Story by Tiana Bouma
Illustration by Carlene Ho

Last January, the Legatum Institute, a nonpartisan think tank based in England, published a list of the world’s happiest countries. Based on information gathered from sources including the World Economic Forum (WEF) and Gallup polls, the final list included 110 countries and about 90 percent of the world’s population. Of the top six nations, three were from the region of Scandinavia, which begs the question: What is it exactly that sets the Scandinavian countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway apart from other nations? Ethos set out to see.

 Sweden, Ranked Number Six
Besides being the sixth happiest country in the world, the Kingdom of Sweden maintains one of the world’s highest standards of living for its population of 9,088,728 (the largest in Scandinavia). Swedes typically live longer compared to those in other nations; the average life expectancy at birth is 81 years (three years longer than in the US). Such perks didn’t go unnoticed by University of Oregon student Bennett Hubbard during his time abroad in Sweden.
“In the United States, Sweden is commonly perceived as a socialist country with a homogeneous population and a strong welfare system,” he says, “but it is much more complicated than that.” Hubbard cites the country’s tradition of private control over homegrown companies like Volvo as an example of Sweden’s “extremely competitive market.” It’s an opinion supported by recent information from the WEF, which ranked Sweden third in its Global Competitiveness Report for 2011 to 2012.
Beyond the economy, however, Sweden may be best known for its long-standing policy of military neutrality. Since the nineteenth century, the country has not initiated any armed combat, though it does maintain an army, navy, and air force. The policy came under particularly heavy fire during World War II; in the decades that followed, the Swedish government rephrased its policy and now officials often refer to the country as “non-aligned” rather than as “neutral.”
Within its borders, Sweden teems with a variety of people, including world-famous groups like the Samis. Recently the stars of a National Geographic article, the Samis are well known for their heritage of reindeer herding. Estimated to include about 70,000 people, or just around 0.8 percent of Sweden’s total population, the group historically roams with their herds throughout Sweden and neighboring Norway, Finland, and Russia. Today, many still earn their livelihoods the same way as their ancestors, but with the use of modern tools like ATVs.
Another notable minority of Swedes lives in the southern region of Skåne. According to Hubbard, other Swedes see those of Skåne as more continental because of Denmark’s strong presence in the area. Although the Danes officially left Skåne in 1658, influences from the fellow Scandinavian country still remain. Not only is Skåne physically close to Denmark (it takes just 30 minutes to go from Swedish city Malmö to the Danish capital of Copenhagen), but to this day the dialect of the area, skånska, is hard for Swedes from other areas to understand.
Denmark, Ranked Number Two
Separated from the capitals of Norway and Sweden by roughly 300 miles, the peninsula of Denmark juts out into the North Sea, making its technical geographic name of “Jutland” all the more fitting. Despite the watery distance from its Scandinavian fellows, Denmark historically has more in common with Norway and Sweden than with the continental European countries it borders.
At various points throughout Denmark’s past, the country has united with both Norway and Sweden, most notably during the eighth and eleventh centuries and the rise of the Vikings. In their day, these sailor-warriors controlled much of northern Europe and laid the groundwork for the cultural similarities, such as language and government structure, which define Scandinavia.
Today Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, is a constitutional monarchy, and, like Sweden, a member of the European Union. The same Legatum Institute report that named Denmark number two in happiness placed the country first in entrepreneurship and opportunity (followed closely by Sweden). This business atmosphere has fostered some of the world’s leading cities, landmarks that originally attracted Andrew Westling, University of Oregon architecture major.
“The region of Scandinavia has some fantastic examples of progressive and livable cities,” says Westling, who spent seven weeks in Denmark. One of the most famous examples of Scandinavian design comes from world-famous home furnishings retailer, IKEA. Although the company calls Sweden home, IKEA often bases its products on, and even names them after, other locations in Scandinavia. In fact, in 2008 the company was accused of “teasing Denmark” by giving Danish names to low value items like “doormats and carpets.” The controversy eventually blew over but not before some Danish academics called IKEA’s naming practice “an example of cultural imperialism.”
Such tension, however, didn’t impact Westling’s time in Denmark. He says the most important lesson he learned while abroad was to not let his work consume him: “Maybe this is just part of my personal development, but I like to think Denmark and Scandinavia made me realize it.”
Norway, Ranked Number One
Raised in Bend, Oregon, Perris Claeyssens is currently 4,700 miles from home. The 20-year-old University of Oregon student, who is majoring in art history with a minor in Scandinavian studies, also attends the University of Oslo in Norway. He was originally introduced to the country as a high school senior when his family hosted a Norwegian exchange student.
“Through this connection I was able to learn about a whole different part of the world,” Claeyssens says. The summer following the student’s stay, Claeyssens first traveled to Norway to visit; the trip, he says, was “an eye-opening experience that has shaped my life.”
Norway differs from Claeyssens’ American home in a number of ways, one of the most notable being size. Norway’s 4.7 million people equal just over 1 percent of the US population; the Norwegian capital of Oslo is home to less than a million. Despite being one of the least populated countries in Europe, Norway has the world’s seventh highest GDP per capita and annually exports the second highest amount of natural gas, topped only by Russia.
All of this economic activity is overseen by the country’s constitutional monarchy. Since January 1991, King Harald V has served as chief of state, continuing a royal history more than 1,000 years old. Over the centuries, Norway has often formed long-term unions with its fellow Scandinavian countries including one with Denmark that lasted from 1380 to 1814 and, after a brief period of independence, one with Sweden that ended in 1905.
More recently, the Norwegian government was the target of two terrorist attacks, which made global headlines on July 22, 2011. Of the attacks, Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said, “Not since the Second World War has the country experienced such an atrocity.” As Stoltenberg notes, horror of this nature is uncommon in Norway, a country the US Department of State describes as having “a relatively low level of crime in comparison to the United States.” The most common crimes include “office burglaries and petty thefts.”
In his own travels, Claeyssens has had an overall successful journey.
“It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life and I’m so glad I was able to come here and study,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
Undoubtedly Sweden, Denmark, and Norway share a number of similarities. All three have common geographies, governments, and histories. As such, it may seem easy to clump them into one body, but ask a countryman from Norway if Sweden is the same as his home and the answer would likely be an intense defense of his nation. These important differences between the three, be it their individual economies or diverse populations, are what make the trio of multifaceted nations the distinct and happy whole that is Scandinavia.
 

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Northern Exposure