DOING BUSINESS IN

Some quick facts about Sweden

Only 1% of all household waste in Sweden ends up in a rubbish dump

Swedish parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave

Of those, 60 days are reserved for the dad

In 2012, the dads took 24% of the total parental leave

The average tourist spends 800SEK /day

Tourists brought in 106,5 billon SEK in 2012

The average swede works 1644 h/year

Sweden ranks 6th in the global competitiveness index

Renewable resources account for 48% of the Swedish energy production

Of this, almost 95% comes from hydro power

Every month 993’000kg of food waste is gathered by the city of Stockholm

The waste is turned into 115’000m² of gas, which buses and taxis use as fuel.

Level of education and training of the

workforce

10 years of obligatory schoolingEvery child must attend to the first 10 years of schooling. This is the foundational education and since it follows something called “läroplan” (similar to syllabus), it is the same in every school.

High school High school in Sweden is optional, however, the majority of all students choose to attend. It is not only free of charge, but the student receives 1000SEK (114,14EUR)/ month if attending to lessons. When in high school, the student chooses a programme which suits his/her interests/goals and study that for 3 years before graduating.

UniversityThis is also optional but the student has to finance the education themselves (loan money for studies aka, “studentlån”), this means that not all the students from high school continue to university.

Culture and view on equality

Watch this short clip to find

out about the Swedish way

of seeing things.

In Sweden, everyone address each other in a very casual way, it does not matter who you are, the same rules apply.

Swedes live by the word “lagom” which means “not too much, not too little” “just right”, they will therefore do everything they are told but not more. They will do a lagom amount of work.

The employees often have a close relationship with the boss.

There is something called “facket” which allows employees to improve their working conditions and any other problems they may have at work. This means that the working conditions have a high standard.

Economy Sweden has a very strong

economy and is therefore very easy to trade with, in fact, The World Bank has ranked Sweden to be the 6th easiest country in the world to trade with.

The business capacity is not only high in the capital, but it is distributed all over Sweden which means that there is an opportunity for business no matter where you are in the country.

Sweden has had a stable economy since the 1990:s

Sweden has its own flexible currency, this was an advantage when

Consumer lawsDemands of consumer: The service provider needs to have the right skill and

training The service should not be performed in violation of the

safety regulations or prohibitions in the product safety act or the marketing act

Inform you if additional work is needed Service should be professional The seller should provide all material if nothing else is

mutually decided Take advantage of your interests and discuss them with

you to prevent misunderstandings Discourage you from providing the service if it is not

appropriate for you

TaxesIn Sweden people pay a lot of taxes, the more you earn, the more taxes you have to pay, this goes to many things. For example: Social protection (pensions, parental leave, unemployment

benefits etc.) Education Health care Public administration Trade and industry Defence Public safety and justice Culture and leisure activities (libraries, museums etc.) Homes and community development Protection of the environment

Value-added tax (VAT)In Sweden there is also something called “moms” (VAT) which is a tax you pay every time you purchase something and is always included in the prize. How VAT is paid: 25% on items and services 12% on food, hotels and

camping 6% on public transport, art

and culture

Photo by: Gettyimages

SOURCES http://www.konsumentverket.se/Lagar--regler/Konsumentlagar/Kon

sumenttjanstlagen/ https://sweden.se/business/ https://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/ All quick facts found at https

://sweden.se/quick-facts/working-hours/ http://

www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/five-economic-lessons-from-sweden-the-rock-star-of-the-recovery/2011/06/21/AGyuJ3iH_story.html

http://www.informationsverige.se/Svenska/Samhalle/Samhallsorientering/Sidor/Att-betala-skatt.aspx