More than one in three of Sweden's population of ten million tuned in to watch the 1950s 'From All of Us to All of You' Disney compilation, referred to in Sweden as ‘Kalle Anka' (Donald Duck) on Christmas Eve.

It was seen by 3,859,000 people when it was broadcast at 3pm, according to MMS which keeps statistics on Swedes' television viewing habits – the second-highest figure for the show in the 21st century.

That means it is on track to be the most-watched television event in Sweden in 2017.

While some way from its record audience of 4.32 million viewers in 1997, it is 125,000 more than last year and the fifth-highest figure for Kalle Anka since 1994, said MMS.

The dubbed cartoon compilation, which also features favourites such as Cinderella, Mickey Mouse and Ferdinand the Bull, has been shown in Sweden every year since 1959.

It is so popular that calls to emergency services fall by around 20 percent, something officials call “the Donald Duck effect”.

According to mobile provider Telenor, data usage on their network dropped by 29 percent during the hour when the Disney cartoon aired last Christmas.