Every citizen knows there is a safety net there should they lose their job, become unable to work through injury, or fall seriously ill.Because of the high cost of living, it's normal for both people in a relationship to work.Let's take a look in detail at some of the most common perceptions of people from this fascinating region.
The excellent support for new parents and priority of children in Nordic society means taking time off to have children is not a problem.
So while every individual Scandinavian isn't rich, there are a lot less people struggling to make ends meet than in certain other developed countries. In case you were wondering, there are 24 IKEA stores in Sweden, nine in Norway, and five in Denmark.
Most foreign generalisations of the region's people paint them as wealthy, rational, and perhaps even boring, with very little differences seen between the three nationalities.
Yet step inside the region, and you’ll be surprised.
While we’re not going to dive into detail here, the results can be easily summarised as a cultural misunderstanding. We don’t ask for help unless we feel we really need to.
Behaviour that Scandinavians perceive as polite – such as not bothering a stranger with small talk – is perceived by some foreigners as standoffish and rude. A researcher from NHH’s Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication finds no support whatsoever for a universal standard of politeness in her studies. To us, that’s being polite,” she told Science Nordic.
So if you're blonde on top, you may have the Vikings to thank for it!
The Nordic model is perhaps one of the most misunderstood economic systems in the world.
In Sweden, a coalition led by the Social Democrats has been in power since 2014, but it is one of the weakest minority governments in the country's history.