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125-552: The alphabet has been used extensively for the description of Swedish dialects in both Sweden and Finland . It was also the source of many of the symbols used by the Swedish sinologist Bernhard Karlgren in his reconstruction of Middle Chinese . Three of the additional letters— ⱸ , ⱹ and ⱺ —were included in version 5.1.0 of Unicode (U+2C78 to U+2C7A) for use in a dictionary of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland . A proposal to encode

250-485: A Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has the world's 14th highest GDP per capita and ranks very highly in quality of life , health , education , protection of civil liberties , economic competitiveness, income equality , gender equality and prosperity . Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and NATO on 7 March 2024. It

375-563: A UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya during the Arab Spring . In addition, there was extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry; some Swedish-made weaponry was used by Coalition militaries in Iraq. In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Sweden moved to formally join NATO, alongside Finland. After many months of delays caused by

500-441: A fiscal crisis in the early 1990s. Sweden's GDP declined by around 5%. In 1992, a run on the currency caused the central bank to briefly increase interest rates to 500%. The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatising public services and goods. A referendum passed with 52.3% in favour of joining

625-457: A military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss , which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905. The 1814 campaign was the last time Sweden was at war. The Swedish East India Company began in 1731. The obvious choice of home port was Gothenburg at Sweden's west coast, the mouth of Göta älv river

750-467: A personal union under King Magnus Eriksson, the grandson of King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden and of King Haakon V of Norway. Magnus Eriksson also ruled Scania from 1332 to 1360. In the mid-14th century, Sweden was struck by the Black Death . The population of Sweden and most of Europe was decimated. The population did not reach its pre-1348 levels until the beginning of the 19th century, with one third of

875-459: A distinct period of winter. The northern parts of the country have a subarctic climate while the central parts have a humid continental climate . The coastal south can be defined as having either a humid continental climate using the 0 °C isotherm, or an oceanic climate using the -3 °C isotherm. Universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage , universal coverage , or universal care )

1000-487: A further 106 characters was made in 2008. As of 2019, this proposal is partially implemented, with some proposed allocations already in use by other characters. This writing system –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sweden – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  –  [ Legend ] Sweden , formally

1125-464: A larger and larger percentage of the population, until the remaining 1% of the population that was uninsured received coverage in 2000. Single payer healthcare systems were introduced in Finland (1972), Portugal (1979), Cyprus (1980), Spain (1986) and Iceland (1990). Switzerland introduced a universal healthcare system based on an insurance mandate in 1994. In addition, universal health coverage

1250-457: A low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi); 88% of Swedes reside in urban areas. They are mostly in the central and southern half of the country. Sweden's urban areas together cover 1.5% of its land area. Sweden has a diverse climate owing to the length of the country, which ranges from 55°N to 69°N . Sweden has been inhabited since prehistoric times , c.  12,000 BC . The inhabitants emerged as

1375-663: A mixed model of funding. General taxation revenue is the primary source of funding, but in many countries it is supplemented by specific charge (which may be charged to the individual or an employer) or with the option of private payments (by direct or optional insurance) for services beyond those covered by the public system. Almost all European systems are financed through a mix of public and private contributions. Most universal health care systems are funded primarily by tax revenue (as in Portugal , India , Spain, Denmark and Sweden). Some nations, such as Germany, France, and Japan, employ

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1500-408: A multi-payer system in which health care is funded by private and public contributions. However, much of the non-government funding comes from contributions from employers and employees to regulated non-profit sickness funds. Contributions are compulsory and defined according to law. A distinction is also made between municipal and national healthcare funding. For example, one model is that the bulk of

1625-565: A profit from the mandatory element of insurance but can profit by selling supplemental insurance. Universal health care is a broad concept that has been implemented in several ways. The common denominator for all such programs is some form of government action aimed at extending access to health care as widely as possible and setting minimum standards. Most implement universal health care through legislation, regulation, and taxation. Legislation and regulation direct what care must be provided, to whom, and on what basis. Usually, some costs are borne by

1750-488: A rapid population growth. These innovations included government-sponsored programmes of enclosure , aggressive exploitation of agricultural lands, and the introduction of new crops such as the potato. The Swedish farming culture began to take on a critical role in Swedish politics, which has continued through modern times with modern Agrarian party (now called the Centre Party). Between 1870 and 1914, Sweden began developing

1875-578: A requirement that all citizens purchase private health insurance. Universal healthcare can be determined by three critical dimensions: who is covered, what services are covered, and how much of the cost is covered. It is described by the World Health Organization as a situation where citizens can access health services without incurring financial hardship. Then-Director General of the WHO Margaret Chan described universal health coverage as

2000-415: A score of 68 from 2019 to 2021. It is reported that catastrophic out-of-pocket (OOP) health expenditures have impacted over 1 billion individuals globally. Additionally, in the year 2019, it was found that 2 billion people experienced financial difficulties due to health expenses, with ongoing, significant disparities in coverage. The report suggests several strategies to mitigate these challenges: it calls for

