Glossary of terms
Plenty of test questions turn on a single unfamiliar word. These are the terms worth knowing.
- Diskrimineringsgrund
- One of the characteristics the law specifically protects against discrimination — such as sex, ethnicity, religion, disability and age.
- Folkrörelse (popular movement)
- Broad membership organisations such as the temperance, labour and free-church movements — decisive in the emergence of Swedish democracy.
- Grundlag (constitutional law)
- The four laws that stand above all others and protect democracy. They can only be changed by two parliamentary decisions with an election in between.
- Hemvist (habitual residence)
- The time you have been permanently resident in Sweden. Residence time is one of the base requirements for citizenship and is counted under specific rules.
- Kollektivavtal (collective agreement)
- An agreement between a union and employers on pay and conditions. Sweden has no statutory minimum wage — collective agreements serve that role.
- Myndighet (government agency)
- A state or municipal organisation carrying out public duties. Swedish agencies decide individual cases independently.
- Offentlighetsprincipen
- The right of public access to official documents, which lets anyone scrutinise how power is exercised.
- Public service
- Public-interest radio and television, funded through taxation and independent of both the state and commercial interests.
- Regeringen (the government)
- The prime minister and the ministers. The government runs the country and implements parliament's decisions, but does not pass laws itself.
- Riksdagen (the parliament)
- Sweden's elected parliament, with 349 members. It passes laws, decides the state budget and scrutinises the government.
- Sekulär stat (secular state)
- A religiously neutral state. Sweden separated the state from the Church of Sweden in 2000, while freedom of religion remains constitutionally protected.
- Socialförsäkring (social insurance)
- The shared schemes providing financial protection during illness, parental leave, disability and old age.
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