Sweden vs Switzerland
A lot of non-Europeans, especially, Americans confuse Sweden over Switzerland. Often, they interchange the one with the other or calling both nationalities Swiss or Swede. In fact Sweden and Switzerland have only very few similarities and they differ in almost everything ,culture, climate, geography, landscape, politics, and language.
They are non-neighboring European countries but rather far apart from each other. These two countries are separated by both land and sea. Stockholm, the capital Sweden, is 1500 km away north-east of Switzerland’s capital, Bern.
Switzerland is an inland country locked in the heart of Europe. A small but relatively dense country in Europe, it borders the countries Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy, and France. Being surrounded by major European countries, it naturally became a nation with many official tongues. People in Switzerland basically speak four languages and those are German, French, Italian, and Rhaeto-Romanic.
SwitzerlandÃs government is a Federal Republic whereby the Federal Council of Switzerland led by an annually elected President is the head of government. The Swiss take pride in their strong democratic practices
Switzerland is a mostly mountainous country as it hosts one-fifth of the Alps. There are about 100 peaks that reach beyond 4000 meters. Swiss mountains are famous for skiing, climbing, snowboarding, hiking, biking, and other recreational activities.
Banking in Switzerland is characterized by stability, privacy and protection of clients’ assets and information. It has a very strong tradition of banking secrecy. Switzerland is also known for Swiss chocolates, Swiss cheese and many local specialties, like Fondue, a dish made of melted cheese.
Sweden, the 4th largest European country, is located between Norway and Finland. The country is phallic in appearance and it forms a very long coastline formed by the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia. It is predominantly agricultural in topography with lots of lakes. Due to its expansive land area population density is low.
Swedes are very hospitable people that speak mainly Swedish as their primary and official language. They have a friendly and child-centered environment and they also aim towards moderation and control.
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy based on parliamentary democracy where the affairs of the government are mainly led by the Prime Minister.
The contributions of Sweden to the pop culture are mainly on music. Swedes love singing and with iconic artists ABBA, they have made a definite mark on the music scene. Sweden is also known for their cars like Volvo and Koenigsegg. The prestigious Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize.
Summary:
1. Sweden, which lies west of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, has a long coastline while Switzerland is a landlocked country with no coastline.
2. Switzerland is one of the smallest countries in Europe with the land area of 41,290 square km while Sweden has more than ten times as much area with 444,960 square km, being the largest among Scandinavian countries and 4th largest country in Europe.
3. Sweden has a lower population density of 20.6/square km in comparison to SwitzerlandÃs 186.5/square km.
4. Switzerland has a mountainous landscape while Sweden has many lakes and predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward.
5. Switzerland is known for its chocolate, cheese, banking, and precision watches while Sweden is known for car manufacturing, pop music, and the Nobel Prize.
6. Switzerland has four official languages ñ German, French, Italian, and Rhaeto-Romanic while Sweden speaks Swedish as their only official language.
7. Switzerland is led by a president while Sweden is led by a prime minister.