Sweden: Overview

Updated: 2017-03-20.

Kingdom of Sweden | Konungariket Sverige

Sweden is a northern European country, situated on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway is virtually its entire western border, while Finland and the Baltic Sea are located to its north and east, respectively; in the very south of Sweden, a long bridge now offers a land connection to Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen.

This Nordic country has had a rough and troubled past, but that was quite a while ago; today, Sweden is a global hub for fashion, cuisine, art, music, and culture, amid much else. With its colorful history behind it, the Scandinavian country now annually ranks in the top 5 as far as happiness, air quality, and standards of living – a big source of pride.

Stockholm, the country’s capital, is located in the southeast corner of Sweden, amid a vast archipelago of islands (25,000+!) on the Baltic Sea. This cosmopolitan city is a great way to begin understanding the country as a whole, especially the Skansen open-air museum, where one can find dozens of relocated buildings from all over the country, and from all different ages, in a hodgepodge of architectural history.

From the very north of the country, which experiences the drastic long and short daylight hours that are a novelty to most of the rest of us, to the very south, Sweden has lots to offer. The country is quite long, as well as plentiful on natural beauty; hills, lakes, mountains, and rivers can be found throughout.

On 20 March 2017, the United Nations declared their “International Day of Happiness” and released a related “World Happiness Report” rating countries from happiest to saddest. Sweden came in at #9!