Our 60 practice questions with answers and explanations

1. Vilken svensk naturresurs har under lång tid haft stor betydelse för Sveriges ekonomi?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Large parts of Sweden are covered by forest (skog), and for centuries the forest industry (skogsindustrin) has been important for Swedish exports and for the economy. Sweden has no large reserves of oil or natural gas.

Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).

2. Vad heter Sveriges högsta berg?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Skanderna is the name of the whole mountain range along the border with Norway, and it is among those fells that Kebnekaise rises, about 2,000 metres high. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 6.

3. Varför växer det nästan inga träd i fjällen?

Correct answer:

Explanation: On the fell, grass and low plants grow among the stones instead of forest, and the landscape stays open. It is the climate that sets the limit, not logging. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 6.

4. Varför finns det mesta av jordbruket i södra Sverige?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Farming is adapted to the climate, which is why most of the farmland lies in the southern part of the country. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 8.

5. Vilka produkter kommer från den svenska skogen?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The raw material is wood: the forest becomes pulp, paper, cardboard and timber for building. The forest industry is among the country's most important industries and sells a great deal abroad. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 8.

6. Vilka följder kan klimatförändringarna få särskilt i Sverige?

Correct answer:

Explanation: A warmer climate is expected to bring both too much and too little water here: heavy rain that causes flooding, and long warm periods that dry out the ground so that the forest catches fire more easily. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 8.

7. Vad gör Sverige tillsammans med andra länder för klimatet?

Correct answer:

Explanation: New technology is developed all the time, but much of what is needed to cut emissions has already been invented. The cooperation is about getting that technology put to use in more countries. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 1, p. 9.

8. Vad får både enskilda personer, grupper och partier göra i en demokrati?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The right to argue for your political ideas is as great for a single person as for a large party, and it belongs together with freedom of expression: the right to say and write what you think. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 2, p. 10.

9. Falsk information och hat sprids ibland på sociala medier. Varför görs det?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The purpose is often precisely to set people against one another. Democracy rests on the information people get being true, which is why such spreading is a threat to it. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 2, p. 11.

10. Vad behöver ett samhälle om demokratin ska fungera bra?

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Explanation: A debate only becomes free once those taking part dare to do so, which is why society needs to protect the people who speak publicly. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 2, p. 11.

11. Vilken titel har Sveriges statschef?

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Explanation: Sweden is a monarchy (monarki), and the head of state (statschefen) is the king (or the queen). The head of state has a ceremonial role and no political power. The prime minister (statsministern) leads the government (regeringen), and the speaker (talmannen) leads the work of the parliament (riksdagen).

Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).

12. Vad är en budgetproposition?

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Explanation: The word proposition means proposal, so it is the riksdag that decides afterwards. The proposal is submitted every autumn and shows what the government wants to spend the state's money on. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 3, p. 12.

13. En person ansöker om föräldrapenning. Vilken myndighet beslutar om ansökan?

Correct answer:

Explanation: There are several hundred state authorities in Sweden, and each has its own area of responsibility. Applications for parental benefit are decided by Försäkringskassan. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 3, p. 13.

14. Vad står det på röstkortet som skickas hem före valet?

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Explanation: The voting card arrives by post some time before the election and tells you which polling station you belong to. The ballot papers with the parties' names, by contrast, are there at the polling station. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 4, p. 14-15.

15. Under valrörelsen försöker partierna nå väljarna. Hur gör de?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The valrörelse is the campaign period before an election, when the parties meet voters to explain their politics: on streets and squares, in debates and at meetings and through political advertising. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 4, p. 15.

16. Varför måste ett parti få en viss minsta andel av rösterna för att ta plats i riksdagen?

Correct answer:

Explanation: With many very small parties in the riksdag it would be harder to create stable majorities behind decisions. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 4, p. 15.

17. Vad betyder rättssäkerhet i Sverige?

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Explanation: The evidence must be examined carefully before anyone is convicted, and a person accused has the right to a defence lawyer. No politician can interfere in how a court judges. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 5, p. 17.

18. I vilken domstol börjar ett brottmål?

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Explanation: The courts are arranged in three levels: the district court is the first instance, the court of appeal tries cases appealed from there, and the Supreme Court takes up only certain important cases. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 5, p. 18.

19. Vem fattar beslutet om att häkta någon?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Locking someone up for a long time is to be tried by someone outside the investigation, so the decision lies with a court. A prosecutor can order detention, but not that someone be held for a longer period. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 5, p. 18.

20. Hur ska den som är misstänkt för brott ses innan domen kommer?

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Explanation: Being charged is a claim, not a decision. It is the prosecutor who must prove the guilt, and only after the trial can the court establish that the person is guilty. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 5, p. 18.

