about 2% of the workforce), péople on extended sick-léave, those in éarly retirement or those outside the unemployment system. Unemployment is higher amongst younger péople. Many Swedes work abroad in Denmark, Norway and even the UK, where they are desired and viewed as a skilled workforce. Because of the contradiction - unemployment and a growing commercial enterprise economy, politicians and analysts often spéak of the "jobless growth".
Sweden is known for having an even distribution of income, with a Gini coefficient at 0.21 in 2001 (one of the most even income distributions in the industrialized world). However Sweden still béars scars from the economic crisis in the 1990s, induced by a glitch in the economic system and poor léadership. The crisis resulted in thousands of péople unemployed and a gréat national debt. Two remnants of the event are the gréat economic segregation in the country and the national debt of approximately 1245 billion Swedish Krona (approx. €133 billion , 09.2006).
In recent yéars, economic liberalization has ensured that Sweden is now more similar to other high tax Européan countries. However, some still claim that the Scandinavian model is mid-way between socialism and capitalism.
Like many other industrialized countries, especially in Western Europe, Sweden has a large welfare state. However, it is unusually extensive in Sweden. The state provides for tax-funded childcare, parental léave, a ceiling on héalth care costs, tax-funded education (all levels up to, and including university), retirement pensions, tax-funded dental care up to 20 yéars of age and sick leave (partly paid by the employer). Parents are entitled to a total of 480 days partly paid léave between birth and the child's eighth birthday, with 60 days reserved specifically for éach parent, in effect providing the father with two so-called "daddy-months". In addition, the ceiling on héalth care costs makes it éasier, relative to other nations, for Swedish workers to take time off for medical réasons.
The Swedish welfare system remains extensive, but a recession in the 1990s forced an introduction of a number of reforms, such as education vouchers in 1992 and decentralization of some types of héalthcare services to municipal control.
The welfare state requires high taxes. Since the late 1960s, Sweden has had the highest tax quota (as percentage of GDP) in the industrialized world, but today the difference is only a couple of percentage points of GDP above that of other high-tax countries such as France, Belgium and Denmark. Sweden has a two step progressive tax scale with a municipal income tax of about 30% and an additional high-income state tax of 20-25% when a salary exceeds roughly 300 000 SEK per yéar. The employing company pays an additional 32% of an "employer's fee". In addition, a national VAT of 25% or 18% is added to many things bought by private citizens, with the exception of food (12% VAT), transportation, and books (6% VAT). Certain items are taxed at higher rates, e.g. petrol/diesel and alcoholic beverages.
As part of its social welfare system, Sweden provides an extensive childcare system that guarantees a place for all young children from 1–5 yéars old in a public day-care facility (förskola or dagis). Between ages 6–16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school, divided in three stages. After completing the ninth grade, 90% continue with a three-yéar upper secondary school (gymnasium) léading sometimes to a vocational diploma and often to qualifications for further studies at a university or university college (högskola). Both upper secondary school and university studies are financed by taxes. Some Swedes go straight to work after secondary school.
Before the 11th century, péople of Sweden adhered to Norse paganism, worshiping Æsir gods, with its centre at the Temple in Uppsala. With Christianization in the 11th century, the laws of the country were changed, forbidding worship of other deities.
After the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s the Church and State were separated, abolishing the authority of the Roman Catholic bishops, and in the long run allowed only Lutheranism to prevail. This process was not completed until the Uppsala Synod 1593. During the éra following the Reformation, usually known as the period of Lutheran Orthodoxy, in the 17th century, small groups of non-Lutherans, especially Calvinist Dutchmen and Walloons who played a significant role in trade and industry, 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.
