Swedes (Svenskar)
Gustav Vasa • Carl Linnaeus • J. J. Berzelius • Alfred Nobel Selma Lagerlöf • Ann-Margret • Björn Ulvaeus • Markus Näslund
Total population
16 million (est. Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson (Colloquial 15th century Upplandic Gösta Jerksson) and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Friherre Jöns Jacob Berzelius (20 August 1779 &ndash 7 August 1848 was a Swedish chemist (21 October 1833 Stockholm, Sweden – 10 December 1896 Sanremo, Italy) was a Swedish chemist engineer innovator armaments manufacturer / sèlˈma ʊ̀tiːlɪa lʊ̀viˈsa lɑ̀ːgərˈløːv / (20 November 1858&ndash16 March 1940 was a Swedish Author and the first woman writer to win the Ann-Margret (born April 28 1941 is a Swedish -born American actress singer Björn Kristian Ulvaeus, bjœɳ ɵlˈveɵs (born April 25 1945 is a Swedish Musician, Composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group Markus Näslund (born July 30 1973 is a Swedish professional Ice hockey player with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. )
Regions with significant populations
Sweden:      9,100,000 (est. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. )[1] [2] [3] Other significant population centers:
United States 4,500,000[4]  Canada 500,000  Finland 9,000 (Swedish citizens) 290,000 (Finland Swedes or Swedish-speaking Finns)  Brazil 250,000  Argentina 175,000  Australia 100,000[5]  United Kingdom Est 100,000  Norway 100,000  Germany 50,000  Spain 50,000 (2006)  Estonia 50,000 (2006)[6] Other regions 400,000
Languages
Swedish Related languages include Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese, and to a lesser extent, all Germanic languages
Religions
Historically Norse paganism, Christianity (Mainly Lutheranism) and more recently Secularism. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language Danish ( d̥ænsɡ̊ is one of the North Germanic languages (also called Scandinavian languages a sub-group of the Germanic branch of the Icelandic ( is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Faroese ( føroyskt ˈføːɹɪst or) often also spelled Faeroese (cf The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Norse paganism is a term used to describe the religious traditions which were common amongst the Germanic tribes living in Nordic countries prior to and Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from Religion or religious beliefs Also see Religion in Sweden. Sweden was pagan before the 11th century, when the country underwent Christianization.
Related ethnic groups
Danes, Norwegians, Germans, Icelanders, Faroese, Finns and to a lesser extent, all Germanic ethnic groups

Swedish people (Swedish: svenskar) are a Nordic ethnic group indigenous to Sweden ^[7] , Finland and Estonia, defined by a common Swedish culture, speaking the Swedish language and/or being of Swedish descent. The term Dane may refer to People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity whether living in Denmark, emigrants or the descendants of emigrants Norwegians See also History of Norway and Demography of Norway. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as Icelanders are the Nation or Ethnic group of Iceland descended primarily from Norsemen of Scandinavia. The Faroese or Faroe Islanders ( Føroyingar) are the people of the Faroe Islands in Northern Europe of Norse and Celtic The terms Finns and Finnish people ( Finnish: suomalaiset, Swedish: finländare) are used in English to The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region The Culture of Sweden is typically perceived as Egalitarian, simple and open to international influences Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin through either biological cultural or historical descent ^[8]

Geography

The largest area inhabited by Swedes, as well as the earliest known original area inhabited by their linguistic ancestors, is in the country of Sweden, situated on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the islands adjacent to it, situated west of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The Scandinavian Peninsula is a geographic region in northern Europe, consisting principally of the Mainland territories of Norway and Sweden The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland The Swedish-speaking people living in near-coastal areas on the north-eastern and eastern side of the Baltic Sea also have a long history of continuous settlement, which in some of these areas possibly started about a millennium ago. A millennium (pl millennia) is a period of Time equal to one thousand Years (from Latin la mille, thousand and la annum These people include the Swedish-speaking Finns - who consist of the Swedish-speaking minority in mainland Finland speaking Finland Swedish and the almost exclusively Swedish-speaking population of the Åland Islands speaking in a manner closer to the adjacent dialects in Sweden than to adjacent dialects of Finland Swedish - and the small Swedish-speaking minority in Estonia. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish Mainland Finland (Manner-Suomi is a term used for instance in Statistics to exclude the autonomous Åland Islands under Finnish Finland Swedish is a general term for the closely related cluster of Dialects of Swedish spoken in Finland by Swedish-speaking Finns as their Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Smaller groups of historical descendants of 18th-20th century Swedish emigrants who still retain varying aspects of Swedish identity to this day can be found in the Americas (especially Minnesota and Wisconsin, see Swedish-Americans) and in Ukraine. The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe.