21. Du är svensk medborgare och ska skaffa ett nytt pass. Vilken myndighet vänder du dig till?

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Explanation: The police issue passports and national ID cards to Swedish citizens and grant permits, for example for demonstrations. Migrationsverket instead works with residence permits and citizenship. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 5, p. 18.

22. Vad betyder det att vara källkritisk?

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Explanation: Being källkritisk means testing a piece of information before you trust it: is what you have read, seen or heard actually true? Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 6, p. 21.

23. En journalist vill ta reda på hur en myndighet fattade ett beslut. Vad har journalisten rätt att göra?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The right of access to documents reaches far: the emails show how the decision took shape step by step. It stops at secrecy, though. Classified documents are not handed out. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 6, p. 20.

24. Vad gäller för det som människor publicerar i sociala medier?

Correct answer:

Explanation: In social media and on the web anyone can publish, and what an individual posts is not checked by any newsroom beforehand. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 6, p. 21.

25. En person skriver ett inlägg på sociala medier där hen kritiserar ett politiskt förslag. Vilket alternativ beskriver bäst hur yttrandefriheten fungerar?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Freedom of expression (yttrandefriheten) is protected in the constitution (grundlagen) and gives everyone the right to express opinions freely, including criticism of politicians and of political proposals. The freedom has limits that are set in law, for example the ban on agitation against an ethnic or national group (hets mot folkgrupp) and the ban on defamation (förtal).

Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).

26. Vilket år presenterade FN sin allmänna förklaring om de mänskliga rättigheterna?

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Explanation: The UN was founded in 1945, after the Second World War, and the declaration was presented three years later. It contains 30 provisions called articles. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 22.

27. Barnkonventionen är lag i Sverige. Vad betyder det i praktiken?

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Explanation: Ultimately the state must see to it that Swedish laws agree with the convention, and public bodies must use it in their daily work. The protection covers every child in the country, regardless of citizenship. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 24.

28. Vem har enligt barnkonventionen huvudansvaret för ett barns uppfostran?

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Explanation: The convention places responsibility for upbringing with the parents or another legal guardian, but does not leave them alone: society is to support them, for example through the municipality or health care. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.

29. Vilka grupper är erkända som nationella minoriteter i Sverige?

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Explanation: What decides it is that the groups have been here for a very long time and have carried languages, cultures and identities of their own. The recognition came in 2000. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.

30. Var har de nationella minoriteterna rätt att använda sitt minoritetsspråk?

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Explanation: The right applies to dealings with the public sector, not only to private life. The five protected languages are Finnish, Yiddish, Meänkieli, Romani Chib and Sami. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 25.

31. Vad gäller i Sverige för två personer av samma kön som vill gifta sig?

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Explanation: The law protects the right to live with whoever you want, and two people of the same sex may marry. Since 2009 the Church of Sweden also permits the wedding to take place in church. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 7, p. 26.

32. Vilket av dessa arbeten finns i den offentliga sektorn?

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Explanation: It is the employer that settles the matter, not the profession. The public sector includes jobs such as teacher, health care staff, childminder, police officer and firefighter. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 8, p. 27.

33. En arbetsplats har ett kollektivavtal. Vilka anställda gäller avtalet för?

Correct answer:

Explanation: The protection follows the workplace rather than the individual: the agreement covers everyone employed there, whether or not they are a union member. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 8, p. 28.

34. Vem bestämmer hur höga lönerna ska vara i Sverige?

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Explanation: The levels are settled between the unions and the employers, and it is those two sides that are called arbetsmarknadens parter. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 8, p. 28.

35. Vad gör Arbetslöshetskassan (A-kassan)?

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Explanation: Unemployment insurance makes it possible for someone who has become unemployed to have an income, and A-kassan is the economic association that pays the money out. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 8, p. 29.

36. Vad är den offentliga sektorns främsta uppgift?

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Explanation: The public sector (den offentliga sektorn) — the state, the regions (regionerna) and the municipalities (kommunerna) — exists first and foremost to give residents welfare services, for example health care, school and social care. Laws are made by the parliament (riksdagen), and companies that are run for profit belong to the private sector.

Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).

37. Vad händer med välfärdens pengar när fler människor har arbete och när handeln ökar?

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Explanation: Tax revenue follows the economy: more wages and more goods sold mean more tax paid in, without tax having to be raised for that. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 9, p. 30.

38. Vad menas med barnomsorg i en kommun?

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Explanation: The word refers to care for children outside school itself, that is, preschool and after-school centres. Compulsory school and upper secondary school count as school, and a child health centre belongs to health care. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 9, p. 31.

39. Vilket land var under nästan 700 år, fram till år 1809, en del av Sverige?

Correct answer:

Explanation: Finland was part of the Swedish realm for nearly 700 years, until 1809, when Sweden lost Finland to Russia after a war.

Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).

40. Ungefär hur många invånare hade Sverige när 1800-talet började?

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Explanation: During the 1800s the population doubled, so by the turn of the century in 1900 there were around 5 million Swedes. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 32.

