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II. THE SWEDISH PEOPLE.
in which sphere Swedish scientists and explorers have obtained world-wide renown.
Moreover Sweden, like the two other northern nations, has during the last two
or three generations, entered into far more intimate connection with foreign
countries than was possible with the imperfect means of communication of olden
times. New ideas and movements reach the shores of Sweden as quickly as
those of any other nation; and it not seldom happens, indeed, that it is from
the North that the new ideas emanate, \yhilst fully recognizing that in Sweden,
as elsewhere, there are dark spots, calling for serious reform and regenerative
work, the Swedish people of the present day may yet venture to hope that the
future — especially if Sweden is spared from being involved in the world war
— will bring their country such flourishing economic, spiritual, and intellectual
conditions that the whole of their preceding history may be considered as but
a time of preparation and of training for the years to come.
2. DEMOGRAPHY.
The nation which inhabits and, from what has been shown in the
preceding pages, has probably for at least six thousand years
uninterruptedly possessed the land of Sweden belongs to the Germanic branch of the
Aryan family, and to the particular division of that branch which
comprise the Scandinavian nations. The last-named peoples, (who are so
nearly related to each other, that they mutually understand each other’s
languages tolerably well), embrace, on the whole, a total of over 13 million
souls; of these, about 272 millions are settled in the United States of North
America, more than l/s million live in Finland, which formerly belonged
to Sweden, and Vs million nearly, in North Schleswig, once belonging to
Denmark. The remainder, about 10V2 millions of people, inhabit the three
Scandinavian kingdoms of Northern Europe, Sweden, Norway, and
Denmark; of which countries, Sweden possesses somewhat more than 51/2
million inhab., Norway close upon 21/2, and Denmark somewhat more
than 21/2 millions. Besides these, somewhere about one hundred thousand
live on the distant island of Faroe and Iceland, belonging to Denmark.
The total population of Sweden must, at present, amount to over 7
millions of souls, if we include about lV2 million Swedes in America,
which is probably not too much; of this latter number, however, a great
proportion will doubtlessly soon have exchanged the Swedish language
for English. Of the Swedes in Europe, about 350 000 live in Finland,
and somewhat more than 100 000 in other European countries (of this
number, there are about 40 000 in Norway, and in Denmark rather less);
the remainder, somewhat more than 5V2 million people, inhabit the
kingdom of Sweden. As, besides the people of the Swedish race, Sweden
possesses only about 25 000 Finnish inhabitants, about 7 000 Lapps, and
perhaps about 40 000 persons of other nations, it can with reason be said
to rejoice in a rare degree of ethnographical homogeneity.
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