Sverigebilden simply translates to the ’image of Sweden’. A bild is an ’image’ or a ’picture’, and Sverige, of course, is Sweden. 

But why does Sweden have a word for its image? You could just as well say bilden av Sverige, but Swedish as a language has a tendency to create new words in order to be specific, very much like its Germanic siblings and cousins. 

Sweden is also obsessed with its image, an image that is overwhelmingly positive. Articles with headlines like “Why Sweden beats other countries at just about everything” are not hard to find, and you will consistently find Sweden in the top of rankings related to all matter of positive measures for a country, many of which you will find in the above linked article. 

Beyond the current ranking of the country there is a persistent image of Sweden going back to the glory days of the Swedish Social Democratic wonder when Sweden was the envy of the world, and was often described as a welfare paradise.

But this image has not managed to persist purely on its own, like many might believe. The truth is that it has had some help along the way, primarily from an institute dedicated to cultivating the image or brand of Sweden. Meet Svenska Institutet, the Swedish Institute.

Svenska Institutet describes its work as informing about and analyzing the image of Sweden abroad, as well as facilitating international exchange and cooperation. This is all done with the goal of putting Sweden “on the map” and building good relations with individuals, organizations and other countries. The idea being that if these have a high confidence in Sweden then that increases trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange, as well as helping with the recruitment of international talent to the many successful companies in the country..

As for their specific work with Sverigebilden, Svenska Institutet writes the following:

“Vi analyserar Sverigebilden [We analyse the image of Sweden]

SI is the expert on how Sweden is perceived on various issues globally and continuously studies and analyzes the image of Sweden. We follow and measure the perception of Sweden in other countries and analyze how Sweden is relevant to international target groups. Through our own studies, external monitoring and analysis, the authority builds knowledge on specific issues and events that can affect the image of Sweden.”

Discuss Sverigebilden amongst yourselves. Has it changed over time? And if so, what has driven that change?

Also, if you have a project abroad that could somehow be a positive for Sverigebilden you should definitely get in touch with the Swedish Institute. Follow them on their socials for all the latest updates.

Example sentences

Vet ni vad ni gör med Sverigebilden?

Do you know what you’re doing with the image of Sweden?

Är Sverigebilden positiv? 

Is the image of Sweden good?