41. Vilka industrier var de första större i Sverige, runt mitten av 1800-talet?

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Explanation: It was timber and steel that carried the first wave of industry: sawmills and steelworks drew people from the countryside into the towns. Factories for shoes and clothes came later. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 32.

42. Nykterhetsrörelsen var en av folkrörelserna. Vilket problem arbetade den mot?

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Explanation: Abuse of spirits was a large social problem in the 1800s, and the temperance movement worked to get people to stop drinking. Women's suffrage was driven above all by the women's movement instead. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 33.

43. Vilket år beslutade riksdagen om allmän rösträtt i Sverige?

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Explanation: In 1909 almost all men were given the vote, but not women. The decision on universal suffrage came in 1918, after years of protests and political unrest. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 33.

44. Sverige var neutralt under första världskriget. Hur påverkades landet ändå?

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Explanation: A country can stay out of the fighting and still be hit: food and other necessary goods ran out, and the discontent drove people out to demonstrate. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 34.

45. Sverige var neutralt under andra världskriget. Vad tillät ändå den svenska regeringen?

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Explanation: Neutrality was not absolute: allowing the German transports was a concession meant to reduce the risk of Sweden being drawn into the war. Nazi Germany occupied both Denmark and Norway, but never Sweden. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 35.

46. Socialdemokraterna hade regeringsmakten under lång tid. Vilken period gäller det?

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Explanation: After the Second World War voter support was so strong that the party most often held government power on its own for more than thirty years. Only in 1976 was a government formed without the Social Democrats, and since then social democratic and centre-right governments have alternated. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 36.

47. Vad innebar du-reformen, som kom under 1960-talet?

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Explanation: Dropping titles and the word ni was a change in language with a social meaning: it showed that society had become more equal. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 37.

48. Tidigt på 1960-talet kom en ny apparat till svenska hem. Den ändrade hur människor följde nyheter. Vilken apparat var det?

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Explanation: The television set arrived in homes at the start of the 1960s and changed how news and entertainment reached people. Computers and mobile phones came with the digital revolution three decades later. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 10, p. 37.

49. I vilka två råd sker det nordiska samarbetet främst?

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Explanation: The councils reach agreement on various matters, and each country then decides how to take them forward at home. Europarådet is a different organisation, for human rights and democracy, and is not part of the Nordic cooperation. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 11, p. 39.

50. Vilken organisation bildades 1949 och arbetar för demokrati, mänskliga rättigheter och rättsstatens principer?

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Explanation: Europarådet is a European organisation for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and it is there that the European Court of Human Rights sits. It is therefore not the same thing as the EU. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 11, p. 39.

51. Hur många av världens länder är medlemmar i FN?

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Explanation: The UN was founded in 1945 after the Second World War and is a global cooperation: almost every country in the world belongs, Sweden included. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 11, p. 39.

52. Vilket år blev Sverige medlem i Nato?

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Explanation: NATO is a defence alliance that is to protect its member states. Sweden stayed outside it for decades and joined only very recently, and so much later than it joined the EU. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 11, p. 40.

53. Vad garanterar staten var och en som bor i Sverige, när det gäller religion?

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Explanation: The choice belongs to the individual and not to the state or the family: you can belong to a religious community or stay entirely outside one, and no authority needs to know what you believe. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 12, p. 42.

54. Vilket år kom religionsfrihetslagen i Sverige?

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Explanation: With this act the freedom to believe had its big breakthrough in the country: only now did it become possible to stand entirely outside every religious community. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 12, p. 42.

55. Vad fick judar i Sverige år 1870?

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Explanation: The right to live here and practise one's faith had come long before; what took time was becoming equal to other citizens, in a Europe where antisemitism was widespread for a long time. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 12, p. 43.

56. När ökade antalet muslimer i Sverige?

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Explanation: Muslims were here as early as the start of the 1900s, but only a few. It was the immigration after the Second World War that made the number larger. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 12, p. 44.

57. Flera av högtiderna i Sverige är helgdagar. Vad betyder det?

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Explanation: The word is about work: on a helgdag most people are off work, and several of the Swedish festivals fall on such days. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 13, p. 45.

58. Den 30 april tänds stora brasor på kvällen. Vilken högtid firas då?

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Explanation: The bonfires and spring songs on 30 April welcome the spring. The day after, 1 May, is the workers' day. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 13, p. 46.

59. Vad är advent?

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Explanation: The period is counted backwards from Christmas Day: four Sundays in a row, with a new candle lit in the Advent candlestick each Sunday. Meanwhile children open one door a day in the Advent calendar. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 13, p. 47.

60. Vad är julotta?

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Explanation: It is an old church tradition early on the morning of Christmas Day, and not everyone goes. The Christmas food and the tree belong to the evening before. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 13, p. 47.