Sweden is slightly larger than California (see maps below). The distance between the southernmost and northernmost points is 1570 km (980 miles). There are 8.8 million Swedes in the world, and of these about 10 % are immigrants and their descendants.

The Arctic Circle stretches across the northern part of the country. If you are north of it you can experience six weeks of uninterrupted sunlight in the summer - the midnight sun phenomenon. To experience this is quite fantastic, and you feel as though you don't have any need for sleeping at night. Unfortunately, the reverse phenomenon occurs in the winter in the same area, i e six weeks without any daylight. It might seem exotic, but it can be very depressing.