Battle of Poltava, Volvo, Buffet, ABBA, Carlson, Swedish Socialism, Pippi Longstocking, Roxette, IKEA, Zlatan Ibrahimovich ... Everyone heard the name Sweden, but the idea of this country and its residents are usually very foggy. Someone will remember about high taxes, someone about the fact that they have killed the prime minister right in the cinema or in the store. Hockey also, and bandy, which has now become bandy from Russian hockey. Let's try to get to know the Scandinavian kingdom, the capital of which is Stockholm, and its inhabitants closer.
1. In terms of territory, Sweden ranks 55th in the world. 450,000 km2 - this is slightly less than the area of Papua New Guinea and slightly larger than the territory of Uzbekistan. Compared with the Russian regions, Sweden would have taken 10th place in Russia, moving the Trans-Baikal Territory from it, and slightly lagging behind the Magadan Region. Apart from Russia, in Europe Sweden is second only to Ukraine, France and Spain in size.
2. The population of Sweden is just over 10 million people. This roughly corresponds to the population of the Czech Republic, Portugal or Azerbaijan. In Russia, Sweden would be in the sixth decade of the rating of regions in terms of population, competing with the Ivanovo and Kaliningrad regions. With a relatively large area occupied, the population density of Sweden is low - 20 people per square kilometer. Chile and Uruguay are similarly populated. Even in sparsely populated Estonia, the population density is one and a half times higher than in Sweden.
3. Swedes don't like society. They avoid the gathering of their own kind in any form, be it a meeting of company employees or neighbors in the place of residence. Even if it is necessary to participate in the dialogue, they will keep as far from the interlocutor as possible. The distance of one meter or so, accepted by all Europeans, is too intimate for the Swedes. This can be clearly seen in public transport - there can be only 20 people in the bus, but none of them will sit on one of the two twin seats if the second is already occupied. After traveling on public transport during rush hour, almost all Swedes feel as overwhelmed as Karl XII near Poltava. The service sector also corresponds to this mentality. It was in Sweden for the first time that electronic queues in government institutions, self-weighing of products in large stores and online purchases of a wide variety of goods were massively spread.
4. In Sweden, there is a real cult of sports. They are engaged in from small to large. 2 million Swedes officially belong to sports clubs, that is, they pay membership fees to them. Of course, in exchange for contributions, members of sports clubs receive services, but the country is full of free opportunities for physical education. Of course, winter sports are popular, fortunately, the opportunities for them in the country are almost exclusive, but the Swedes also play football and basketball, go in for running, swimming and walking. And in big-time sports, Sweden ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of Olympic medals per capita, behind only Switzerland, Croatia and its neighbors from Norway.
Stockholm marathon starts
5. In 2018, Sweden continued to be the 22nd largest in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP). In terms of this indicator, the country's economy is comparable to that of Poland, and Russia's GDP is slightly less than three times that of Sweden's. If we calculate GDP per capita, then Sweden will be in 12th place in the world, lagging behind Australia and slightly ahead of Holland. According to this indicator, Sweden is taking an impressive revenge from Russia - the Swedish GDP per capita is almost five times more than the Russian one.
6. The frugality of the Swedes borders on greed and often crosses this line. Rusty cars and bicycles, shabby clothes up to torn women's tights, food by weight, measuring spoons for different spices, plugging the sink, “a warm blanket is cheaper than electricity” ... Cherry on a cake - any keychain has a trash can key. In Sweden, garbage is removed by weight, so all private garbage cans are locked to prevent neighbors from throwing it up.
7. If in Great Britain the favorite topic of conversation is the weather, then the Swedes like to talk about public transport, and not in a positive way. This applies to both urban and intercity transport. In Stockholm, despite the fact that all stops are equipped with electronic scoreboards and buses have GPS sensors, buses are often late. The driver can pass the stop, although there is a passenger on it. Many complaints about suddenly closing doors. Prices for tickets and passes are impressive even with knowledge of Swedish income. If you jump on the bus without a travel pass or a special contactless card, you need to pay the conductor 60 kroons (1 krone - 7.25 rubles). A monthly pass costs 830 kroons, a concessionary pass (youth and senior citizens) - 550 kroons.
8. Stockholm has a very beautiful metro. The city stands on a rocky foundation, so the tunnels are literally cut through the stone. The walls and ceilings of the station were not faced, but simply sprinkled with liquid concrete and painted. The interiors of the stations turned out to be simply amazing. As in most European cities, the Stockholm metro only runs partially underground. Ground routes have been laid on the outskirts of the capital.
9. Swedes of all genders retire at the age of 65 with an average life expectancy of about 80 years. The average pension is $ 1,300 (calculated) for men and slightly less than $ 1,000 for women. The women's pension roughly corresponds to the living wage. There are also nuances. Pensions are indexed in both directions. If the country's economy grows, then pensions increase, in times of crises they decrease. Pensions are subject to income tax. Moreover, nobody bothers that tax has already been taken from the profit on pension savings invested in securities - these are different types of income. And yet - in Sweden it is unprofitable to own real estate, so many live in rented apartments until old age. If the size of the pension does not allow paying for housing, the state theoretically pays the missing amount. However, even the pensioners themselves prefer to move to a nursing home - the surcharge is calculated from the subsistence level, on which, as in all countries, it is possible to live only theoretically.