2125-454: A series of Crusades to pagan Finland and started conflicts with the Rus' , who by then had no further connections with Sweden. The Swedish colonisation of the coastal areas of Finland began in the 12th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, this colonisation became more organised, and by the end of the century, several of the coastal areas of Finland were inhabited mostly by Swedes. Except for

2250-585: A single payer universal healthcare system would benefit the United States. According to a 2020 study published in The Lancet , the proposed Medicare for All Act would save 68,000 lives and $ 450 billion in national healthcare expenditure annually. A 2022 study published in the PNAS found that a single-payer universal healthcare system would have saved 212,000 lives and averted over $ 100 billion in medical costs during

2375-523: A single-payer or common risk pool. The government later opened VHI to competition, but without a compensation pool. That resulted in foreign insurance companies entering the Irish market and offering much less expensive health insurance to relatively healthy segments of the market, which then made higher profits at VHI's expense. The government later reintroduced community rating by a pooling arrangement and at least one main major insurance company, BUPA, withdrew from

2500-657: A sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. The actions of these Swedish Vikings are commemorated on many runestones in Sweden, such as the Greece runestones and the Varangian runestones . There was also considerable participation in expeditions westwards, which are commemorated on stones such as the England runestones . The last major Swedish Viking expedition appears to have been

2625-528: Is health inequity ). This approach encourages integrated care and a more effective use of resources. The United Kingdom National Audit Office in 2003 published an international comparison of ten different health care systems in ten developed countries, nine universal systems against one non-universal system (the United States), and their relative costs and key health outcomes. A wider international comparison of 16 countries, each with universal health care,

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2750-598: Is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care . It is generally organized around providing either all residents or only those who cannot afford on their own, with either health services or the means to acquire them, with the end goal of improving health outcomes. Universal healthcare does not imply coverage for all cases and for all people – only that all people have access to healthcare when and where needed without financial hardship. Some universal healthcare systems are government-funded, while others are based on

2875-482: Is a way of organizing the delivery, and allocating resources, of healthcare (and potentially social care) based on populations in a given geography with a common need (such as asthma , end of life , urgent care ). Rather than focus on institutions such as hospitals, primary care, community care etc. the system focuses on the population with a common as a whole. This includes people currently being treated, and those that are not being treated but should be (i.e. where there

3000-838: Is also a member of the United Nations , the Schengen Area , the Council of Europe , the Nordic Council , the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The name for Sweden is generally agreed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root * s(w)e , meaning "one's own", referring to one's own tribe from the tribal period. The native Swedish name, Sverige (a compound of

3125-498: Is covered with forests. The highest population density is in the Öresund Region in southern Sweden, along the western coast up to central Bohuslän, and in the valley of lake Mälaren and Stockholm. Gotland and Öland are Sweden's largest islands ; Vänern and Vättern are its largest lakes. Vänern is the third largest in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia. Combined with

3250-428: Is currently used to meet the essential health requirements of all people. A particular form of private health insurance that has often emerged, if financial risk protection mechanisms have only a limited impact, is community-based health insurance. Individual members of a specific community pay to a collective health fund which they can draw from when they need medical care. Contributions are not risk-related and there

3375-507: Is generally a high level of community involvement in the running of these plans. Community-based health insurance generally only play a limited role in helping countries move towards universal health coverage. Challenges includes inequitable access by the poorest that health service utilization of members generally increase after enrollment. Universal health care systems vary according to the degree of government involvement in providing care or health insurance. In some countries, such as Canada,

3500-448: Is no advantage in eliminating people with higher risks because they are compensated for by means of risk-adjusted capitation payments. Funds are not allowed to pick and choose their policyholders or deny coverage, but they compete mainly on price and service. In some countries, the basic coverage level is set by the government and cannot be modified. The Republic of Ireland at one time had a "community rating" system by VHI , effectively

3625-479: Is sometimes considered as the foundation of modern Sweden . Shortly afterwards the new king rejected Catholicism and led Sweden into the Protestant Reformation . The term riksdag was used for the first time in the 1540s, although the first meeting where representatives of different social groups were called to discuss and determine affairs affecting the country as a whole took place as early as 1435, in

3750-461: Is universal, such as by requiring all citizens to purchase insurance or by limiting the ability of insurance companies to deny insurance to individuals or vary price between individuals. Single-payer health care is a system in which the government, rather than private insurers, pays for all health care costs. Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from private organizations, or own and employ healthcare resources and personnel (as

3875-652: Is usually enforced via legislation requiring residents to purchase insurance, but sometimes the government provides the insurance. Sometimes there may be a choice of multiple public and private funds providing a standard service (as in Germany) or sometimes just a single public fund (as in the Canadian provinces). Healthcare in Switzerland is based on compulsory insurance. In some European countries where private insurance and universal health care coexist, such as Germany, Belgium and

