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Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of hi-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits.
Located in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat and Skagerrak, Sweden has evolved from a poor agrarian country to one of the world's strongest industrial nations. Situated between Finland and Norway, the country has a little more than nine million people in an area slightly larger than California.
In the 17th century, Sweden was a great power in Europe, with a territory that extended almost all the way around the Baltic Sea. But since 1814, it has lived in peace and has brought about an industrial miracle with its natural wealth of forests and ore, ingenious inventions and entrepreneurial tradition.
The modern Swedish welfare state has an excellent distribution system, streamlined internal and external communications and a skilled labour force. Timber, hydropower and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented towards foreign trade.
Privately owned firms account for about 90 per cent of the industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50 per cent of exports. Agriculture contributes only two per cent to GDP.
Rich in iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber and hydropower, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of hi-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits.
The foundation for this amazing growth has been the leveraging of Sweden?s abundant natural resources by a series of ingenious inventions and refinements of inventions - the steam turbine, the roller bearing, the gas-powered beacon, the telephone, the cream separator, the safety match, the adjustable wrench, the Tetra Pak beverage packaging system and the Gamma knife, to name a few.
With a small domestic market to cater to, Sweden grew global early with international brands such as Volvo, Saab, Ericsson, ABB, AstraZeneca, Electrolux, IKEA, H&M, Hasselblad and Absolut, among others.
Although raw materials and processed raw materials still account for a sizable portion of Swedish exports, the future of Swedish business lies in knowledge-intensive industries. Information Technology (IT) and biomedicine are sectors in which Sweden is a leading global player.
The experience industry - the new comprehensive label for inter-related creative sectors like design, music, fashion, the art industry, gastronomy, media, advertising and tourism - is also providing Sweden substantial new export income.
Down the ages
Sweden's early history is intimately wrapped up with the natural rhythms of season and climate. It was the end of the Ice Age that brought the first inhabitants to Scandinavia more than 12,000 years ago as the receding glaciers and the warming climate turned barren permafrost into lush plains and vast forests.
By 8,000 BC, there were extensive settlements in the region, but dropping temperatures pushed the inhabitants southward to the coasts. A few thousand years later the cycle reversed. This back and forth movement between the land and the water, between farm and boat, characterises Swedish culture even today.
Scandinavian history is commonly confined to the excursions of the Vikings who had a lasting impact on history as traders and as founders of some of the great cities of medieval Russia. Embarking from settlements like Birka, tucked deeply and safely within the bays of the Swedish coast, the Vikings headed east and south, establishing trade routes that extended as far as Byzantium and Baghdad.
At the turn of the millennium, after about two centuries of prosperity and power, the trade empire of the Vikings began to decline as continental Europe began its economic rise.
Art and culture
Sweden's cultural heritage is as rich and diverse as its history. Relatively isolated, Sweden?s artistic traditions developed their distinctive character. Erik Gunnar Asplund's architectural designs, August Strindberg's path-breaking literary works and the cinematic genius of Ingmar Bergman, Greta Garbo, Max von Sydow, Liv Ullman, Anita Ekberg and Ingrid Bergman are without parallel. The Nobel Prize, established by Alfred Nobel (1833-1896), the Swedish inventor of dynamite, is the most globally recognised authoritative affirmation of excellence.
Sweden has also carefully maintained the pristine beauty of its stunning natural environment. Stockholm, its capital city, is unique. Built on 14 islands, it rises gracefully from water so clean that one can swim or fish in the very heart of the city. Its waterfront is alive with a variety of sailboats and the charm of a rich seafaring tradition. The history of Stockholm dates back to the 13th century and the old world is still frozen in parts in winding, cloistered streets, boutiques and cozy restaurants, all gathered close to the Royal Palace. An hour?s boat ride brings you to the gardens of Drottningholm Palace, the pastoral residence of Sweden?s royal family.
Designed by Ragnar Ostberg, Sweden?s most renowned architect, the Town Hall is a striking building made up of more than eight million deep red bricks and 19 million gilded mosaic tiles. Completed in 1923, it is the site of the Nobel Prize banquet every December.
While Stockholm is abuzz with castles, museums, restaurants and shops, its archipelago is wondrous. It consists of 24,000 islands, some inhabited, others just large enough for a smattering of wildflowers.
Attractions
Northern Sweden is an adventurous and exotic experience. Its landscape is wild and vast. In the area above the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets from May until mid-July. Winter, in contrast, brings the stunning display of northern lights across the night sky. All types of skiing and snow activities abound during the winter months. It is here that the Sami (Lapp) people work to keep their culture alive, herding reindeer for a living.
The Abisko and Sarek National Parks offer some of the wildest and most entrancing wilderness in Europe. Abisko, which encompasses 18,500 acres, has more than 1,000 kilometres of hiking and skiing trails. Sarek National Park has 100 glaciers and six peaks above 2,000 metres and is home to major rivers and exotic wildlife: bears, lynx, wolverines and Arctic foxes are found in abundance.
Jukkasjarvi houses the world?s largest igloo, the Jukkasjarvi Ice Hotel. Each fall, as the Arctic temperatures plummet, the Laplanders rebuild this celebrated igloo from 1,000 tonnes of ice and 2,000 tonnes of snow. A church, hotel, gallery, golf room, cinema and a bar inside are other attractions. Dog-sledding, skiing, helicopter rides, snowmobiling and overnight wilderness camping add to the thrills.
Sweden's rich folklore tradition is strongest around Lake Siljan and the towns of Rattvik, Mora and Leksand in the province of Dalarna. In their music, dress, handicrafts and art lies a distinct old-world quality to the towns and villages that line this 650-mile long waterway, along which one of the country's largest annual music festivals is hosted.
This is the heartland of Sweden, composed mostly of farmland, dotted with lovely little red houses. Each spring, 14,000 cross-country skiers from around the world compete in the historic Vasaloppet Ski Race from Salen to Mora. In the winter, the scenic beauty is spectacular with glistening snow on rooftops and gardens.
The world's oldest restored warship, Vasa, is exhibited on the island of Djurgarden. It capsized moments into its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged 333 years later from the sea floor. The Vasa Museum is one of the most popular sights in Scandinavia.
Steeped in history
Established in 1891, Skansen is the world's oldest open-air museum. It holds 150 authentic, age-old houses from all regions of Sweden, including windmills and a church in which wedding ceremonies are still held. Set on the verdant island of Bjorko, Birka is a town with a fascinating historical and archeological heritage. It was Sweden?s first sizable community, having established substantial trading links with Europe more than 1,200 years ago. Today Birka is a Unesco World Heritage site.
The Gota Canal, built more than 160 years ago as a trade route between Stockholm and Gothenburg. This picturesque passage, which offers glimpses of Sweden?s beautiful inland lakes of Vattern and Vanern, is made aboard one of several famous turn-of-the-century Gota Canal steamers. Skane is the castle country.
Throughout the green, mild countryside and the coastal reaches, the castles are never far. Many of these architectural treasures date to the 14th and 15th centuries ? one of the most opulent eras in Swedish history.
If all this is not stirring enough, rope in Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Jan-Ove Waldner, Annika Sorenstam and Niklas Lidstrom to name a few all-time greats in sport and you realise what an awe inspiring country Sweden really is. So much talent in such a small space.
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