Swedish people
- "Swede" redirects here. This article is about the Swedish people as an Ethnic group. For information about residents or nationals of Sweden, see Demographics of Sweden. For swede, the vegetable, see Rutabaga.
| Swedes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total population: | 15 million (est.) | |
| Significant populations in: | Sweden: 8.2 million USA: 3.5 million Canada: .3 million Finland: .5 million Ukraine: .5 million Other: 1 million | |
| Language: | Swedish Related languages include Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and to a lesser extent, all Germanic languages | |
| Religion: | 87% of Sweden is composed of Lutherans | |
| Related ethnic groups: | Danes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese and to a lesser extent, all Germanic ethnic groups | |
The Swedish people or Swedes are an Ethnic group which comprises the native speakers of the Germanic Swedish language and, arguably, those of their descendants who have retained some other elements of strong ethnic Swedish (self-) Identity besides the language. The largest area inhabited by the Swedish people currently, as well as the earliest known original area inhabited by their linguistic ancestors, is on the eastern side of the Scandinavian Peninsula and islands adjacent to it, situated west of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. The Swedish speaking people living in near-coastal areas on the north-eastern and eastern side of the Baltic Sea, including the Finland-Swedish minority in Mainland Finland and the small Swedish minority in Estonia, also have a long history of continuous settlement which in some of these areas possibly started over a Millennium ago. Smaller groups of historical descendants of 18th-19th century Swedish emigrants who still retain some forms of Swedish identity to this day can be found in the Americas and Ukraine.
The Suiones, as an ancient Germanic tribe, sometimes named Svear in academic works, were at the roots of the Swedish statehood, and contemporary with the Geats and the Goths in Scandinavia. Notably, in modern Scandinavian languages, with the exception of Icelandic, there is a distinction between svenskar and svear (as between danskar (Danes) and Daner), since the latter term does not include the Geats and the Gotlanders and other populations whose descendants are part of the present population of Sweden.
Ethnic Swedes
The notion of ethnic Swedes is controversial, and especially the Swedish and Finnish views contradict each other. The usage in English does not necessarily reflect the usage in Sweden and Finland, or in Swedish and Finnish.In an English language context, the concept of ethnic Swedes may be used for:
- People of Swedish heritage, typically immigrants to the Americas
- Minorities outside of Sweden with Swedish mother tongue, who however might not designate themselves as "ethnically Swedish"
- the inhabitants of the culturally and linguistically Swedish Åland Islands, belonging to Finland
- the Swedes living in northwestern Estonian mainland and adjacent islands, and the island of Ruhnu (Runö) in the Gulf of Riga (Estonia-Swedes, in Swedish: estlandssvenskar)
- the Swedes living in Gammalsvenskby ("Old Swedish Village") in Ukraine.
- The 265,000 Finland-Swedes in mainland Finland.
In Sweden, the connotation of Swede, when used without qualifications, is often a person who is
- a citizen of Sweden,
- living in Sweden, and
- born by Swedish parents.
In a Swedish mindset, the concept of ethnic Swedes is used chiefly in the following contexts:
- To distinguish "Swedish citizens" who are naturalized immigrants, but not indistinguishably assimilated, from the other Swedes.
- To distinguish, typically in school settings, pupils of immigrant heritage from them without.
In addition to this is ethnic Swedes sometimes used to include, besides the ethnic Swedes living in Sweden,
- the Swedish speaking minority living in Finland (Finland-Swedes) and Åland,
- the Swedish speaking minority living in Estonia (Estonia-Swedes) and
- the Swedish speaking minority living in Gammalsvenskby (Old Swedish Village) in Ukraine.
However, in Sweden people typically refer to their ethnic identity, not as Swedes but rather to their sub-national ethnic identity, such as Dalecarlian, which originates from the historical Provinces of Sweden.
Swedish speakers outside Sweden
The Finland-Swedes form an important minority group in Finland, about 265,000, comprising 5.10% of the population of mainland Finland, or 5.55% if the 26,000 inhabitants of Åland are included (there are also about 60,000 Finland-Swedes currently resident in Sweden).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. 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. In 1781, 1,300 Estonia-Swedes of the island of Hiiumaa (Dagö) were forced to move to Ukraine by Catherine II of Russia, where they formed Gammalsvenskby (Old Swedish Village). 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. 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.
National character
It's of course difficult to pinpoint the national character of the Swedes considering the differences between the people of Scania and Lapponia or city and countryside for instance.Thanks to the Right of public access to the wilderness many Swedes enjoy hiking as well as using the nature for various forms of exercise and/or recreation, many also pick berries, mushrooms and many also hunt.
Many Swedes are not interested in religion 46-85% classify themselves as atheist/agnostic, yet 90% are members of Church of Sweden.
Source: "Den svenska koden" by Marie Bengts, Uli Bruno and Silvia Nilson-Puccio. ISBN 9188783391
New Swedes
New Swedes, or Nysvenskar in Swedish, is a term used in Swedish society and currently fashionable in public debate, to denote 20th century immigrants and their offspring, particularly those of southern-European and non-European descent. Critics of this usage do however object to it as an exaggerated political correctness or alternatively as disguised Racism, pointing out that this usage ignores roughly a third of the immigrants who originate from Finland, Denmark, Norway, Poland and Germany.In a school-yard context, in our day's Sweden, Swedes do typically refer to ethnic Swedes contrasting to those pupils who identify themselves as immigrants - or of immigrant heritage. Many second and third generation immigrants have experienced how being born in Sweden is not sufficient to escape Discrimination. A family name or physical looks that hints at low-status immigrant ancestry can be a critical disadvantage. Also Finland-Swedish immigrants to Sweden have experienced how they first and foremost are perceived as immigrants from Finland and not as Swedes by both authorities, neighbours and colleagues.
See also