Swedish Dialect Alphabet - Misplaced Pages Continue

4000-483: Is usually the state, some forms of single-payer use a mixed public-private system. In tax-based financing, individuals contribute to the provision of health services through various taxes. These are typically pooled across the whole population unless local governments raise and retain tax revenues. Some countries (notably Spain , the United Kingdom , Ireland , New Zealand , Italy , Brazil , Portugal , India and

4125-402: Is very wide and has the county's largest and best harbour for high-seas journeys. The trade continued into the 19th century, and caused the little town to become Sweden's second city. Between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. According to some scholars, mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during

4250-537: Is voluntary in contrast to social insurance programs, which tend to be compulsory. In some countries with universal coverage, private insurance often excludes certain health conditions that are expensive and the state health care system can provide coverage. For example, in the United Kingdom, one of the largest private health care providers is BUPA , which has a long list of general exclusions even in its highest coverage policy, most of which are routinely provided by

4375-564: The Svear and the Götar (Geats) of Götaland were united under a single ruler. In the former case, Svealand was first mentioned as having one single ruler in the year 98 by Tacitus, but it is almost impossible to know for how long it had been this way. The epic poem Beowulf describes semi-legendary Swedish-Geatish wars in the sixth century. However, historians typically start the line of Swedish monarchs from when Svealand and Götaland were ruled under

4500-494: The 2013 Stockholm riots . In response to these violent events, the anti-immigration opposition party, the Sweden Democrats , promoted their anti-immigration policies, while the left-wing opposition blamed growing inequality caused by the centre-right government's socioeconomic policies. Sweden was heavily affected by the 2015 European migrant crisis , eventually forcing the government to tighten regulations of entry to

4625-559: The Allerød oscillation , a warm period around 12,000 BC, with Late Palaeolithic reindeer -hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province, Scania . This period was characterised by small clans of hunter-gatherers who relied on flint technology. Sweden and its people were first described by Publius Cornelius Tacitus in his Germania (98 AD). In Germania 44 and 45 he mentions

4750-594: The Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia , providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula . To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain ( Skanderna ), a range that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its north-east. It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia , and it is also linked to Denmark (south-west) by

4875-622: The Baltic countries , Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad . Their routes passed through the Dnieper south to Constantinople , on which they carried out numerous raids. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos noticed their great skills in war, and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the Varangian Guard . The Swedish Vikings, called Rus are believed to be

5000-504: The Battle of Nördlingen in 1634, Sweden's only significant military defeat of the war, pro-Swedish sentiment among the German states faded. These German provinces broke away from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories: Swedish Pomerania , Bremen-Verden and Wismar . From 1643 to 1645, during the last years of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway fought

5125-658: The Caribbean , Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, including developing countries, took steps to bring their populations under universal health coverage, including China which has the largest universal health care system in the world and Brazil 's SUS which improved coverage up to 80% of the population. India introduced a tax-payer funded decentralised universal healthcare system as well as comprehensive public and private health insurances that helped reduce mortality rates drastically and improved healthcare infrastructure across

Swedish Dialect Alphabet - Misplaced Pages Continue

5250-713: The Geats (Swedish: Götar ) and Swedes ( Svear ), which together constituted the sea-faring peoples known as the Norsemen . A unified Swedish state was established during the late 10th century. In 1397, Sweden joined Norway and Denmark to form the Scandinavian Kalmar Union , which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side, an expansion of its territories began, forming

5375-472: The Hanseatic League , and the local Gutes . Småland was of little interest at the time due to its deep pine forests, with only the city of Kalmar and its castle holding any significant importance. There were also Swedish settlements along the southern coastline of Norrland , one of the four lands of Sweden . Saint Ansgar is traditionally credited with introducing Christianity to Sweden in 829, but

5500-573: The House of Bernadotte , taking the regnal name of Charles XIV. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark–Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January 1814 in exchange for the northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel . The Norwegian attempts to keep their status as a sovereign state were rejected by the Swedish king, Charles XIII . He launched

5625-516: The Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe . It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm . Sweden has a population of 10.6 million, and

5750-654: The Marshall Plan and participated in the OECD. During most of the post-war era, the country was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party largely in co-operation with trade unions and industry. The government actively pursued an internationally competitive manufacturing sector of primarily large corporations. Sweden was one of the founding states of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). During

5875-582: The National Health Service . In the Netherlands, which has regulated competition for its main insurance system (but is subject to a budget cap), insurers must cover a basic package for all enrollees, but may choose which additional services they offer in supplementary plans; which most people possess . The Planning Commission of India has also suggested that the country should embrace insurance to achieve universal health coverage. General tax revenue

6000-549: The National Insurance Act 1911 provided coverage for primary care (but not specialist or hospital care) for wage earners, covering about one-third of the population. The Russian Empire established a similar system in 1912, and other industrialized countries began following suit. By the 1930s, similar systems existed in virtually all of Western and Central Europe. Japan introduced an employee health insurance law in 1927, expanding further upon it in 1935 and 1940. Following

