Explore Sweden

Modern Sweden maintains a worldwide reputation for its progressive social welfare policies, which were the outcome of a steady evolution toward democratic government that began in the early nineteenth century. As Swedes are quick to point out, such policies were also the result of the countrys strong industrial achievement and its sustained economic prosperity in this century.  At the same time, Sweden has carefully maintained the pristine beauty of its stunning natural environment - it holds the only extensive wilderness area left in Europe, and the waters of Stockholm remain clean and clear enough for fishing and even a downtown swim. As we move toward the twenty-first century, Sweden seems to offer--as it has offered for decades--an irresistible picture of where the rest of the world would like to be.