10. Sweden has very good winters: a lot of snow, not cold (in Stockholm, already at -10 ° C, a traffic collapse occurs, and the Swedes scare each other with stories like NN, having gone to work, lived in a hotel for three days - the transport stopped and it was impossible get neither to work nor home) and a lot of sun. The Swedish summer, of course, takes some getting used to. Daylight hours even in the south of the country lasts more than 20 hours. Cucumbers and plums ripen, other fruits and vegetables are considered exotic. But there are a lot of mushrooms and berries. In some lakes - according to the Swedes - you can swim. Apparently, because of such a good summer, summer cottages in Spain and Thailand are so popular among Swedes. But the Swedes do not know the sweltering summer heat. But they perceive any sunny day as a gift of God and sunbathe even at a temperature of + 15 ° C.
11. The average Swede earned $ 2,360 a month in 2018 (in terms of course). This is the 17th indicator in the world. The earnings of Swedish citizens are roughly on par with the incomes of residents of Germany, Holland and Japan, but significantly lower than the salaries of the Swiss ($ 5,430) or Australians ($ 3,300).
12. The thesis “Family is a living organism!” Is very popular in Sweden. It is impossible to challenge him. But for the Swedes, this liveliness means the Brownian movement of people and, most importantly, children. Example: a husband left a family in which there are three children, two of his own, and the third is an adopted child from Somalia. The situation, at first glance, is not easy, but also not rare. Supplement - the husband went to a guy of oriental blood, who has two children - a girl from his first marriage and a boy from a second, born from a surrogate mother - the marriage was same-sex. The wife is already dating a Hispanic. He is married, has a child, and has not yet decided whether he will stay with his first wife, or go to a Swede. The most important thing: all this “Santa Barbara” can easily spend time together - do not spoil the same relationship because of these little things! Again, there is always someone to look after the kids. And the children themselves are happy - someone has two dads, someone has two mothers, and there is always someone to play with in such a “living organism”.
Living organism
13. The analogue of our New Year in Sweden is the so-called. Midsummer - midsummer. On the shortest night of the year, Swedes visit each other en masse and eat potatoes and herring (they eat them all the time, but everything tastes better in Midsummer). Such exotic gifts of the fields as radishes and imported strawberries are also tasted. Of course, they taste alcoholic beverages right up to the whole company bathing in warm water (Swedes for the most part are convinced that cold water is solid water, in all other states of aggregation outside the polar night the water is warm).
14. Even a nodding acquaintance with the tax system in Sweden inspires respect for the citizens of this country. Swedes pay a lot of taxes, and at the same time, the tax service is the third in the ranking of the popularity of state structures. The minimum income tax rate for individuals is 30%, and there is no non-taxable base - I earned 10 kroons per year, please give 3 as income tax. At the highest rate of 55%, excess profits are not taxed at all. More than half of their earnings are given by those who earn more than $ 55,000 a year, that is, about 1.5 times the average salary. The profit of entrepreneurs is taxed at a rate of 26.3%, but businessmen and companies also pay VAT (up to 25%). At the same time, 85% of all taxes are paid by workers, while business accounts for only 15%.
15. The stories of Swedes about food expenses are worthy of a separate discussion. Judging by them, all Swedes: a) spend very modest amounts on food, regardless of their income, and b) eat only organic food. Moreover, the concept of "environmentally friendly" includes such pastoral as chickens feeding exclusively on worms, and cows, chewing exclusively fresh meadow grass. These two postulates are able to coexist in the Swedish minds in the same way as radical tax cuts and equally radical wage increases coexist in the programs of political parties.
16. In the summer of 2018, the Swedish press reported: the government is going to abolish TV subscription fees. In Sweden, any TV owner is obliged to pay about $ 240 a year just for the fact that he has a TV, and whether to watch it or not watch it is the master's business. The amount seems to be small, but the Swedes are tight-fisted, and this payment went to the maintenance of the Swedish state TV channels and radio stations, and they leave much to be desired. Many avoided the license fee, simply by not opening the door to special inspectors - due to some hole in the laws, this money cannot be collected forcibly. And then, it would seem, deliverance came. But it can turn into even greater costs. After the abolition of the monthly fee, every Swede over 18 years old who receives at least some income will have to pay a certain percentage of income for the same television, but not more than $ 130. At the same time, you don't have to buy a TV, the tax will be taken without it.
17. Swedes are very fond of coffee. They love coffee even more than Americans. Those at least drink boiling water, passed through a filter with ground coffee on the walls, on the day it is made. The Swedes, on the other hand, even yesterday's coffee aged in a thermos does not cause rejection - after all, it is hot! The Swede absorbs liters of this drink regardless of whether he is at home or at work. In catering establishments, coffee is included in a set of napkins, salt and pepper - it will be brought to you for free, along with the menu. At the same time, it is obvious that they know how to make decent coffee, and ordering “espresso with grated chocolate and whipped cream” will not cause any rejection. However, the Swedes themselves do not overestimate their love for coffee. "Thanks for the coffee" they mean "before I met, I had a better opinion of you." And “I didn't do it over a cup of coffee” - “Hey, man, I tried, I wasted my time!”.