6125-479: The Nordic countries ) choose to fund public health care directly from taxation alone. Other countries with insurance-based systems effectively meet the cost of insuring those unable to insure themselves via social security arrangements funded from taxation, either by directly paying their medical bills or by paying for insurance premiums for those affected. In a social health insurance system, contributions from workers,

6250-639: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in multiple conflicts. During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states and defeated the Imperial army at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. Gustavus Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor , ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. After

6375-625: The Russian Revolution of 1917, a fully public and centralized health care system was established in Soviet Russia in 1920. However, it was not a truly universal system at that point, as rural residents were not covered. In New Zealand , a universal health care system was created in a series of steps, from 1938 to 1941. In Australia , the state of Queensland introduced a free public hospital system in 1946. Following World War II , universal health care systems began to be set up around

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6500-590: The Swedish Empire , which remained one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. During this era Sweden controlled much of the Baltic Sea . Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Imperial Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved

6625-472: The Torstenson War . The result of that conflict and the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War helped establish postwar Sweden as a major force in Europe. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories in northern Germany. In the middle of the 17th century, Sweden was the third-largest country in Europe by land area. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X after

6750-709: The United States is the only wealthy, industrialized nation that does not provide universal health care. The only forms of government-provided healthcare available are Medicare (for elderly patients as well as people with disabilities), Medicaid (for low-income people), the Military Health System (active, reserve, and retired military personnel and dependants), and the Indian Health Service (members of federally recognized Native American tribes). Universal health care in most countries has been achieved by

6875-468: The Uppsala Synod in 1593 which officially confirmed the modern Church of Sweden as Lutheran . Following his deposition in 1599, Sigismund attempted to reclaim the throne sparing no expense, and hostilities between Poland and Sweden continued for the next hundred years. Sweden rose to prominence on a continental scale during the reign of king Gustavus Adolphus , seizing territories from Russia and

7000-613: The treaty of Roskilde in 1658, following Charles X's crossing of the Danish Belts . The foundation of Sweden's success during this period is credited to Gustav I's major changes to the Swedish economy in the 16th century, and his introduction of Protestantism . One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating Great Famine of 1695–1697 that struck the country. Famine also hit Sweden, killing roughly 10% of Sweden's population. In

7125-408: The Öresund Bridge . Its border with Norway ( 1,619 km long) is the longest uninterrupted border within Europe. Sweden lies between latitudes 55° and 70° N , and mostly between longitudes 11° and 25° E (part of Stora Drammen island is just west of 11°). At 449,964 km (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the 55th-largest country in the world, the fifth-largest country in Europe, and

7250-690: The Øresund channel, thus closing it to Allied shipping, and allowing the Germans to use Swedish facilities and the Swedish cipher to transmit secret messages to their overseas embassies. Sweden also allowed volunteers to fight alongside the Germans for the White Guards against the Red Guards and Russians in the Finnish Civil War , and briefly occupied Åland in cooperation with the German Empire. As in

7375-587: The "single most powerful concept that public health has to offer" since it unifies "services and delivers them in a comprehensive and integrated way". One of the goals with universal healthcare is to create a system of protection which provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the highest possible level of health. Critics say that universal healthcare leads to longer wait times and worse quality healthcare. As part of Sustainable Development Goals , United Nations member states have agreed to work toward worldwide universal health coverage by 2030. Therefore,

7500-520: The 17th century, Sweden was engaged in many wars, for example with Poland–Lithuania, with both sides competing for territories of today's Baltic states . The Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) ended with a ceasefire in Stary Targ ( Truce of Altmark ) on 26 September 1629 that was in favour of the Swedes, to whom Poland ceded the larger part of Livonia together with its important port of Riga . The Swedes also got

7625-423: The 1880s. It is thought that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States . Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Western European countries began to industrialise. Despite the slow rate of industrialisation into the 19th century, many important changes were taking place in the agrarian economy due to constant innovations and

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7750-569: The 1960s the EFTA countries were often referred to as the Outer Seven, as opposed to the Inner Six of the then- European Economic Community (EEC). Like many industrialised countries, Sweden entered a period of economic decline and upheaval following the oil embargoes of 1973–74 and 1978–79. In the 1980s several key Swedish industries were significantly restructured. Shipbuilding was discontinued, wood pulp

7875-439: The 20th century, people gradually moved into cities to work in factories and became involved in socialist unions. A communist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of parliamentarism , and the country was democratised . Sweden was officially neutral during World War I . However, under pressure from the German Empire , they did take steps which were detrimental to the Allied powers – most notably, mining

8000-464: The American values of individual choice and personal responsibility; it would raise healthcare expenditures due to the high cost of implementation that the United States government supposedly cannot pay; and represents unnecessary government overreach into the lives of American citizens, healthcare, the health insurance industry, and employers' rights to choose what health coverage they want to offer to their employees. Most contemporary studies posit that

