Sweden travel guide

Overview

The Kingdom of Sweden is a parliamentary democracy (with a notional monarchy) that is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe.

History

Sweden has settled down quite a bit since the Viking Age, when driven by overpopulation amid scarce resources, its marauders terrorized Europe and colonized areas including Britain and Newfoundland. Christianity came late to the region, taking hold in stages after the 11th Century, while international commerce took over from military expansionism, despite a flirtation with empire in the 1600s, and another more serious one in the century preceding the 1870s. Since then, Sweden has prided itself on neutrality, good government, and social equality, such that despite its relative lack of natural resources, it has come to battle annually with Norway for the U.N.'s top ranking for the world's highest standard of living.