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LEARN ABOUT SWEDEN

MAP: Swedes are one of the least angry nations in Europe

Swedes were one of the least angry countries in Europe, and indeed in the world, according to the latest Global Emotions Report from the international polling company Gallup.

MAP: Swedes are one of the least angry nations in Europe
Swedes were one of the least angry nations in Europe in the latest Gallup World Emotions Survey. Photo: Datamonitor/The Local

Only nine percent of Swedes said they had experienced anger in the day on which they were surveyed, making the nation calmer than every other nation in Europe apart from the imperturbable Finns (5 percent), the chilled Estonians (6 percent), and the easy-going Dutch and Portuguese (both 8 percent). 

You can find a set of interactive maps produced by Gallup here, or compare Sweden on our own interactive map made with Gallup’s data below.    

The Nordic nations as a whole were far more relaxed than more hot-headed and dyspeptic nations, with no fewer than 48 percent of Turks saying they had felt angry the preceding day, 24 percent of Poles and 22 percent of Spaniards.

It wasn't only anger levels where Swedes seemed to have their emotions under control compared to many other European nations. 

Only 18 percent of Swedes said they had experienced sadness the preceding day. 

This was slightly more than their Nordic peers, with 17 percent of Norwegians and Danes, and only 13 percent of Finns owning up to having had a melancholy spell, but less than most other European countries, with 23 percent of Germans, 24 percent of French, and 25 percent of Brits, and 29 percent of Italians feeling upset or low. 

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LEARN ABOUT SWEDEN

How Sweden’s semlor buns are the ‘lifebuoy’ keeping bakeries afloat

Cafés and bakeries in Sweden are suffering as customers cut back on sourdough and cinnamon buns. But they still seem willing to splash out on semlor.

How Sweden's semlor buns are the 'lifebuoy' keeping bakeries afloat

Linda Kosterhed, at Kosterheds Konditori in Solna, Stockholm, expects to sell 1,500 of the cream and almond paste delights on Fettisdagen, as Swedes call Shrove Tuesday – traditionally the last day before the Lent fast. 

She’s had them on sale since January 2nd, but it’s on Fettisdagen itself that she expects her customers to really have a blow out. 

“It’s like Christmas, and those of us who are working are going to celebrate with a ‘semmel-AW’ [a Semla feast consumed after work]”. 

The Association of Swedish Bakers & Confectioners are referring to semlor as the industry’s “lifebuoy” due to their importance for its members’ bottom lines. 

“We have noticed that everyday consumption, like a sandwich and a cup of coffee, has fallen, but that on holidays such as fettisdagen, consumers are actually buying more than they normally do,” Mattias Lundell, the organisation’s chief executive, told the TT newswire. “I’ve heard that sales of semlor are going extremely well.”    

He said that the difficult times for bakers began with the pandemic, continued in the winter of 2022 when bakers were hit by high electricity prices, only to be followed last year with a cost of living crisis. 

Linda Kosterhed agrees with the picture painted by Lundell. 

“People are holding back a bit on ordinary days, but when it comes to semlor it’s clear that they are willing to spoil themselves a bit, especially on Tuesdays and on the weekend,” she said. 

Despite the semla “lifebuoy”, Lundell warned that more bakeries were currently going bankrupt than during the pandemic. He also said it might be a problem this year that Shrove Tuesday was falling so early on February 13th.  

“After Shrove Tuesday, sales normally fall more steeply than they rose in the run-up,” he said.

“What will happen this year when Shrove Tuesday falls so early?”

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