8125-409: The EU on 13 November 1994. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995. In a 2003 referendum the Swedish electorate voted against joining the Euro currency. Sweden held the chair of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2009. On 28 September 1994, the MS Estonia sank as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster claimed

8250-570: The First World War, Sweden remained officially neutral during World War II , although its neutrality has been disputed. Sweden was under German influence for much of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government unofficially supported Finland in the Winter War and the Continuation War by allowing volunteers and materiel to be shipped to Finland. However, Sweden supported Norwegian resistance against Germany, and in 1943 helped rescue Danish Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps . During

8375-437: The Hanseatic League, and entered its golden era, the fact that the peasantry had traditionally been free meant that more of the economic benefits flowed back to them rather than going to a feudal landowning class. The end of the 16th century was marked by a final phase of rivalry between the remaining Catholics and the new Protestant communities. In 1592, Gustav Vasa's Catholic grandson and king of Poland , Sigismund , ascended

8500-500: The Irish market. In Poland, people are obliged to pay a percentage of the average monthly wage to the state, even if they are covered by private insurance. People working under a employment contract pay a percentage of their wage, while entrepreneurs pay a fixed rate, based on the average national wage. Unemployed people are insured by the labor office. Among the potential solutions posited by economists are single-payer systems as well as other methods of ensuring that health insurance

8625-450: The Nazis' war efforts. Sweden was officially a neutral country and remained outside NATO and Warsaw Pact membership during the Cold War , but privately Sweden's leadership had strong ties with the United States and other western governments. Following the war, Sweden took advantage of an intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe. Sweden received aid under

8750-410: The Netherlands, the problem of adverse selection is overcome by using a risk compensation pool to equalize, as far as possible, the risks between funds. Thus, a fund with a predominantly healthy, younger population has to pay into a compensation pool and a fund with an older and predominantly less healthy population would receive funds from the pool. In this way, sickness funds compete on price and there

8875-399: The Roman Period is curt inscriptions demonstrating that the people of south Scandinavia spoke Proto-Norse at the time, a language ancestral to Swedish and other North Germanic languages . In the sixth century, Jordanes names two tribes living in Scandza , both of which are now considered to be synonymous with the Swedes: the Suetidi and Suehans . The Suehans were known to

9000-529: The Roman world as suppliers of black fox skins and, according to Jordanes, had very fine horses, similar to those of the Thyringi of Germania ( alia vero gens ibi moratur Suehans, quae velud Thyringi equis utuntur eximiis ). The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly from the eighth century to the 11th century. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, Estonia,

9125-657: The Russian army at Poltava. The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire. In addition, the plague raging in East Central Europe devastated the Swedish dominions and reached Central Sweden in 1710. Returning to Sweden in 1715, Charles XII launched two campaigns against Norway in 1716 and 1718, respectively. During the second attempt, he was shot to death during the siege of Fredriksten fortress. The Swedes were not militarily defeated at Fredriksten, but

9250-414: The Swedes ( Suiones ) as a powerful tribe with ships that had a prow at each end ( longships ). Which kings ( * kuningaz ) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC. The runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the second century AD, but all that has survived from

9375-517: The Swedish throne. He pursued to strengthen Rome's influence by initiating Counter-Reformation and created a dual monarchy that temporarily became known as the Polish-Swedish Union . His despotic rule, strongly characterised by intolerance towards the Protestants, sparked a civil war that plunged Sweden into poverty. In opposition, Sigismund's uncle and successor, Charles Vasa , summoned

9500-542: The UK, Italy, Australia, and the Nordic countries, the government has a high degree of involvement in the commissioning or delivery of health care services and access is based on residence rights, not on the purchase of insurance. Others have a much more pluralistic delivery system, based on obligatory health with contributory insurance rates related to salaries or income and usually funded by employers and beneficiaries jointly. Sometimes,

9625-525: The acceleration of essential health services, sustained attention to infectious disease management, improvement in health workforce and infrastructure, the elimination of financial barriers to care, an increase in pre-paid and pooled health financing, policy initiatives to curtail OOP expenses, a focus on primary healthcare to reinforce overall health systems, and the fortification of collaborative efforts to achieve UHC. These measures aim to increase health service coverage by an additional 477 million individuals by

9750-555: The area of present-day Sweden and 50,000 from the Finnish part of Sweden . Executive power was historically shared between the King and an aristocratic Privy council until 1680, followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the commoner estates of the Riksdag. As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in 1719, followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in 1772, 1789 and 1809,

9875-618: The canal. Sweden also has plenty of long rivers draining the lakes. Northern and central Sweden have several wide rivers known as älvar , commonly sourced within the Scandinavian Mountains. The longest river is Klarälven - Göta älv , which originates in Trøndelag in central Norway, running 1,160 kilometres (720 mi) before it enters the sea at Gothenburg . In southern Sweden, narrower rivers known as åar are also common. The vast majority of municipal seats are set either on

