Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a region of Northern Europe that includes the kingdoms of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

Scandinavia is known for its stable democracies, high standard of living, and its well-developed infrastructure and social welfare system.

The climate is temperate in the southern part of Scandinavia and arctic in the North.

The total population of Scandinavia is a little above 19 million – 9 million Swedes, 5.4 million Danes, and 4.7 million Norwegians. Most of them live in the southern part of Scandinavia.

Scandinavians include successors to the Vikings as well as immigrants from various lands over the years.

The official languages are Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, which are so closely related that most Scandinavians can communicate easily with each other in their respective mother tongues. Translation of documents from one Scandinavian language to another is seldom necessary.

In general, Scandinavians are well educated and most can speak English. In commercial circles, English is widely used, so being able to speak a Scandinavian language is not a prerequisite for conducting business in Scandinavia.

The legislation and courts of the Scandinavian countries build on the same principles of law, and parts of the basic legislation has been developed by the three countries working together.

Sweden and Denmark are members of the EU, while Norway is associated with the EU. This means that all important EU legislation is implemented in all of the Scandinavian countries.

Each country has its own currency: Swedish kroner (freely floating), Danish kroner (linked to the Euro), and Norwegian kroner (freely floating). However, in international transactions, Euros or dollars are often used.

Currently, the corporation tax rate is 28% in Sweden, 25% in Denmark, and 28% in Norway.

As a result of the social welfare system, income taxes are quite high in all of the Scandinavian countries.