This relationship with coffee didn't start yesterday
18. There are no washing machines in apartment buildings in Sweden. It is interesting that not only the Swedes, but also the Russians who have moved there take the “ecological” motivation for granted - they need to, they say, save electricity and clean water. After all, 5 washing machines in the basement will consume less electricity and water than 50 machines in each apartment. The number of washing machines is determined based on the number of residents, not considering that they all work and the time that can be spent on washing is limited. There are queues with concomitant consequences in the form of deceptions, spoiled relations, etc. Advanced citizens buy a special computer program for a lot of money to enroll in a queue. More advanced citizens either hack this program themselves, or hire an underachieved genius from Bangladesh for this purpose, fortunately, there are enough of them in Sweden. This is how washing transforms a dwelling house of the XXI century into a “Voronya Slobodka”.
19. One fact speaks about the attitude of the Swedes to alcohol: the now abolished dry law was in force in the country. Surprisingly, this did not lead to a Swedish version of Cosa Nostra, or to the mass production of home distillates. Forbidden to drink - we will rest abroad. Allowed - we will still go abroad, because if you drink at domestic prices, hunger will overtake cirrhosis of the liver. But if you are not lucky enough to stay in a hotel next to a group of Swedish tourists, be prepared - during the day you will sleep, and at night you will fight inadequate Vikings.
20. The annual event of a planetary scale for the Swedes - the Eurovision Song Contest. Starting from the very first selection, the Swedes closely follow all the vicissitudes of the competition, and then they cheer for the representative of Sweden in the same way as they cheer for the Swedish football team, only with their families. Beers, chips, candy, hand-wringing, frustrated or joyful screams, and other trappings are present. Everything is widely covered by central and local TV channels, and there is almost no one on the streets during broadcasts. The Swedish participants, apparently, feel this interest - they won the Eurovision 6 times. Only the Irish have more victories, winning 7 times.
21. In 2015, people began to be chipped in Sweden. While this procedure is voluntary. A probe similar to a piece of thin wire is inserted under the skin of the client using a syringe. This sensor records data from plastic cards, passes, travel documents, etc. Exclusively for the convenience of the chip. A trial balloon for chipping was the proposal of the largest Swedish banks, put forward in 2013, to refuse cash. According to bankers, the Swedes cheat too much with taxes, are mired in the shadow economy and rob banks too often (in 2012, before the revolutionary proposal was made, there were 5 attempts to rob banks). Cash is to blame for everything.
22. All Swedish domestic dogs must be provided with chips. Their content is regulated by a special law, according to which you can get up to two years in prison for mishandling a dog. Dogs are visited by special inspectors who have the authority to select the animal and transfer it to the shelter. The dog needs to be walked every 6 hours, fed on schedule, and be sure to provide the opportunity to communicate with other dogs. The same applies to cats and other domestic animals.Wild animals with chips have not yet reached, so foxes, wolves and wild boars breed completely unhindered. No one is surprised to see a wild boar walking in the park. Only if a large aggressive specimen appears, can it be shot. When 40 vipers found a nest in one of the houses during repairs, a nationwide hysteria arose in Sweden in defense of the poor reptiles. There was a picket of volunteers around the house around the clock, wishing to prevent the killing of snakes. As a result, the snakes were driven into the nearest forest with pipes.
23. The vast majority of Swedish houses inside are furnished in a minimalist style. A minimum of everything: furniture, walls (houses are often decorated as studios, without partitions), flowers (most often the walls are just painted white), even few lamps - the Swedes love candles and burn them daily. There are no curtains on the windows. Why, there may not even be a corridor - the front door leads directly to the living room. When you first get into a Swedish house, you might think that the owners have just moved and are waiting for the delivery of other things.
Wardrobes and curtains will be delivered soon ...
24. Swedish students rarely study even five days a week. Usually one day is left to earn money for the benefit of the class. The kids washes cars, mows lawns, cleans, nurses the kids, etc. Usually, such a day is allocated on Friday, and on Monday you need to bring a certain amount (usually 100 kroons, about 10 dollars) to the class office. Little Swedes travel all over Europe with this money during their holidays. Moreover, it is not necessary to work - you can take this hundred from your parents and get an extra day off. In addition to "work Friday", they often arrange a sports day, and parents won't help here - everyone goes to the gym, to the stadium, to the pool or to the skating rink. It is even easier for students if they have the Internet - they can appear at the university once a month.
25. In Sweden, the ambulance works great and the rest of the state medicine is disgusting. Resuscitators arrive to the call in a matter of minutes in a well-equipped machine and immediately get into work. The doctor at the reception can examine-listen-listen to the patient and say on a blue eye: “I don't know what's wrong with you. Come back in a couple of days. " But they write out sick leave without delay, this is very much appreciated by civil servants.
