• Sweden edition
Society

Average Swede likes sweets, booze, and TV

Published: 19 Jan 12 12:30 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/38596/20120119/

The average Swede is 40+, munches on a weekly bag of sweets, washed down with a glass or three of alcohol, while relaxing in front of the TV, according to the 2012 Statistical Yearbook of Sweden from Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån -SCB).

Maria Johansson and Mikael Johansson, 42 and 40 years of age respectively, are the embodiment of what Statistics Sweden call the average Swedes or "Medelsvenssons".

The couple is married and have two children together. Maria works within the care sector and Mikael works in manufacturing.

The Johansson family live in a detached house worth approximately 1.3 million kronor ($190,500), they drive a silver coloured Volvo and have an internet connection in their home.

Their two children, Simon (15) and Emma (12) have their own rooms, and each own a mobile phone and a bicycle.

Maria and her husband have a monthly disposable income of 47,000 kronor and their expenses amount to approximately 35,000.

The average Swede also like to eat sweets and drink alcohol.

In Maria's household they eat about 1.3 kilogrammes of candy and consume the same amount of pastries.

During the week she will share a bottle of wine with her husband, as well as drink three cans of full strength lager.

Both will also imbibe 7 centilitres of hard liquor a week.

Maria will come out of this binge better than her husband, who will have the beer belly to show for it. 61 percent of Swedish men between 35-44 are overweight, compared to 29 percent of the women.

This despite the fact that Swedish men and women both spend an average of 36 and 34 minutes respectively on sports and outdoor activities per week.

But men also spend more time just watching TV or listening to the radio with 140 minutes to the women's 118.

Women in Sweden also spend 43 minutes a week cooking, while men spend 26 minutes doing the same.

On an average week in Sweden, 1,142 boys are born, of which 21 will be called Oscar.

The same week will see the birth of 1,082 girls, of which 17 will be called Maja. 1,971 people will get married while 900 will get divorced.

Six murders/manslaughters will be committed in Sweden during an average week, 1,690 assaults and 330 sexual offences, of which 115 rapes will be reported to the police.

External link: Statistical Yearbook of Sweden 2012 »

The Local/rm (news@thelocal.se)

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13:21 January 19, 2012 by SimonDMontfort
...compared to ...what exactly? Last time such a survey was done? And the trend is...?

(Had problems getting the link to work)
13:29 January 19, 2012 by HYBRED
1.3kg of candy and the same of pastries, plus 7cl of hard liquor. Shortly you can add a liter of insulin to the list.
13:29 January 19, 2012 by SimonDMontfort
Ahh Right! Have the link now
13:37 January 19, 2012 by Kevin Harris
1.3 kilos of sweets a week!!!! Come on The Local, you have taken household averages and reported them as individual averages. Rewrite this please.
15:10 January 19, 2012 by KPA65
I wish....!

I'm hungry now!
16:18 January 19, 2012 by efm
That is probably the lifestyle of an upper middle class

typical American family of four!

The median income of the same family in the US is only about

$50,000, and where I live(suburbia), it is about $74,000.

The typical $74,000 income family of four, (US), will have a bigger house, two cars, 3-4 TVs, 2-3 computers, 4 cell phones,

more debts, perhaps pay a little less in taxes. The same income of $82644 converted from kronor, will prob. pay about

29-30% in taxes.

We don't munch that much on candies, but we eat more fast food, pizzas, etc., and drink more beer.
16:30 January 19, 2012 by Mark737408
who doesnt ?
17:20 January 19, 2012 by skogsbo
if this percentage of Swedes are overweight, then I must have my eyes closed. The biggest difference here is that you don't see clinically obese people every minute of the day, unlike the US or UK.

Even the stats given they are hardly binge drinkers or eaters. Many UK families drink more than that in a day, many days of the week. Many US families consume more than that per day, most days. Not spread over a week.

Is this a feel good article for the US or UK audience, so they can go aw look, the Swedes are lard a$$e$ just us ?!
20:15 January 19, 2012 by Mb 65
Tell me something new.
02:29 January 20, 2012 by zircon
You could write thousands of quotations on the mouth.
07:36 January 20, 2012 by philster61
Thats because the attractive young blonds are not going for the 40+
12:33 January 21, 2012 by mortlock
I know someone (Swede of course) who just had ther birthday - I was thinking I might be the sweets, booze and tv.Isn't it funny how though you advertise the reality of Sweden it just goes unnoticed like some kinds of asrtonauht girl nobody has ever heard of.Noddy information that we are mindful of Sweden's best - but maybe we could live alittle more in the milk and less on the booze (not that we drink).
23:53 January 24, 2012 by willowsdad
Hopefully average Swedes have the political moxie to smack their government down if it tries to do something about it.
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