17 things you did not know about Sweden

OUR friends over at Factslides put together some interesting facts for us about Sweden, most of which we bet you didn’t know.

1. In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted.

Swedish family (they don't care to the rain) #söderåsen #naturalparc #hikking #woods #swedishfamily #cute #sweden #swedishlife #rain #landscape #green #ig_sweden

A photo posted by Morgane ☁️ (@morgane_ptt) on Sep 5, 2015 at 9:33am PDT

2. The official Twitter account of @Sweden is given to a random citizen every week to manage.

3. Passports issued by Sweden, UK and Finland offer visa-free travel to more countries than any other passports.

4. 89% of people in Sweden speak English.

Let's be Swedish weird together! #swedish #swedishfamily #wanderlust

A photo posted by Susana – Charlotte Carvajal (@susanacarlota) on Sep 10, 2015 at 5:56am PDT

5. You can’t name your child “IKEA” or “Elvis” in Sweden.

6. Sweden pays students US$187 a month to attend high school.

These people are the best.☺️ #smun #travel #friends

A photo posted by Ashley Moon 🌜 (@ashleytothemoon) on Nov 16, 2014 at 2:31am PST

7. Sweden and Norway formed a United Kingdom from 1814 to 1905.

8. There is a cruise ship that runs between Stockholm, Sweden, and Helsinki, Finland, just to purchase cheap alcohol.

Photographer: @swepicture Location: Gothenburg Tag your pictures with #visitsweden and #swedishmoments for a chance to get featured. Chosen by @_thomaswijk

A photo posted by VisitSweden (@visitsweden) on Sep 1, 2015 at 5:03am PDT

9. Sweden has run out of trash, so it is importing garbage from Norway.

10. Absolute Vodka used to belong to the Sweden’s government, until they sold it in 2008 for US$8.3 million to Pernod Ricard.

FTW

A photo posted by Colonel Slamders (@babasimmons) on Dec 14, 2015 at 2:09am PST

11. The band ABBA wore ridiculous outfits to avoid Sweden’s taxes, which allowed deductions for clothing if it wasn’t meant to be used every day.

12. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is built on 14 islands, and the city centre is virtually situated on the water.

Travelling by local ferries is a fantastic way to experience a city built on islands. This is the view from the ferry Djurgårdsfärjan, with plenty of departures from Slussen out to the island of Djurgården. #visitstockholm #djurgårdsfärjan

A photo posted by Visit Stockholm (@visitstockholm) on Aug 27, 2015 at 2:44am PDT

13. 99% of Denmark’s Jews survived the holocaust because the Danish organised a massive evacuation to neutral Sweden.

14. IKEA names sofas, coffee tables and bookshelves after places in Sweden; beds, wardrobes and hall furniture after places in Norway; carpets after places in Denmark and dining tables and chairs after places in Finland.

#CyberMonday exclusive! Get the KALLAX 4-cube shelving unit for $19.99 (reg. $34.99) today only, online only! (Promotional price will be applied at checkout.)

A photo posted by IKEA USA (@ikeausa) on Nov 30, 2015 at 8:11am PST

15. Sweden has the largest scale model of the solar system in the world. It is in the scale of 1.2 million and stretches 950 km across the country.

16. Homosexuality was classified as an illness in Sweden until 1979. Swedes protested by calling sick into work, claiming they “felt gay.”

We are proud to announce that Stockholm, together with Gothenburg, will host EuroPride 2018! Two cities, one country – for a united Europe open to the world.

A photo posted by Visit Stockholm (@visitstockholm) on Sep 6, 2015 at 2:59am PDT

Travel

17 things you did not know about Sweden

1. In Sweden, parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave when a child is born or adopted.

2. The official Twitter account of @Sweden is given to a random citizen every week to manage.

3. Passports issued by Sweden, UK and Finland offer visa-free travel to more countries than any other passports.

4. 89% of people in Sweden speak English.

5. You can’t name your child “IKEA” or “Elvis” in Sweden.

6. Sweden pays students US$187 a month to attend high school.

7. Sweden and Norway formed a United Kingdom from 1814 to 1905.

8. There is a cruise ship that runs between Stockholm, Sweden, and Helsinki, Finland, just to purchase cheap alcohol.

9. Sweden has run out of trash, so it is importing garbage from Norway.

10. Absolute Vodka used to belong to the Sweden’s government, until they sold it in 2008 for US$8.3 million to Pernod Ricard.

11. The band ABBA wore ridiculous outfits to avoid Sweden’s taxes, which allowed deductions for clothing if it wasn’t meant to be used every day.

12. Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, is built on 14 islands, and the city centre is virtually situated on the water.

13. 99% of Denmark’s Jews survived the holocaust because the Danish organised a massive evacuation to neutral Sweden.

14. IKEA names sofas, coffee tables and bookshelves after places in Sweden; beds, wardrobes and hall furniture after places in Norway; carpets after places in Denmark and dining tables and chairs after places in Finland.

15. Sweden has the largest scale model of the solar system in the world. It is in the scale of 1.2 million and stretches 950 km across the country.

16. Homosexuality was classified as an illness in Sweden until 1979. Swedes protested by calling sick into work, claiming they “felt gay.”

17. Swedish was not made the official language of Sweden until 2009.