General

Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1995.

Language

Swedes are considered by some to be more reserved and will only say what they mean.  There’s usually no hidden meaning and you don’t need to “read between the lines”. They may be silent if they have nothing to say, which means that Swedes are considered informative, not communicative.

Value System and Relationships

Sweden scores very low on the masculinity index and low on the uncertainty index. There’s very little status consciousness. Hundreds of years of neutrality has taught the Swedes to avoid conflicts. Swedes are therefore careful not to express an opinion that could cause a heated discussion. The Swedes’ disciplined, organized and “can-do” approach to both work issues and life in general is extraordinary.

Business Climate

The boss is a team player and one can question his/her decisions. Swedes are not risk-takers, but very punctual. They often expect their products and services to sell themselves, and are famous for always trying to seek consensus. And don’t forget the daily ritual of  “fika” i.e. coffee break.

The Pew Global Attitudes Project is an interactive database that allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes towards the U.S. to peoples assessments of their own lives to views about globalization, democratization and extremism and other important issues.

The country ranks as no. 1 (of 180 countries) on Transparency International’s 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index.