Sweden. Part I

This is part 1 of a multi part series about Sweden. I thought it would be beneficial to everyone (and myself) to post some facts and information about my future home. So, the next few blogs will be dedicated to Sweden facts, tidbits, cultural information, more about Uppsala (the city I'll be living in) and Uppsala University (the campus I'll be working on).

First and foremost, let's determine where in the world Sweden is. Here are two maps, the first is Sweden in the larger context of Europe, the second a closer up which actually shows major cities and includes Uppsala (which is where I will live).

Some basic almanac like facts about Sweden:

Country Name in Swedish: Sverige
Capital: Stockholm
Language: Swedish
Population: 9 million
Currency: Kroner (Crown)
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
Parliament: The Riksdag, with 349 members in one chamber
Religion: In practice, Sweden is very secularized. The Church of Sweden is Evangelical Lutheran; co-exists with many other beliefs
Life expectancy: Men 79 years, women 83 years


Average Temperatures (Stockholm is closest to what I'll experience in Uppsala):
Malmo January: 31.6˚F, July: 62.2˚F
Stockholm January: 27.0˚F, July: 63.0˚F
Kiruna January: 3.2˚F, July: 55.0˚F

Hours of Daylight
Malmo January: 7 hours, July: 17 hours
Stockholm January: 6 hours, July: 18 hours
Kiruna January: 0 hours, July: 24 hours

Next time, I'll visit some of the history of Sweden.... Stay tuned!