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Swedes

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"Swede" redirects here. This article is about the Swedish people as an ethnic group. For information about residents or nationals of Sweden, see demographics of Sweden. For swede, the vegetable, see rutabaga.
Swedes
Regions with significant populations
Sweden:
   8.2 million

USA:
   4.5 million
Finland1:
   0.3 million
Canada:
   0.3 million
Germany:
   16, 200
Other:
   1 million


footnote 1: Note that this is based on primary language use only; not all Swedish-speaking people of Finland consider themselves ethnic Swedes.
Languages
Swedish
Related languages include Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, and to a lesser extent, all Germanic languages
Religion
87% of Sweden is composed of Lutherans
Related ethnic groups
Danes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese and to a lesser extent, all Germanic ethnic groups


The Swedish people or Swedes (Swedish: Svenskar) are an ethnic group which comprises of the native speakers of the Germanic Swedish language and those of their descendants who have retained some other elements of strong ethnic Swedish self-identity besides the language. The largest area inhabited by ethnic Swedes, as well as the earliest known original area inhabited by their linguistic ancestors, is on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsula and islands adjacent to it, situated west of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The Swedish speaking people living in near-coastal areas on the north-eastern and eastern side of the Baltic Sea, including the Finland-Swedish minority in mainland Finland and the small Swedish minority in Estonia, also have a long history of continuous settlement which in some of these areas possibly started over a millennium ago. Smaller groups of historical descendants of 18th-19th century Swedish emigrants who still retain some forms of Swedish identity to this day can be found in the Americas and in the Ukraine.

The Suiones, as an ancient Germanic tribe, sometimes named Svear in academic works, were at the roots of the Swedish statehood, and contemporary with the Geats and the Goths in Scandinavia. Notably, in modern Scandinavian languages, with the exception of Icelandic, there is a distinction between svenskar and svear (as between danskar (Danes) and Daner), since the latter term does not include the Geats and the Gotlanders and other populations whose descendants are part of the present population of Sweden.

For the global genetic make-up of the Swedes and other peoples, see also: [1] and [2]

Ethnic Swedes

The notion of ethnic Swedes is controversial, and especially the Swedish and Finnish views contradict each other. The usage in English does not necessarily reflect the usage in Sweden and Finland, or in Swedish and Finnish.

In an English language context, the concept of ethnic Swedes may be used for:

  • People of Swedish heritage, typically immigrants to the Americas
  • Minorities outside of Sweden with Swedish mother tongue, who however might not designate themselves as "ethnically Swedish"

In Sweden, the connotation of Swede, when used without qualifications, is often a person who is

  • a citizen of Sweden,
  • living in Sweden, and
  • born by Swedish parents.

Not all Swedes would agree with such a usage. Immigrants and their offspring may by some persons be denoted as Swedes, particularly if their Swedish is flawlessly without foreign accent or if they are prominent industrialists or sportsmen and they appear assimilated in the Swedish culture.

In a Swedish mindset, the concept of ethnic Swedes is used chiefly in the following contexts:

  • To distinguish "Swedish citizens" who are naturalized immigrants, but not indistinguishably assimilated, from the other Swedes.
  • To distinguish, typically in school settings, pupils of immigrant heritage from them without.

In addition to this, ethnic Swedes may be used to include the ethnic Swedes not living in Sweden:

  • the Swedish speaking minority living in Finland (Finland-Swedes) and Åland,
  • the Swedish speaking minority living in Estonia (Estonia-Swedes) and
  • the decendents of Swedes who immigrated to places like the US and Canada, some of whom still speak Swedish
  • the Swedish speaking minority living in Gammalsvenskby (Old Swedish Village) in Ukraine.

The majority of those Estonia-Swedes who reside in Estonia and most Ukraine-Swedes do not speak Swedish any more, but may yet be considered being ethnic Swedes (cf ethnic German). In a nationalist context, the ethnic Swedes living outside Sweden are sometimes called "East-Swedes" (in Swedish: östsvenskar), to distinguish them from the ethnic Swedes living in Sweden proper, called rikssvenskar or västsvenskar ("Western-Swedes"), reflecting irredentist sentiments.

Swedish speakers outside Sweden

The Finland-Swedes form an important minority group in Finland, about 265,000, comprising 5.10% of the population of mainland Finland, or 5.55%[3] if the 26,000 inhabitants of Åland are included (there are also about 60,000 Finland-Swedes currently resident in Sweden).

