Introduction
The United States of America (USA) and Sweden are two of the world’s most highly developed industrial countries. Although their economies are similar, there are also differences between the two nations that will be discussed in different sections of this paper. The focus will be on comparing and contrasting the geography, people, and economy of both countries.
Geography
The main difference between the USA and Sweden in terms of physical size is significant. Sweden is just a speck compared to the US, roughly equivalent to the size of California, which is not even the US’s largest state. However, apart from China, Russia, and Canada, few countries come close to matching the land area of the US. At 173,860 square miles, Sweden pales in comparison to the massive 3,676,486 square miles that make up the land area of the United States (Encyclopædia Britannica).
The number of countries surrounding the US and Sweden is practically the same. The US is bordered by Russia to the East, Canada to the North, and Mexico to the South (Encyclopædia Britannica, “United States”). Meanwhile, Sweden shares borders with Finland in the Northeast, Denmark in the South, and Norway to its West (Encyclopædia Britannica, “Sweden”).
The land of the United States is so vast that it spans from the Arctic regions to the tropics. Its topography consists of lowlands, especially in the mid-states, as well as plains and mountainous areas (Encyclopædia Britannica, “United States”).
Similarly, Sweden’s landscape is also composed of lowlands and highlands in the central part of the country belonging to the region of Svealand. The northern region known as Norrland is made up of mountainous and forested areas, while Gotaland in southern Sweden consists mostly of plains (Encyclopædia Britannica, “Sweden”).
People
What would a country be without its people? The United States certainly has a lot of them. As of 2008, the US had approximately 305,146,000 residents (Encyclopædia Britannica, “United States”). In contrast, Sweden had only 9,214,000 residents in the same year (Encyclopædia Britannica, “Sweden”). Sweden’s population is just a fraction of that of the US; in fact, the US population is more than three times larger than that of Sweden.
Both the United States and Sweden have ethnic minorities and immigrants as part of their population. Sweden used to be homogeneous in terms of ethnic composition but experienced a sudden increase in immigration after World War II, mainly from neighboring countries. Presently, Sweden has two minority groups that are indigenous to the country: Finnish-speaking people near the border of Finland and Sami, an ethnic group scattered throughout Sweden (Encyclopædia Britannica, “Sweden”).
The US has Native American Indians as its indigenous people while the rest are a variety of ethnic groups composed of European-Americans, African-Americans, Latin-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Middle-Easterners (Encyclopædia Britannica, “United States”).
Economy
The US economy is the strongest in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite having only 5% of the world’s population, the US produces one-fifth of the world’s economic output (Encyclopædia Britannica, United States”). In contrast, Sweden is a global leader in Gross National Product (GNP) and has high tax collection rates. Sweden also practices free international trade which likely contributes to its high living standards (Encyclopædia Britannica, “Sweden”).
Works Cited
- Encyclopædia Britannica. “Sweden.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/576478/Sweden.
- “United States.” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009. Retrieved on April 26, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/616563/United-States.