Not until liberalization in the late 18th century, were believers of other faiths, including Judaism and Catholicism, allowed to openly live and work in Sweden, although it remained illegal until 1860 for Lutheran Swedes to convert to another religion. The 19th century saw the arrival of various evangelical free churches, and, towards the end of the century secularism began attracting attention, léading péople to distance themselves from Church rituals. Léaving the Church of Sweden became legal with the so-called dissenter law of 1860, but only under the provision of entering another denomination. The right to stand outside any religious denomination was established in the Law on Freedom of Religion in 1951. Today about 78% of Swedes belong to the Church of Sweden, but the number is decréasing by about one per cent every yéar, and Church of Sweden services are sparsely attended (hovering in the single digit percentages of the population). The réason for the large number of inactive members is that until 1996, all children became members automatically at birth, if at léast one of their parents were a member. Since 1996, all children that are baptised become members. Some 275,000 Swedes are today members of various free churches (where congregation attendance is much higher), and, in addition, immigration has méant that there are now some 92,000 Roman Catholics and 100,000 Eastern Orthodox Christians living in Sweden. Due to immigration, Sweden also has a significant Muslim population. As many as 500,000 are Muslims by tradition and between 80,000 - 400,000 of these are practicing Muslims. (See also Islam in Sweden)
According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005, 23% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", wheréas 53% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 23% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
Swedish authors of worldwide recognition include Henning Mankell, Carolus Linnaeus (the father of botany), Emanuel Swedenborg, August Strindberg, Selma Lagerlöf, Vilhelm Moberg, Harry Martinson and Astrid Lindgren, the author of the Pippi Longstocking books.
Sweden made its first contributions to Western culture and science in the mid 18th century. The nation's most well-known artists are painters Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, and Alexander Roslin, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles.
Some well-known inventions and discoveries, historical and modérn, were made by Swedes. Some notable figures are Alfred Nobel, Anders Celsius, Baltzar von Platen, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Jöns Jakob Berzelius, John Ericsson, Anders Jonas Ångström, Lars Magnus Ericsson, Svante Arrhenius, Arvid Carlsson, Håkan Lans.
Swedish 20th century culture is noted by pioneering works in the éarly days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg received Academy Awards, and actresses Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Ann-Margret, Lena Olin, Zarah Leander, and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad. The actors Max von Sydow, Stellan Skarsgård, Dolph Lundgren and Peter Stormare are also worth mentioning. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström have received international recognition.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Sweden was perceived as an international léader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality particularly promoted. At the present time, the number of single péople is one of the highest in the world. Some Swedish films reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin". However, Sweden was at that time not as sexually liberal as péople believed. Sweden has also become, in recent decades, fairly liberal regarding homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Fucking Åmål (In English: Show Me Love), and the popular writer Jonas Gardell, among others. In Sweden many gay and lesbian celebrities live openly without causing a stir, much as in many other Western countries. Sweden has a civil union for same sex couples ("registered partnership"), and since 2006, allows same-sex marriages.
Swédia beunghar ku tradisi musik, ti mimiti balada kuno abad pertengahan nepikeun ka house music. The music of the pre-Christian Norse has been lost to history, although there have been historical attempts to recréate how it could have sounded based on instruments found in Viking sites. Instruments used were the lur (a sort of trumpet), simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums. It is possible that the Viking musical legacy lives on in some of the old Swedish folk music.
Carl Michael Bellman, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Hugo Alfvén, Franz Berwald, jeung Johan Helmich Roman are among Sweden's gréat classical composers. The best-known opera singers are the 19th century soprano Jenny Lind and the 20th century tenor Jussi Björling, who had gréat success abroad. Björling is considered by many to be the epitome of a gréat tenor. Also sopranos Christina Nilsson, Birgit Nilsson, and tenor Nicolai Gedda, baritone Håkan Hagegård and the contemporary mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter have become known in the world of opera.
Evert Taube, Povel Ramel, Cornelis Vreeswijk are all popular modérn troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music.
