Discover the Magic: Top 14 Fun and Fascinating Facts About Sweden You Never Knew!

1. Banana Import-Export Champs

Sweden surely goes bananas for, well, bananas: Ranked as the 22nd largest importer of the delectable fruit in 2021, with a total import bill of $129 million, this Scandi haven also managed to squeeze into the banana export market as the 40th largest exporter, shipping out $25.6 million worth of the fruity goodness.
Source => oec.world

2. Snow Mansion Hotel

While most of us present our Frosty the Snowman creations with pride, the Swedes take it to another level by building a subzero snow mansion: ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden is an annual, one-of-a-kind ice art installation that doubles as a functioning hotel, with artists creating unique rooms and features from ice harvested from the Torne River each year.
Source => icehotel.com

Did you know there's a town called Hell in Norway, with its own Blues festival and a Miss Universe winner? Discover the devilish charm of this frosty destination.

=> Fun Facts about Norway

3. IKEA's Star-Studded Appeal

You might say Sweden's IKEA is on a "roll" in the furniture world, assembling mass appeal even faster than you can figure out those cryptic instruction manuals – and now, pine-ing for a Yeezy collaboration: The colossal Scandinavian furniture powerhouse boasts 387 stores in 48 countries, selling a Billy bookcase every ten seconds and attracting a staggering 884 million visitors last year, including Hollywood celebrities and musicians like Kanye West who have expressed their keen interest in designing for the brand.
Source => people.com

4. Daddy Daycare Swedes

When Swedish strollers roll, daddies take control: In the land of ABBA and IKEA, parents receive a whopping 480 days of paid parental leave, with each parent entitled to 240 days, seeing Swedish fathers taking about 30% of the total leave, making it a common sight of dads jamming with prams!
Source => sweden.se

5. Stockholm's Smorgas-island

In Sweden, they're literally keeping all their islands in one archipelago – you could call it a smorgas-island, if you will: Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden, is built on 14 individual islands, each boasting unique features like artists, ceramicists, and amusement parks, with the city divided into thirds between water, urban spaces, and greenery.
Source => dailyscandinavian.com

6. Moose Milk Cheese Craze

Don't get your moose-tache in a twist, but Sweden's got a cheese that's sure to tickle your antlers: At Älgens Hus in Bjurholm, you can indulge in the world's only moose milk cheese, crafted in four unique varieties by three artistic sisters during a fleeting five-month lactation window, making it a rarity found only at their restaurant and select nearby shops.
Source => thedailymeal.com

7. Lifesaving Road Designs

In Sweden, the roads are designed like a game of "ready, set, save lives!": Through their revolutionary "Vision Zero" policy, Sweden has significantly reduced fatalities and serious injuries with low urban speed limits, 1,500 kilometers of "2+1" roads (where each lane takes turns overtaking a middle lane), saving an estimated 145 lives within its first decade and inspiring countries like Canada to adopt these life-preserving principles.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Dialing Jokkmokk's Area Code

Feeling reminiscent of playing international telephone tag with your long distance friends from Sweden? You'll love dialing down memory lane with this one: The area code for Jokkmokk, a picturesque town in northern Sweden, is 0971 – and don't forget to slide in +46 or 0046 to replace the first zero if you're calling from abroad!
Source => routesnorth.com

9. Nobel-and-Chill Awards

Feeling the explosive urge to recognize genius? Let's Nobel-and-chill: Sweden proudly hosts the world-renowned Nobel Prize, established by none other than Swedish scientist and inventor Alfred Nobel, honoring exceptional contributions to physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace – a prestigious party where the who's who of science, literature, and activism come together!
Source => nobelprize.org

10. Women Warriors in Sweden

In a twist that even the Vikings would be proud of, Swedish women will soon be able to flex their warrior muscles too: Sweden has announced plans to reintroduce the draft, including women in the line of eligibility, as a move towards gender-neutral conscription and bolster gender equality in various aspects of society.
Source => gazette.com

11. Peekaboo Over Flat-Pack

In Sweden, parents spend more time playing peekaboo with their newborns than they do with IKEA furniture instructions: Swedish couples are allowed up to 480 days of parental leave per child, paid at a benefit rate, to be taken anytime until the child is 18 months old, with no fixed amount reserved for mothers.
Source => norden.org

12. Sweden's Happiness Epidemic

In Sweden, laughter is a social lubricant and frowny faces are as mythical as unicorns: The Scandinavian nation ranks as the seventh happiest country in the world according to the World Happiness Report 2022, with a happiness index of 7.38 - a score fueled by factors like top-notch social welfare systems, high living standards, and a generous sprinkling of freedom, support, and kindness.
Source => wisevoter.com

13. Metro Art Extravaganza

Forget chasing rainbows – Gothenburg has a colorful underground treat: Stockholm's Metro system boasts over 150 artists and their creations in 90 out of 100 stations, making the 105.7-kilometre track one of the world's largest art galleries and an absolute must-visit for arty globetrotters.
Source => trendtablet.com

14. Illuminating Fishy Tales

In a strangely fishy turn of events, Paris illuminated its streets with the help of seafood, and Catholic Europe prayed under the hallowed glow of herring: In the 1880s Sweden, herring was so plentiful that its fish oil was used as a cheaper alternative to candles, lighting up the City of Lights and adorning sacred images. The extraction process, which converted twenty barrels of herring into one barrel of fish oil, produced spillages and an overpowering stench, eventually altering the fish's migration patterns and diminishing the profitability of this olfactory offensive trade.
Source => swedishspoon.com