The presence of Swedish speaking permanent residents in what is now Estonia (Estonia-Swedes) was first documented in the 14th century, and possibly dates back to the Viking Age. There were an estimated 12,000 Swedes resident in Estonia in 1563. Estonia was under Swedish rule 1558–1710, after which the territory was ceded to Russia in the 1721 Treaty of Nystad. In 1781, 1,300 Estonia-Swedes of the island of Hiiumaa (Dagö) were forced to move to Ukraine by Catherine II of Russia, where they formed Gammalsvenskby (Old Swedish Village). According to the 1934 census there were 7,641 Estonia-Swedes (Swedish speaking, 0.7% of the population in Estonia), making Swedes the third largest national minority in Estonia, after Russians and Germans. During World War II almost the entire community of Estonia-Swedes fled to Sweden. Today there are, at most, a few hundred Estonia-Swedes living in Estonia and a few hundred in Ukraine, with the estimates varying widely depending on who identifies, or can be identified, as a Swede.

National character

It is of course difficult to pinpoint the national character of the Swedes considering the differences between the people of Skåneland and Lapland or city and countryside for instance.

many Swedes enjoy hiking as well as using nature for various forms of exercise and/or recreation, such as picking berries and mushrooms as well as hunting. As a result Sweden created Allemansrätten, the right of public access to the wilderness, allowing free access to nature even on private property.

Many Swedes are not interested in religion. 46-85% classify themselves as atheist/agnostic [4], yet almost 80% are members of Church of Sweden since membership was rendered automatically to anyone born in Sweden before the year 2000 when Church and State were separated. Thousands of Swedes are leaving the Church though every year since the past decade. Note that this study only concerns residents of Sweden, and not ethnic Swedes who live abroad.

Many Swedes have rather reserved personalities compared to other cultures, which has led to the stereotype of quiet, cold, unfriendly Swedes. However, in spite of the common shyness, Swedes are generally nice, friendly people, just typically less outgoing than many other cultures. As such, Swedes tend to be somewhat wary around unknown people, and it can be difficult for foreigners and immigrants to assimilate in Sweden. At the same time, Swedes are well known for their tolerance and appreciation of other cultures. It is important to note that Swedes can have a variety of different personalities, from shy to outgoing, just as in other cultures. Also, Sweden has become a very multicultural society in the past few decades, which has influenced the native Swedes, as has globalization. Many people have noticed a dramatic difference between "winter Swedes" and "summer Swedes", because people's moods tend to be affected by the cold, dark winters.

Sweden is located in the "vodka belt" and drinking was a problem until the temperance movement gained influence. Swedes now have a strict division so they rarely drink alcohol during the working week, but instead do binge drinking in the weekends. As such many Swedes tend to become much more outgoing on the weekends. During the latter decades there have been a move towards more "continental" drinking habits during the week as well as binge drinking in weekends. To prevent excessive drinking the selling of alcohol (except for low alcohol beer) is handled by a government monopoly, Systembolaget. The tax on alcohol is also high. The high cost of alcohol that is even higher on pubs and restaurants have led to the tradition of "grunda" (building a foundation), i.e. gathering at home and drink before going out.

Swedes often take pride in being normal. If you are rich you often don't show it off in a manner that looks out of the ordinary and you often downplay it when talking about it. If you have a large house in the archipelago you may say that you have "A house a bit outside town." Lagom is a Swedish word that lacks a counterpart in most languages. It basically means "just the right amount, but not too much." This explains the Swedish desire to live a normal, pleasant life. Elitism is often frowned upon, and Swedes speak of Jantelagen and the "Swedish jealousy" as norms which keep people in their place, even though these norms have become slightly more lax in recent years. Egalitarianism remains a strong ideal in Sweden. Swedes prefer a polite yet casual form of interaction, without strict rules dividing social groups. It is perfectly normal to greet your boss or teacher using first name or nickname.

Since for the larger part of the year the weather is wet in one way or another Swedes remove their shoes when visiting somebody. If it's a more formal occasion you bring indoor shoes with you in a bag and change.

Source: "Den svenska koden" by Marie Bengts, Uli Bruno and Silvia Nilson-Puccio. ISBN 9188783391

The Hairiness Question

It is currently unknown, though much speculated about, the relative hairiness of Swedes as compared with other world nationalities. The resolution of this uncertainty is currently the target of extensive research at universities and think tanks worldwide.

New Swedes

New Swedes, or Nysvenskar in Swedish, is a term used in Swedish society and currently fashionable in public debate, to denote 20th century immigrants and their offspring, particularly those of southern-European and non-European descent. Critics of this usage do however object to it as an exaggerated political correctness or alternatively as disguised racism, pointing out that this usage ignores roughly a third of the immigrants who originate from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Poland and Germany.

In a school-yard context, in our day's Sweden, Swedes do typically refer to ethnic Swedes contrasting to those pupils who identify themselves as immigrants – or of immigrant heritage. Many second and third generation immigrants have experienced how being born in Sweden is not sufficient to escape discrimination. A family name or physical looks that hint at low-status immigrant ancestry can be a critical disadvantage. Also Finland-Swedish immigrants to Sweden have experienced how they first and foremost are perceived as immigrants from Finland and not as Swedes by both authorities, neighbours and colleagues.


See also

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