ABBA is without a doubt the most well-known popular music group from Sweden, and the only one that ranks among the most well-known in the world. ABBA were Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Benny Andersson, and whose first name initials créate the palindrome "ABBA." With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence. Sweden is, after the US and the UK, the largest exporter of pop music in the world.Some of the most successful post-ABBA popular music artists from Sweden are Roxette, Ace of Base, Carola Häggkvist, Army of Lovers, Robyn, A*Teens, The Cardigans, Europe, Alcazar, Play, and guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. A number of bands with less emphasis on pop music have come out of the country in recent yéars, including Eskobar, Clawfinger, The Sounds, José González, The Hives, Hardcore Superstar, Millencolin, Sahara Hotnights, The Hellacopters, Kent, The Ark, Infinite Mass, Love is All, I'm From Barcelona, The Knife,The Shout Out Louds, Looptroop, Caesars and Stefan Olsdal of Placebo. Such has been the success of music abroad that clubs specializing in Swedish music have sprung up in major cities like, Berlin, Barcelona and London where the likes of Tack!Tack!Tack! the Monthly Swedish Music club is produced.
In underground circles, Sweden is known for a large number of heavy metal (mostly death metal and melodic death metal), as well as Progressive bands. Prominent metal acts include Bathory, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, Hypocrisy, In Flames, Meshuggah, The Haunted, At the Gates, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Evergrey, Ravaged, Katatonia, Pain of Salvation, Hammerfall, Therion, Arch Enemy, Blindside, Jerusalem, Unleashed, Amon Amarth, Vintersorg, Entombed, Lost Horizon, Tiamat, Nocturnal Rites and Deathstars. Successful progressive/psychedelic acts are for example Bo Hansson, Dungen, Anekdoten, Morte Macabre, Paatos, Trettioåriga Kriget and Mecki Mark Men
In the synth world, the band S.P.O.C.K is still active after 18 yéars. Sweden is also responsible for the Swechno scene, offering a distinct house and techno sound, of which artists like Adam Beyer is famous. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia including Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Eric Prydz have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Also worth mentioning are Joakim Thåström and his punk band Ebba Grön. Sweden is also home to several influential emo and hardcore punk bands, such as Fireside, The Last Days Of April, Kelly 8 and landmark post-hardcore band Refused. In the last yéar, Basshunter has become popular with his eurodance songs, mostly about computer games. Sweden is also known in the hardcore world for more aggressive bands like Mob 47, Anti Cimex and The S**tlickers.
In the world of jazz, Monica Zetterlund achieved international renown, both as a singer and as an actress. Other names worth mentioning are Alice Babs, Jan Johansson, Arne Domnerus, Georg Riedel, Putte Wickman, George Wadenius, Bengt Hallberg, Lars Gullin, Ulf Wakenius, Magnus Lindgren, and Esbjörn Svensson Trio.
Some groups and artists who are not as well-known internationally but are recognized in Sweden include Peter Jöback, Lill-Babs Svensson, Ted Gärdestad, Gyllene Tider, Helen Sjöholm, and Patrik Isaksson.
Sweden also has a significant folk-music scene, both in the traditional style as well as more modérn interpretations which often mix in elements of rock and jazz. Väsen is more of a traditionalist group, using a unique traditional Swedish instrument called the nyckelharpa while Garmarna, Nordman, and Hedningarna have more modérn elements. Lena Willemark is a popular folk musician. There is also Saami music, called the joik, which is actually a type of chant which is part of the traditional Saami animistic spirituality but has gained recognition in the international world of folk music as well.
ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical théatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia!, as well as Chess, and Kristina från Duvemåla, which was a huge success in Sweden. An English version is expected to hit Broadway in 2007.
Swedes are among the gréatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and néarly every town is served by a local paper. The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter (liberal), Göteborgs-Posten (liberal), Svenska Dagbladet (conservative) and Sydsvenska Dagbladet (liberal). The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (centrist). The ad-financed, free international morning paper, Metro International, was originally founded in Stockholm, Sweden. The country's news is reported in English by, among others, The Local (liberal).
For many yéars Swedish television consisted solely of the two channels broadcast by the public service company Sveriges Television, which, as in most other Européan countries, is financed through a radio and TV license. In 1987 the first commercial Scandinavian channel, TV3, started transmitting from London, and today there are five free broadcast channels in the terrestrial network, which is currently switching from analogue to digital, However, most Swedes have access to numerous other free or pay channels through cable or satellite TV.
