Swedish Economy Key Notes

There are alot of important things to note about the Swedish Economy before we explore "how entrepreneurship works" in Sweden.

1. 1. Most of the population speaks English, pretty well too. Yahoo!

   2. Sweden is a member of the European Union, and has been since 1995

   3. Sweden does not use Euros. The currency of Sweden is Swedish Crowns (Kronor). I'd like to explore what the implications are of not having the same currency as much of Europe.

   4. Sweden ranks 4th in the Global Democracy Ratings, with a score of 9.5 out of 10. It follows Norway, Iceland and Denmark. A score between 8 and 10 makes a country a "full democracy". USA on the other hand, has a score of 8.11, bringing it to the lower range of "full democracy" and closer to "flawed democracy". This score is based on the following factors: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture
   Up until 2009, Sweden was ranked #1, but Norway has held the new #1 spot for the past 2 years.
   More information on the rating can be found here: http://www.eiu.com/Handlers/WhitepaperHandler.ashx?fi=Democracy_Index_Final_Dec_2011.pdf&mode=wp

   5. Sweden is rich in minerals, and is heavily oriented towards foreign trade. Large organizations focusing in Manufacturing and Services make up most of the Swedish Economy. Private organizations are increasing slowly in popularity in Sweden, but most organizations are public.
   
   

These factors influence how many businesses function, and will be key in synthesizing information from my upcoming interviews.