Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Sweden
Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies and one of the lowest birth rates. The country counts at least 17,000 Sami among its population. About one fifth of Sweden's population are immigrants or have at least one foreign-born parent. The largest immigrant groups are from Finland, the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Norway, Denmark, and Poland. This reflects the Nordic immigration, earlier periods of labor immigration, and later decades of refugee and family immigration. The proportion of European immigrants has risen, the main reason being the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.
Swedish is a Germanic language related to Danish and Norwegian but different in pronunciation and orthography. English is by far the leading foreign language, particularly among students and those under age 50.
Sweden has an extensive child-care system that guarantees a place for all young children from 2-6 years old in a public day-care facility. From ages 7-16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school. After completing the ninth grade, 90% attend upper secondary school for either academic or technical education.
Swedes benefit from an extensive social welfare system, which provides for childcare and maternity and paternity leave, a ceiling on health care costs, old-age pensions, and sick leave among other benefits. Parents are entitled to a total of 12 months' paid leave between birth and the child's eighth birthday, with one of those months reserved specifically for the father. A ceiling on health care costs makes it easier for Swedish workers to take time off for medical reasons.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Sweden
Swedish 20th century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. Later on, moguls like Ingmar Bergman and actresses such as Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad.
Swedish music is in many minds connected with ABBA, although more recently indie bands like Soundtrack of our lives and The Hives have started achieving international fame.
Swedish literature is also vibrant and active, Sweden ranking third in the list of countries with most Nobel Prize laureates in literature.
Holidays
Main article: Holidays in Sweden
The Swedish holiday calendar consists mainly of Christian holidays. Many of these are however a continuation of pre-christian customs, such as Midsummer and Walpurgis Night. Apart from official holidays and a few de facto holidays there are also official flag day observances and minor observances in the namesday calendar.