Fact file

• Sweden is the third largest country in western Europe – behind only France and Spain – stretching 1600km from north to south. If the country were pivoted around on its southernmost point, the top of the country would reach as far south as Naples in Italy.

• There is no translation for the Swedish word lagom, one of the most commonly used terms in the language. Roughly speaking, it means “just the right amount, not too much but not too little”, a concept that is the very essence of Swedishness.

• More than half of Sweden’s land surface is covered with forest – mostly coniferous – punctuated by an astonishing 100,000 lakes.

• Sweden is home to the world’s first and largest hotel made entirely of ice and snow. Icehotel is built in December using blocks of ice cut from the local Torne River. The hotel melts back into the river in May.

• In northern Sweden frozen lakes and rivers are used by drivers looking for a shortcut to their destination. The national road agency marks out “ice roads” and decides when the ice is thick enough to support a vehicle.