10000-545: The country dramatically. A 2012 study examined progress being made by these countries, focusing on nine in particular: Ghana , Rwanda , Nigeria , Mali , Kenya , Indonesia , the Philippines and Vietnam . Currently, most industrialized countries and many developing countries operate some form of publicly funded health care with universal coverage as the goal. According to the National Academy of Medicine and others,

10125-516: The country. Some of the asylum restrictions were relaxed again later. On 30 November 2021, Magdalena Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister. The September 2022 general election ended in a narrow win to a bloc of right-wing parties. On 18 October 2022, Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party became the new Prime Minister. Situated in Northern Europe, Sweden lies west of

10250-565: The first battles of the Great Northern War , the Russian army was so severely devastated that Sweden had an open chance to invade Russia. However, Charles XII did not pursue the Russian army, instead turning against Poland and defeating the Polish king, Augustus II the Strong , and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszów in 1702. This gave Russia time to rebuild and modernise its army. After

10375-509: The founders of Kievan Rus' . The Arab traveller Ibn Fadlan described these Vikings saying: I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil . I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe,

10500-511: The health funds are derived from a mixture of insurance premiums, salary-related mandatory contributions by employees or employers to regulated sickness funds, and by government taxes. These insurance based systems tend to reimburse private or public medical providers, often at heavily regulated rates, through mutual or publicly owned medical insurers. A few countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, operate via privately owned but heavily regulated private insurers, which are not allowed to make

10625-460: The healthcare is funded by the municipality, specialty healthcare is provided and possibly funded by a larger entity, such as a municipal co-operation board or the state, and medications are paid for by a state agency. A paper by Sherry A. Glied from Columbia University found that universal health care systems are modestly redistributive and that the progressivity of health care financing has limited implications for overall income inequality . This

10750-630: The ill-fated expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled to Serkland , the region south-east of the Caspian Sea . Its members are commemorated on the Ingvar runestones , none of which mentions any survivor. During the early stages of the Viking Age, a centre of trade in northern Europe developed at Birka on the island of Björkö , not far from where Stockholm was later constructed, in mid-latitude Sweden. Birka

10875-692: The inclusion of the universal health coverage (UHC) within the SDGs targets can be related to the reiterated endorsements operated by the WHO. Note: Links in table are "Healthcare in COUNTRY". The first move towards a national health insurance system was launched in Germany in 1883, with the Sickness Insurance Law. Industrial employers were mandated to provide injury and illness insurance for their low-wage workers, and

11000-501: The industrialised economy that exists today. Strong grassroots movements sprang up in Sweden during the latter half of the 19th century (trade unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups), creating a strong foundation of democratic principles. These movements precipitated Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during

11125-506: The largest country in Northern Europe. The lowest elevation in Sweden is in the bay of Lake Hammarsjön, near Kristianstad , at −2.41 m (−7.91 ft) below sea level. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,111 m (6,926 ft) above sea level . Sweden has 25 provinces or landskap . While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role in people's self-identity . The provinces are usually grouped together in three large lands , parts,

11250-500: The last year of the war, Sweden began to play a role in humanitarian efforts, and many refugees, among them several thousand Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were rescued thanks to the Swedish rescue missions to internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees. The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues ensured the safety of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Nevertheless, both Swedes and others have argued that Sweden could have done more to oppose

11375-548: The latter granting several civil liberties. Already during the first of those three periods, the 'Era of Liberty' (1719–72) the Swedish Rikstag had developed into a very active Parliament, and this tradition continued into the nineteenth century, laying the basis for the transition towards modern democracy at the end of that century. In the 18th century, Sweden did not have enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia, and most of them were lost, culminating with

11500-423: The lifetime task of Charles X's son, Charles XI , to rebuild the economy and refit the army. His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of Sweden, Charles XII , was one of the finest arsenals in the world, a large standing army and a great fleet. Russia, the most serious threat to Sweden at this time, had a larger army but lagged far behind in both equipment and training. After the Battle of Narva in 1700, one of

11625-731: The lives of 852 people (501 of them were Swedes ), being one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century. Until 2022, Sweden generally remained non-aligned militarily, although it participated in some joint military exercises with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and some other countries, stationed its troops under NATO command in Afghanistan , took part in EU-sponsored peacekeeping operations in Kosovo , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Cyprus , and helped enforce

11750-558: The loss in 1809 of eastern Sweden to Russia, which became the highly autonomous Grand Principality of Finland in Imperial Russia . In interest of re-establishing Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea, Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars . However, in 1810, a French Marshal, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte , was chosen as heir presumptive to Charles XIII ; in 1818, he established

11875-669: The new religion did not begin to fully replace paganism until the 12th century. During that century, Sweden was undergoing dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans. The conflict ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan, founding the Bjälbo dynasty, which gradually consolidated Sweden into a stronger state. According to the Legend of Saint Erik and the Erik's Chronicle , Swedish kings conducted

