Sverige och omvärlden (Sweden and the world): our walkthrough of chapter 11 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus
Chapter 11 of the study material for the citizenship test (medborgarskapsprovet) is about how Sweden cooperates with other countries and how the country is defended. Here we go through the most important parts in our own words.
Sverige i fokus is published by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet, UHR) together with the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). This page is Testappen’s own walkthrough and does not replace the material. Read the original at UHR: uhr.se/utbildningsmaterial.
Cooperation in the Nordic region and Europe
Sweden cooperates with its neighbours in the Nordic region (Norden). The Nordic countries are Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Germany and Russia are close by, but they are not part of the Nordic region.
Nordic cooperation takes place mainly in two councils: the Nordic Council (Nordiska rådet) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordiska ministerrådet). There the countries agree on various issues, and each country then decides for itself how to proceed.
The Council of Europe (Europarådet) was founded in 1949. It protects democracy, human rights and the rule of law, and the European Court of Human Rights (Europadomstolen) belongs to it. The Council of Europe is not the same as the EU.
The European Union, EU
The cooperation that became the EU began after the Second World War. Its purpose was peace and stability in Europe. The EU is cooperation on politics and the economy, built on the idea that the countries are stronger as a group than each on its own.
Sweden was not part of it from the start. The country has been a member since 1995.
The member states decide together, and the laws they agree on apply in all EU countries. Within the EU people may work, study and move to another member state, and goods may be sold freely. This is called the four freedoms (de fyra friheterna).
The UN and Sida
The United Nations (FN) was founded after the Second World War. It is global cooperation, and almost all the world’s countries are members, Sweden included.
Its main task is to prevent war and help countries settle their conflicts peacefully. The UN also stands for all people having equal worth and for human rights.
Sida is the Swedish authority in charge of development aid. The money is meant to help people in other countries have better lives, for example through less poverty, more democracy and gender equality.
Peace, neutrality and NATO
Sweden has not been at war with another country since the early 1800s. Peace has thus lasted for more than two hundred years. After the Napoleonic Wars, Norway and Sweden lived in a union. It ended without war when Norway became an independent state in 1905.
During the Cold War the world was divided into two blocs, led by the USA and the Soviet Union. Both had nuclear weapons and large military forces, which made the tension dangerous. Denmark and Norway became members of NATO. Sweden, on the other hand, held on to its neutrality and stayed outside the alliance.
NATO is a defence alliance meant to protect its member states. Sweden stayed outside for decades. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 made many in Sweden and Finland see their security differently. Both countries applied for membership, and Sweden became a member in 2024.
Total defence
Total defence (totalförsvaret) is the combined defence of the country and consists of a military part and a civil part. The military part is the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten), with the army, the navy and the air force. It is to protect the country’s territory and independence and must also be ready to contribute to missions abroad.
Civil defence (det civila försvaret) is to make sure that important parts of everyday life, such as school, work and healthcare, keep functioning in war or crisis.
Total defence duty (totalförsvarsplikt) means that people living in Sweden may need to help defend the country. The duty covers residents aged 16 to 70, not only citizens. It can involve tasks in both military and civil defence.
General conscription (den allmänna värnplikten) covers both women and men. Being covered is not the same as being called up. First you answer questions and take tests, and then only some are selected for training.
Practise questions about chapter 11
The questions are written by us, except sample questions that UHR has published, which are marked with their source.
The questions are always in Swedish, exactly as in the real test. Only the text of this site is translated.
I vilka två råd sker det nordiska samarbetet främst?
Correct answer:
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.
Vilken organisation bildades 1949 och arbetar för demokrati, mänskliga rättigheter och rättsstatens principer?
Correct answer:
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.
Hur många av världens länder är medlemmar i FN?
Correct answer:
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.
Vilket år blev Sverige medlem i Nato?
Correct answer:
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.
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