Follow the jump links to learn more about Sweden
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts Lifestyle and Family Living
Sweden is one of the most egalitarian societies in the world. The Swedes are proud of their nation and its accomplishments, and local patriotism is important. Swedes have a profound respect for privacy and politeness. Although they may appear reserved at first, they tend to have terrific senses of humor and genuinely appreciate a joke.
Family life is important, but family structure is diverse and offers differing lifestyles and beliefs from one family to the next. In a typical family, both parents work, and no Swedish families have maids.
Household chores are usually democratically divided among Swedish family members, regardless of traditional female and male roles and age. Swedish houses tend to be small and tidy. Any student (boy or girl) must be willing and able to help at home by cleaning, cooking, washing laundry etc. Mutual respect between children and adults is nurtured at an early age.
In Sweden, young people generally do not smoke, and stores are not allowed, by law, to sell tobacco to people younger than 18 years old.
Most placements are in rural areas or small towns.
Swedish host families, like all AFS host families worldwide, are volunteers and are not paid. They open their homes to students in order to share their community and culture as well as to enrich their own family lives.Teen Life
As you will be placed in a small village, most of your activities will probably take place with your host family. Informal get-togethers are more common than large parties. You will enjoy your stay if you plan on participating in the everyday life of your village or community.
In general, Swedes are very sports-minded. Soccer, skiing, tennis, ice hockey and bandy (related to hockey) are all popular. Ice skating and other winter sports are common. Swedes love nature and try to spend as much time in it as possible.
Favorite leisure activities include reading, attending cultural events such as the theater and concerts, and watching movies and television. Swedes also enjoy celebrating holidays.Dress and Appearance
Swedish youth dress very casually. A wardrobe consisting of a change of clothes for every day is not necessary.
Also remember that the current style in your country may not be the style in Sweden, so try to avoid buying too many clothes before you leave.
Both boys and girls should have warm underwear, good comfortable walking shoes, warm boots, slippers, mittens, warm sweaters, warm socks, a warm, waterproof coat or jacket and a warm winter coat.
Remember that you will have to walk and perhaps ride a bicycle in all kinds of weather.
Swedish schools do not require uniforms. Both boys and girls wear blue jeans with shirts, T-shirts and sweaters.
On special occasions, more formal dress is expected: for girls a dress or blouse and skirt; for boys a jacket, slacks and tie.Diet and Meals
Common foods include potatoes, cheese, seafood, meat, fresh vegetables, salads and open-faced sandwiches.
International dishes including pasta and rice dishes are now common. Smörgåsbord for special occasions is very popular. Vegetarianism is rare.
The drinking age is 18 at restaurants, but you are not allowed to buy alcoholic beverages in a store until you reach the age of 21. It is sometimes customary to drink wine or beer with meals.Educational System
Most AFSers attend the second or third year of the gymnasieskola, selecting one of the 17 national three-year programs. All of the programs offer a broad general education and basic eligibility to continue studies at the post-secondary level. Alongside the national programs are specially designed and individual study programs. Many courses are structured as lectures with some classroom discussion.
School opens after the middle of August and goes until early June. Classes usually run from 8 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. A Swedish school will receive an AFSer’s school record and determine class placement after discussing the matter with the student.
The school provides teaching materials, lunch and transportation. Sometimes a school can also provide extra Swedish language lessons.
It is difficult to enroll foreign students in special art and music schools.
All instruction, with the exception of foreign languages, is done in Swedish. In the beginning, you may find it hard to follow, but as you learn more of the language, school will become less challenging, so be patient, work hard, and keep at it!
While it may be possible to obtain academic credit for the coursework you successfully complete abroad, AFS cannot guarantee this. Please discuss your plans with your school before you go abroad.
Geography and Climate
Sweden is located on the east side of the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. It is bound by Finland, the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea and Norway.
Swedish wildlife is some of the most plentiful in Europe. Sweden offers a diverse environment. Forests cover more than 57% of the total area and there are more than 100,000 lakes.
The topography is relatively flat except for the mountains that form much of the northwest. The highest mountain, Kebnekaise, reaches 2,111 m. (6,926 ft.).
The country also has numerous large rivers that run into the Baltic Sea in the east and into the Atlantic on the west coast. Sweden’s coastline is the longest of any country in Europe, stretching 7,300 km. (5,400 mi.).
Sweden’s archipelagos are world-famous. The west coast is unique because of its rocks and islands. The soil was washed away during the Ice Age thousands of years ago, which left smooth, bare islands. The water is not as salty as the rest of the Atlantic but is clear and supports generally the same kind of maritime life. The Stockholm archipelago on the east coast is known for its many islands—more than 25,000 with forests and meadows.
The warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean gives Sweden a milder climate than other areas so far north. Stockholm, the capital, has the same latitude as southern Alaska but has an average temperature in July of 18°C (64°F), and minus 3°C (25°F) in February.
Sweden has a typically continental climate with a moderate range in temperatures and a warm summer of more than four months. Average annual precipitation is heaviest in the southwest and most precipitation north of Stockholm is snow.
Population
Sweden’s population of 9 million people is composed principally of Scandinavians of Germanic descent and a relatively small number of ethnic Finns.
Sweden’s immigrant population is increasing rapidly, with approximately 500,000 foreign-born residents living in Sweden in the early 1990s. These included Finns, people from the former Yugoslavia, Iranians, Norwegians, Danes, Turks, Chileans and others.
Language
Swedes speak Swedish, a Germanic language related to Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic.
Government
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. It is governed under the constitution of 1975, which eliminated monarchical power in governing the country. The monarch remains head of state, an exclusively ceremonial post, but no longer is supreme commander of the armed forces and does not preside over cabinet meetings.
Religion
Though most Swedes are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, theirs is a highly secular society.
Spending Money
The Swedish krona is the official currency.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100-$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the >AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- On the Thursday before Easter, young girls make up their faces, put scarves over their heads and dress in long skirts. The little “Easter witches” then roam from house to house collecting sweets and handing out Easter cards.
- Walpurgis Night. On the night of April 30, crowds of people gather on hilltops and other prominent places all over Sweden to light roaring bonfires. Many wear traditional white student caps, emblazoned with lyres. As the fires blaze, they sing songs praising the long-awaited arrival of spring.
- Swedish Midsummer celebrations are held on the Friday closest to June 24, the “official” Midsummer Day. Celebrations kick off with raising the “Midsummer pole,” (Maypole), which is decorated with birch leaves and wild flowers, flags and other decorations; and everyone sings and dances around the pole.
- Moose has become the symbol of Swedish nature.
- December 10 is not just an ordinary winter’s day in Sweden; it is Nobel Prize day, full of pomp and ceremony.
- The feast of St Lucia is celebrated on December 13, traditionally considered the longest night of the year. Early in the morning on the 13th, in thousands of homes across Sweden, a young girl will get up and dress herself in white and don a crown of lighted candles. She will then sing about the darkness of winter and the light that is about to return.