12000-592: The northern Norrland, the central Svealand and southern Götaland. The sparsely populated Norrland encompasses almost 60% of the country. Sweden also has the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve , one of the largest protected areas in Europe, totaling 562,772 ha (approx. 5,628 km ). About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle . Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Around 65% of Sweden's total land area

12125-453: The objections of Turkey and Hungary, Sweden became a NATO member on 7 March 2024. In recent decades Sweden has become a more culturally diverse nation due to significant immigration; in 2013, it was estimated that 15% of the population was foreign-born, and an additional 5% of the population were born to two immigrant parents. The influx of immigrants has brought new social challenges. Violent incidents have periodically occurred including

12250-405: The patient at the time of consumption, but the bulk of costs come from a combination of compulsory insurance and tax revenues. Some programs are paid for entirely out of tax revenues. In others, tax revenues are used either to fund insurance for the very poor or for those needing long-term chronic care. A critical concept in the delivery of universal healthcare is that of population healthcare. This

12375-485: The population dying between 1349 and 1351. During this period, the cities began to acquire greater rights and were heavily influenced by German merchants of the Hanseatic League , active especially at Visby . In 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark (the former daughter-in-law of Magnus Eriksson) established the personal union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark through the Kalmar Union . However, Margaret's successors, whose rule

12500-529: The population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people. Archaeological finds indicate that Birka still was wealthy in the 9th and 10th centuries. Thousands of graves, coins, jewelry and other luxury items have been found there. The actual age of the kingdom of Sweden is unknown. Determining its age depends mostly on whether Sweden is considered a nation when the Svear (Swedes) ruled Svealand or when

12625-546: The provinces of Scania, Blekinge, and Halland in the southwest of the Scandinavian peninsula, which were part of the Kingdom of Denmark during this period, feudalism never developed in Sweden as it did in much of Europe. As a result, the peasantry remained largely a class of free farmers throughout most of Swedish history. Slavery , also known as thralldom , was not common in Sweden, and the institution gradually diminished due to

12750-982: The provision of a specified benefit package. Preventive and public health care may be provided by these funds or responsibility kept solely by the Ministry of Health. Within social health insurance, a number of functions may be executed by parastatal or non-governmental sickness funds, or in a few cases, by private health insurance companies. Social health insurance is used in a number of Western European countries and increasingly in Eastern Europe as well as in Israel and Japan. In private health insurance, premiums are paid directly from employers, associations, individuals and families to insurance companies, which pool risks across their membership base. Private insurance includes policies sold by commercial for-profit firms, non-profit companies and community health insurers. Generally, private insurance

12875-689: The rest of Canada from 1968 to 1972. A public healthcare system was introduced in Egypt following the Egyptian revolution of 1952 . Centralized public healthcare systems were set up in the Eastern bloc countries. The Soviet Union extended universal health care to its rural residents in 1969. Kuwait and Bahrain introduced their universal healthcare systems in 1950 and 1957 respectively (prior to independence). Italy introduced its Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (National Health Service) in 1978. Universal health insurance

13000-643: The right to tax Poland's trade on the Baltic (3.5% on the value of goods), and kept control of many of the cities in Royal and Ducal Prussia (including Piława ( Pillau ), Memel and Elbląg (Elbing). The Swedes later conducted a series of invasions into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge . After more than half a century of almost constant warfare, the Swedish economy had deteriorated. It became

13125-508: The same king, namely Erik the Victorious and his son Olof Skötkonung in the tenth century. These events are often described as the consolidation of Sweden , although substantial areas were conquered and incorporated later. In this context, "Götaland" primarily refers to the provinces of Östergötland and Västergötland . The island of Gotland was contested by various groups, including the Danes,

13250-439: The sea, a river or a lake and the majority of the country's population live in coastal municipalities. Most of Sweden has a temperate climate , despite its northern latitude , with largely four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The winter in the far south is usually weak and is manifested only through some shorter periods with snow and sub-zero temperatures; autumn may well turn into spring there, without

13375-530: The self-employed, enterprises and governments are pooled into single or multiple funds on a compulsory basis. This is based on risk pooling . The social health insurance model is also referred to as the Bismarck Model , after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , who introduced the first universal health care system in Germany in the 19th century. The funds typically contract with a mix of public and private providers for

13500-527: The singular form. In Old English the country was known as Swéoland or Swíoríce , and in Early Modern English as Swedeland . Some Finnic languages , such as Finnish and Estonian , use the terms Ruotsi and Rootsi ; these variations refer to the Rus' people who inhabited the coastal areas of Roslagen in Uppland and who gave their name to Russia. Sweden's prehistory begins in

13625-421: The spread of Christianity, the difficulty of obtaining slaves from lands east of the Baltic Sea, and by the development of cities before the 16th century. Indeed, both slavery and serfdom were abolished altogether by a decree of King Magnus Eriksson in 1335. Sweden remained a poor and economically underdeveloped country, where barter was the primary means of exchange. In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united in