Before 1809, the kingdom of Sweden had also included Finland, Northern Estonia, a small section of Northern Germany and Poland, as well as some areas of Norway and Denmark (see History of Sweden). Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia ( Eesti or Eesti Vabariik) is a Country in Northern Europe in the Baltic region Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Modern Sweden emerged out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century Since there was no separate Finnish nationality at those times, it is not unusual that sources predating 1809 refer both to Swedes and Finns as "Swedes". This is particularly the case with New Sweden, where some of the "Swedish" settlers were actually of Finnish origin. New Sweden ( Nya Sverige in Swedish and Uusi-Ruotsi in Finnish) was a small Swedish settlement along the Delaware River

Origin

The ancient Germanic tribe of the Suiones, sometimes called Svear in academic works, were at the roots of Swedish statehood and contemporary with the Geats and the Daner in Scandinavia. The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic The Swedes (svear Old Norse: svíar; Old English: Sweonas; Suiones Suehans or Sueones) were an ancient North The Swedes (svear Old Norse: svíar; Old English: Sweonas; Suiones Suehans or Sueones) were an ancient North Geats, Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting Götaland Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well Notably, in modern Scandinavian languages, with the exception of Icelandic, there is a distinction between svenskar and svear (as between danskar and Daner), since the latter term does not include the Geats and the Gotlanders and whose descendants became a part of the Swedish ethnicity. The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages Icelandic ( is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Geats, Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting Götaland is a county, province and municipality of Sweden and the largest Island in the Baltic Sea.

According to recent genetic analysis, both mtDNA and Y chromosome polymorphisms showed a noticeable genetic affinity between Swedes and central Europeans, especially Germans (conclusions also valid for Norwegians)^[9]. Affinity in terms of Sociology, refers to " Kinship of Spirit " interest and other interpersonal commonalities. For the global genetic make-up of the Swedish people and other peoples (see also [3] and [4]). Another detailed nuclear genetic study has also implied that Swedes may have a recent common origin with Finns. The terms Finns and Finnish people ( Finnish: suomalaiset, Swedish: finländare) are used in English to [5]

English texts

In English texts, the concept of ethnic Swedes may or may not be used for the following:

• People of Swedish heritage in Sweden or elsewhere, typically immigrants to the Americas (usually called 'Swedish Americans' sv svenskamerikaner)
• Swedish speakers outside Sweden

Ethnic Swedes and Swedish speakers outside of Sweden

Swedish speakers outside Sweden are minorities outside of Sweden with Swedish as their mother tongue who, however, might not always describe themselves as 'ethnically Swedish'. Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early A first language (also mother tongue, native language, arterial language, or L1) is the language a human being learns from birth

in Finland

The Swedish-speaking Finns or Finland-Swedes form a minority group in Finland of about 265,000, comprising 5. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish 10% of the population of mainland Finland, or 5. 50 %[6] if the 26,000 inhabitants of Åland are included (there are also about 60,000 Swedish-speaking Finns currently resident in Sweden). Their inclusion in either Finns or Swedes is controversial. There are also 9,000 Swedish citizens living in Finland.

