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Facts and figures about Sweden. Did you know that...?
Sweden is recognized as one of the world’s most knowledgebased
and innovative economies. Around 4 per cent of GDP
is spent on R&D, of which the government accounts for 1
per cent and industry the remaining 3 per cent.
The Nobel Prize, which was founded by Alfred Nobel, the
inventor of dynamite, is awarded every year for innovations
and discoveries that have conferred “the greatest benefit
on mankind” in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and
peace.
ABB, AstraZeneca, Autoliv, Electrolux, Ericsson, Saab, Scania,
Securitas, Sandvik, Tetra Pak, Volvo, IKEA and H&M are all
wholly or partly owned Swedish multinational corporations.
In 1959 Volvo introduced the 3-point safety belt, which is
now saving a life every six minutes and is regarded as one of
the most important road safety innovations ever. The curtain
airbag and the Autoliv’s anti-whiplash system are other Swedish
inventions.
Swedish medical inventions include improvements in local
anaesthesia, improvements in intravenous nutrition, the
pacemaker, ultrasound, the gamma knife, beta blockers and
Losec, the anti-ulcer drug. In recent years Losec has been
the world’s best-selling pharmaceutical product.
85 per cent of the population of Sweden had access to 3G
services in January 2005, the highest figure in Europe. The
NMT, GSM, GPRS, WCDMA and Bluetooth wireless standards
all originated in Sweden.
Sweden came third (after the US and Finland) in the World
Economic Forum’s 2004 world ranking, both in terms of
international competitiveness and growth prospects.
The Swedish corporate tax rate, 28 per cent, is low by international
comparison and significantly lower than the rates in
most other European countries.
Sweden is one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign direct
investment. In the last ten years the number of foreignowned
companies has risen from 2,500 to 10,000. The
largest foreign investors during the last five years were the
UK, Germany, the US, Finland, the Netherlands and Norway.
Swedish exports account for nearly 50 per cent of GDP.
Traditional industries such as forest products, mining and
engineering (including the automotive industry, electrical
goods and telecom) account for a substantial proportion of
export revenues.
Håkan Lans is a Swedish inventor. His inventions include the
computer colour graphics and the GP & C satellite navigation
system, which is the international standard in shipping and
civilian aviation today.
VINNOVA, the Swedish Governmental Agency
for Innovation Systems, integrates research,
development and innovation.
VINNOVA’s mission is to promote sustainable
growth by funding needs-driven research
and developing effective innovation systems.
Through its activities in this field, VINNOVA
aims to make a significant contribution to
Sweden’s development into a leading knowledge
based economy.
Postal address:
VINNOVA, SE-101 58 Stockholm, Sweden
Street address:
Mäster Samuelsgatan 56
Phone: +46 8473 3000
Fax:+46 8473 3005
E-mail: VINNOVA@VINNOVA.se
www.VINNOVA.se
Publisher: Per Eriksson, GD
Editor-in-chief: Ylva Sjönell
Editor: Sanna Berg
Copy: Håkan Borgström, Andreas Nilsson,
Per Westergård
Form & Layout: Mårten Pien
Production: Capito AB
Printed by: EO print
Printed on environment-friendly paper
Cover: Advanced production of nanothreads
in semiconductor materials could
generate new Swedish export successes.
Mikael Björk and Ann Persson have
made path-breaking discoveries that may
result in new electronic components and
medical sensors.
Cover photograph and page 23: Marcus Erixson
Other photographs: Pressens bild: page 5, 14, 24.
Anette Andersson: page 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
Niclas Kindahl, Acreo AB: page 21. Per Westergård:
page 8, 15, 16, 26, 27, 28. Diamorph Magnetic:
page 15. Martinson Group AB: page 17. Scandlines:
page 20. Gunnar Ledfelt, KTH: page 21.
Håkan Lindgren, KTH: page 22.
ISSN 1650-3120
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