A Handbook for Asylum seekers in sweden - Tema asyl & integration
A Handbook for Asylum seekers in sweden - Tema asyl & integration
A Handbook for Asylum seekers in sweden - Tema asyl & integration
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people speak and understand English <strong>in</strong> Sweden. It is estimated that about 11%of the population were born outside of the country.As a new-comer, to learn Swedish avoid, us<strong>in</strong>g English as much as possible <strong>in</strong>your social <strong>in</strong>teractions with the Swedes!ReligionSweden is one of the most secular countries of the world and most people <strong>in</strong>Sweden consider religion and faith to be private matters. Few people <strong>in</strong> Swedenare religious – even fewer are actively so. However, although they are not religious,many Swedes choose to have their children baptised, have their communionand get married and buried <strong>in</strong> the church. Until January 2000, every citizen <strong>in</strong>Sweden was registered as a member of the Swedish Lutheran Church (SvenskaKyrkan) at birth. Today the church and state are separated and this is not the caseanymore. In addition to the church of Sweden which has the most members <strong>in</strong>the country, other known world religions such as Islam, Buddhism, H<strong>in</strong>duism,and a number of other Christian Churches are found <strong>in</strong> Sweden.DemocracySweden is a constitutional monarchy <strong>in</strong> which the K<strong>in</strong>g is head of state, with royalpower limited to official and ceremonial functions.Sweden became a fully-fledged democracy <strong>in</strong> 1921 when the full and equalright of women and men to vote was <strong>in</strong>troduced. The rights and freedoms enjoyedby Sweden’s citizens are set out <strong>in</strong> the written Constitution. The Constitutionstates that all public power proceeds from the people and that the Parliament– Riksdagen – is the <strong>for</strong>emost representative of the people. As such, the Riksdagwith its 349 elected members is a crucial component of Swedish democracy. TheGovernment, headed by a prime m<strong>in</strong>ister, rules the country and it is responsibleto the Parliament.Sweden is divided <strong>in</strong>to 21 counties (län) and 289 municipalities (kommun).Each county is headed by a governor, who is appo<strong>in</strong>ted by the central government.Each county has a popularly elected council with the power of taxation,and each council has particular responsibility <strong>for</strong> education, public transportation,health, and medical care. Elected municipal councils are headed by executivecommittees.Parliamentary, county and municipal elections are held every four years. Inthese elections the Swedish electorate elect their representative at national, regionaland municipal levels to govern and adm<strong>in</strong>ister the country <strong>in</strong> the com<strong>in</strong>gfour years.There is also the European level to which elections are held every five years36 | <strong>Asylum</strong> RECEPTION <strong>in</strong> FOCUS