in Estonia and Ukraine

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. The Estonian Swedes, Estonia-Swedes, or Coastal Swedes ( Swedish: Estlandssvenskar, or "Estonia Swedes" colloquially Aibofolke Viking Age is the term denoting the years from about 700 to 1066 in European history. 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. The Treaty of Nystad (Ништадтский мир Uudenkaupungin rauha was signed in 1721 in the then Swedish town of Nystad (which is called Uusikaupunki In 1781, 1,300 Estonia-Swedes of the island of Hiiumaa (Dagö) were forced to move to New Russia (today Ukraine) by Catherine II of Russia, where they formed Gammalsvenskby (Old Swedish Village). Hiiumaa is the second largest Island (989 km² belonging to Estonia. Novorossiya (Новоро́ссия literally New Russia) is a historic area now mostly located in southern Ukraine, in southern Russia, in Bessarabia Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Catherine II, called Catherine the Great (Екатерина II Великая Yekaterina II Velikaya;) reigned as Empress of Russia for 34 years Verbivka ( Standard Swedish: Gammalsvenskby, local Swedish dialect Gammölsvänskbi literally "Old Swedish Village" Ukrainian Старошведське 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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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. Many of them are living in northwestern mainland Estonia and on adjacent islands and on the island of Ruhnu (Runö) in the Gulf of Riga. Noarootsi Parish (Noarootsi vald Swedish: Nuckö kommun) is a rural municipality in Lääne County, western Estonia. Ruhnu (Runö is an Island situated in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. The Gulf of Riga, or Bay of Riga, is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia.

The majority of the 'Estonia-Swedes' who reside in Estonia and most 'Ukraine-Swedes' do not speak Swedish any more, but may be considered ethnic Swedes. 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. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation Irredentism is any position advocating Annexation of territories administered by another State on the grounds of common Ethnicity or prior historical possession

Other

There are numerous ethnic Swedes in places like the US and Canada (Swedish Americans, Swedish Canadians), descendants of 19th and 20th century immigrants, including some who still speak Swedish. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early The term Swedish Canadian refers to a naturalized Canadian citizen hailing from Sweden or professing Swedish descent There are also Swedes located in St Petersburg Russia. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

See also

• Culture of Sweden
• List of Swedes
• Estonian Swedes
• Finland Swedes
• Swedish Canadian
• Swedish American
• Swedish Australian
• British Swedish
• Swedish settlement in Argentina
• List of ethnic groups

References

1. ^ Befolkningsstatistik - Statistik från SCB
2. ^ estimated from those who were not part of the 16. The Culture of Sweden is typically perceived as Egalitarian, simple and open to international influences This is a list of well known Swedes, ordered alphabetically within categories The Estonian Swedes, Estonia-Swedes, or Coastal Swedes ( Swedish: Estlandssvenskar, or "Estonia Swedes" colloquially Aibofolke Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish The term Swedish Canadian refers to a naturalized Canadian citizen hailing from Sweden or professing Swedish descent Swedish Americans are Americans of Swedish descent most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and early Swedish Australians are Australians with Swedish heritage most often related to the large groups of immigrants from Sweden in the late nineteenth century and Nordic migration to the United Kingdom is a phenomenon that has been occurring for nearly 1500 years Swedish settlement in Argentina took place principally in the mid to late 19th century when Swedish people arrived in Argentina. 7% or 1. 53 million who had at least one parent born abroad or were themselves born abroad. It should be noted that at least a small number of those people born abroad may include Finland Swedes or other ethnic Swedes not from Sweden and that a large number of those may consider themselves Swedish. Swedish -speaking Finns (often called Finland-Swedes, Finnish Swedes, Fennoswedes or Swedish Finns, see below ( Swedish SCB. Sveriges befolkning, kommunala jämförelsetal, 31/12/2006 31 December 2006. (In Swedish). Retrieved 6 March 2008.
3. ^ Of the 2004 population, 1. 1 million, or 12%, were foreign-born. The Swedish Integration Board (2006). Pocket Facts: Statistics on Integration. Integrationsverket, 2006. ISBN 9189609301. Available online in pdf format. Retrieved 10 March 2008.
4. ^ US Census Bureau [1]
5. ^ The ABS estimates in a 2001 study that there are between 50,000 and 150,000 people claiming Swedish ancestry living in Australia. The middle number has been used, and no change since 2001 has been assumed. [2]
6. ^ CSO Ireland - 2006 Census
7. ^ CIA World Factbook - Sweden: People
8. ^ Angela Brittingham & G. Patricia de la Cruz (2004), Ancestry: 2000, US Census Bureau, <http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/c2kbr-35.pdf> 
9. ^ http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/EJHG_2002_v10_521-529.pdf

External links

• A Typical Swede (humorous article, with some gross stereotypes and inaccuracies, but also some truths)
• The Global Etiquette Guide: Sweden
• VisitSweden - Sweden's official website for tourism and travel information (English)