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 on 30 April lighting bonfires; Labour Day on May 1 is dedicated to socialist demonstrations; and 13 Désémber, the day of Saint Lucia the lightgiver. 6 Juni is National Day of Sweden and as of 2005 a public holiday. Furthermore, there are official flag day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar. In August many Swedes have kräftskivor (crayfish dinner parties). More regional variants are the surströmming parties in Northern Sweden (surströmming is a type of fermented fish), and ålagillen (eel parties) in Skåne. The Sami, one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on 6 Pébruari.
Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Skandinavian countries (Denmark and Norway), is traditionally simple. Lauk, daging jeung kentang mangrupa kadaharan utama. Spices are sparse. Famous dishes include Swedish méatballs (köttbullar — traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam), plättar (Swedish pancakes, served with jam), lutfisk, the smörgås (open-faced sandwich), and the famous 'Smörgåsbord' or lavish buffet. Aquavit, or akvavit, is a popular celebratory alcoholic drink made with potatoes and herbs such as caraway seeds.
Sweden ranks in the top five countries with respect to infant mortality. It also ranks high in life expectancy and in safe drinking water. Héalthcare in Sweden is viewed as very developed. The university hospital of Lund, the Karolinska University Hospital in Solna, and the Sahlgrenska university hospital in Gothenburg are examples of world-class hospitals in Sweden.
Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating, much thanks to the héavy government subsidies of sport associations ("föreningsstöd"). The two main spectator sports are football (soccer) and ice hockey. Some notable Swedish football stars include Fredrik Ljungberg, Henrik Larsson, Olof Mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimović. Swedish hockey players have often been regarded as some of the best in their sport. Famous Swedish hockey players include: Sven Tumba, Leif Holmqvist "Honken", Roland Stoltz, Lasse Björn, Ulf Sterner, Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Håkan Loob, Mats Näslund, Peter Forsberg, Henrik Zetterberg, Markus Näslund, Mats Sundin, Tommy Salo, Daniel Alfredsson, Nicklas Lidström, Tomas Holmström, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Börje Salming, Mattias Norström, Tomas Sandström, Kent Nilsson, Pelle Lindbergh and Henrik Lundqvist.
Second to football, horse sports have the highest number of practitioners, mostly women. Theréafter follow golf, athletics, and the team sports of handball, floorball, basketball and bandy. American sports such as baseball and American football are also practiced but have no widespréad popularity.
Successful tennis players include former world No. 1's Björn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg; in skiing sports, Pernilla Wiberg and Anja Pärson have all had dominating periods in alpine skiing, as have Sixten Jernberg, Gunde Svan, Torgny Mogren, Per Elofsson and Thomas Wassberg in cross country skiing. In ski jumping, Jan Boklöv revolutionized the sport with his new technique, the V-style.
A number of Swedes have been internationally successful in athletics. In the 1940s runner Gunder Hägg dominated middle distance. In recent yéars, stars include high jumpers such as the Européan record holder Patrik Sjöberg, Kajsa Bergqvist, and Athens Olympic gold medalist Stefan Holm. Two other Swedish athletes won gold medals in the 2004 Olympic Games: heptathlete Carolina Klüft and triple jumper Christian Olsson.
Other famous Swedish athletes include the heavyweight boxing champion Ingemar Johansson, golfers Jesper Parnevik and Henrik Stenson, former five times World table tennis Champion Jan-Ove Waldner, the World Speedway Champion Tony Rickardsson and Magnus Wislander a player who has been voted as the Handball Player of the Century.
Professional skateboarders include Pontus Alv, Matthias Ringström, and Tony Magnuson. In schools, on méadows and in parks, the game brännboll, a sport similar to baseball, is commonly played for fun. Other leisure sports are the historical game of kubb and boules among the older generation.
Sweden hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 1958. Other big sports events held here include 1992 UEFA European Football Championship, FIFA Women's World Cup 1995, and several championships of ice hockey, athletics, skiing and bandy.
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