Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Did you know this about Sweden?


So I am a Swedish translator living in the US. But did you know these facts about Sweden and stuff that is going on there right now?


Sweden is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. I often get the question if it is not cold in Sweden? It is at the same latitude as Alaska, but the warm “Gulf stream” in the Atlantic Ocean sweeps warm water and air over Scandinavia and makes the temperatures quite pleasant.


This is what Wikipedia has to say about Sweden:
At 450,295 km², Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union in terms of area, with a total population of about 9.2 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per 54 /sq mi, but a considerably higher density in the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population lives in urban areas, and it is expected that these numbers will gradually rise as a part of the ongoing urbanization.[12] Sweden's capital is Stockholm, which is also the largest city in the country (population of 1.3 million in the urban area and with 2 million in the metropolitan area).

Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government and a highly developed economy. It ranks first in the world in The Economist's Democracy Index and seventh in the United Nations' Human Development Index. Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the OECD.

So what is going on in Sweden this year?
The biggest news item right now is “The wedding of the year”. Sweden’s crown princess Victoria is getting married in June. The Swedish people have been waiting for this moment for years. She found her prince many years ago, but he was/is a commoner. There were a lot of issues to be ironed out, but she will finally marry him. The whole country is a part of the wedding plans, so to speak.

Winter Olympics – Sweden took home 11 medals from the winter games in Vancouver, mostly from cross country ski events.

Hans Blix, the outspoken Swedish diplomat who headed the UN investigations of Saddam Hussein’s alleged stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction, has been selected chair of International Advisory Board that will provide United Arab Emirates civilian nuclear program with expertise and knowledge.
A Swedish female police officer has been appointed the top cop for the United Nations.
These were just some tidbits from Sweden. Do you have any others to share?

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