13750-526: The success of invading Poland, Charles XII decided to make an attempt at invading Russia , but this ended in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. After a long march exposed to Cossack raids, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great 's scorched-earth techniques and the extremely cold winter of 1709 , the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and were enormously outnumbered against

13875-406: The system was funded and administered by employees and employers through "sick funds", which were drawn from deductions in workers' wages and from employers' contributions. This social health insurance model, named the Bismarck Model after Prussian Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , was the first form of universal care in modern times. Other countries soon began to follow suit. In the United Kingdom ,

14000-459: The third- and fourth-largest lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren , these lakes take up a significant part of southern Sweden's area. Sweden's extensive waterway availability throughout the south was exploited with the building of the Göta Canal in the 19th century, shortening the potential distance between the Baltic Sea south of Norrköping and Gothenburg by using the lake and river network to facilitate

14125-511: The town of Arboga . During the Riksdag assemblies of 1527 and 1544, under King Gustav Vasa, representatives of all four estates of the realm (clergy, nobility , townsmen and peasants ) were called on to participate for the first time. The monarchy became hereditary in 1544. When Gustav Vasa broke the monopoly power of the Hanseatic League , he was regarded as a hero by the Swedish people. Furthermore, when Sweden did develop, freed itself from

14250-445: The whole structure and organisation of the campaign fell apart with the king's death. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. With Sweden's lost influence, Russia emerged as an empire and became one of Europe's dominant nations . As the war finally ended in 1721, Sweden had lost an estimated 200,000 men, 150,000 of those from

14375-629: The words Svea and rike , first recorded in the cognate Swēorice in Beowulf ), translates as "realm of the Swedes ", which excluded the Geats in Götaland . The contemporary English variation was derived in the 17th century from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German . As early as 1287, references are found in Middle Dutch referring to a lande van sweden ("land of [the] Swedes"), with swede as

14500-518: The world. On July 5, 1948, the United Kingdom launched its universal National Health Service . Universal health care was next introduced in the Nordic countries of Sweden (1955), Iceland (1956), Norway (1956), Denmark (1961) and Finland (1964). Universal health insurance was introduced in Japan in 1961, and in Canada through stages, starting with the province of Saskatchewan in 1962, followed by

14625-406: The year 2023 and to continue progress towards covering an extra billion people by the 2030 deadline. Critics of universal healthcare say that it leads to longer wait times and a decrease in the quality of healthcare. Critics of implementing universal healthcare in the United States say that it would require healthy people to pay for the medical care of unhealthy people, which they say goes against

14750-606: Was centred in Denmark, were unable to control the Swedish nobility. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark , who attempted to restore the Union of Kalmar through military force, ordered the massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm, an event known as the " Stockholm Bloodbath ." This atrocity incited the Swedish nobility to renew their resistance, and on 6 June 1523 (now celebrated as Sweden's National Day ), they made Gustav Vasa their king. This

14875-608: Was founded around 750 AD as a trading port by a king or merchants trying to control trade. Birka was the Baltic link in the Dnieper Trade Route through Ladoga ( Aldeigja ) and Novgorod ( Holmsgard ) to the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate . It was abandoned c.  AD 975 , around the same time Sigtuna was founded as a Christian town some 35 km to the northeast. It has been estimated that

15000-542: Was implemented in Australia in 1975 with the Medibank , which led to universal coverage under the current Medicare system from 1984. From the 1970s to the 2000s, Western European countries began introducing universal coverage, most of them building upon previous health insurance programs to cover the whole population. For example, France built upon its 1928 national health insurance system, with subsequent legislation covering

15125-507: Was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union , a union which lasted until 1905. Sweden is a highly developed country ranked fifth in the Human Development Index . It is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag . It is a unitary state , divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities . Sweden maintains

15250-411: Was integrated into modernised paper production, the steel industry was concentrated and specialised, and mechanical engineering was robotised. Swedish GDP per capita ranking declined during this time. A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in

15375-528: Was introduced in some Asian countries, including Malaysia (1980s), South Korea (1989), Taiwan (1995), Singapore (1993), Israel (1995) and Thailand (2001). Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia retained and reformed its universal health care system, as did other now-independent former Soviet republics and Eastern bloc countries. Beyond the 1990s, many countries in Latin America ,

15500-572: Was published by the World Health Organization in 2004. In some cases, government involvement also includes directly managing the health care system , but many countries use mixed public-private systems to deliver universal health care. The 2023 report from the WHO and the World Bank indicates that the advancement towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the year 2030 has not progressed since 2015. The UHC Service Coverage Index (SCI) has remained constant at

15625-457: Was the case in England before the introduction of the Health and Social Care Act ). In some instances, such as Italy and Spain, both these realities may exist at the same time. "Single-payer" thus describes only the funding mechanism and refers to health care financed by a single public body from a single fund and does not specify the type of delivery or for whom doctors work. Although the fund holder

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