Society

Language and Attitudes: Swedish is the official language of Sweden. Most people in Sweden speak Swedish but it is not the only spoken language. Saami, Finnish, and Romani are also spoken in the country. Swedish is also spoken by a lot of people in Finland. The Swedish have a liberal attitude towards gays and lesbians. Gay couples have been allowed to form Civil Unions since the mid-nineties. They recently voted in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. This law goes into effect May the first. They are the fifth country in Europe to grant homosexual couples marriage equality.

Beliefs and Values: The Swedish believe the family is very important, therefore, there are many laws that help parents spend more time with their children. For example, parents are allowed to decrease their workload by twenty-five percent if their child is less than eight years old. When it comes to religion, over eighty percent of the country is Lutheran. The rest of the population consists of other Christian denominations, as well as Buddhists, Muslims and those of the Jewish faith. Sweden’s, Church of Sweden claims to be the biggest Lutheran church in the world. It has over seven million members; however, only two percent of their members attend on a regular basis. The Swedish value modesty, benevolence, and level headedness. They do not approve of bragging or extravagance.

How business is conducted: In business it is important to remain calm during negotiations. They prefer to make group decisions rather than allowing one person to make all the decisions. They are very focused on details and usually do not engage in small talk before meetings. When doing business here, people are expected to keep their word.