Sweden in Poland
maybe
Neighbours to each other that are separated by the Baltic Sea and much like how England is a neighbor to France
They do have a history that has had many run-ins with each other. But what are the major differences between these two great nations?
Hey everybody. How's it going?
welcome to FTD facts the channel where I look at different countries cultures and
Peoples and places from all around the world now. My name is Dave Walpole
and if its first time here you want to hit that subscribe button because if you like learning by countries
that's what we do and on top of that before we get into this episode because we're gonna dive right into it if you guys
Are liking this sort of video and you want more of the differences between different countries or you want more?
Topics around Sweden or Poland be sure to hit those like buttons because that's a good indication of the kind of stuff that you guys
Want or you could just let us know down there in the comment section below either or it's cool
Now one of the reasons why I'm talking about these two particular countries and finding out the differences between them is first of all
we've done which countries are better videos back in the day and I just felt you know what we should look more at the
Cultural differences between these two countries and not necessarily say which country is better
but just to discover what's
different about them and of course just the fact that I've had a lot of people watch the Sweden videos that I've done and the
Poland videos that I've done and I'm really grateful for that. So this is kind of like a combination
So let's start it off
So two separate countries you have Poland which is a Slavic country and it's located in Central Europe now for Sweden
It's a little bit tricky to classify where it is because for some people they call it Northern Europe
But most people actually just call it Scandinavia and Sweden is known as a Scandinavian country
However, I do also want to mention that there are some similarities between these two countries
So we're going to talk about differences and similarities
And the first big one of that is the fact that both of these countries are part of the EU the European
Union because for Sweden it joined the EU in 1994 and Poland joined ten years later on May 1st of
2004 but one really interesting thing that I find that is a similarity between these two nations
Is that although they are both part of the European Union, they both also don't use the euro as their main currency
Poland uses a currency which is known as the polis is zoltah and for Sweden their currency is called the Swedish Krona
Also for both of these nations when it comes to their particular individual currency
I find it really useful that they actually used colored money
Now, of course some countries will also say oh, well, you know that's like monopoly money. It's you know joke money
I'm not gonna name those nations that actually, you know say that but let's be perfectly honest for me
I find it really helpful because it's an easy way to determine the different types of bills just by looking at it
You know you can go. Oh look that's a 20. Oh, that's a hundred. Oh, that's a fifty. Oh, that's a thirty
I don't think they have thirty dollar bills, but you get what I mean either way
let's talk about population Poland obviously has a larger population coming in with an approximation of
38 million four hundred and thirty three thousand six hundred people
Sweden being to the north and obviously having a rougher climate has a population of 10 million two hundred
7080 six people
Approximately and consider when were on the topic of people. Let's look at things like religion language and all that sort of jazz
Because for these two countries when it comes to their religion, that is a majority
They are quite different for example in Poland the majority of people identify as Roman Catholic being about eighty seven percent
But within Sweden the biggest religion in the country is Christian more specifically known as the Church of Sweden
Which is a Lutheran form of Christianity, of course
There are other religions within this country and there are people who also don't identify as a religion as well
but when it comes to languages
The one thing that's really cool about these two countries is they both have their own language that's named after their country
Of course in Sweden, everybody knows that the main language there is Swedish and in Poland its polish
but the amount of people that actually speak English within these two countries does vary quite a bit for example in Sweden in
2005 it was reported that eighty-nine percent of the people are able to speak English, but however in
2015 with in
Poland it was stated that only about 50% of the people can speak English now jumping over to land now Poland is a pretty
Big country and Sweden is as well
Poland has a land size of 312 thousand six hundred and ninety-six kilometers square with approximately three points zero
7% of that being water
Sweden's land comes in at
450
Thousand two hundred and ninety five square kilometers with a water percentage of eight point seven percent and it's also the fifth largest country
Within Europe, of course of this land one thing that we cannot forget to mention is that in both countries
They actually have a lot of forests
For example Poland is the fourth largest forested country in all of Europe with about thirty percent of its land covered in forest it
Should also be mentioned that the forests to the northern area is an extremely important one and is also considered a World Heritage Site
Because this forest is the last and largest primeval forest on the entire planet
but however in Sweden it is a lot higher when it comes to forced within the country because they say that at least
Seventy percent of its land is covered in heavy forests. I always thought that was pretty interesting
It's a very green country jumping right along. Let's take a look at some of the human aspects
Let's talk about the government of these two nations Poland is what is known as a unitary semi-presidential
Representative democratic republic meaning that there is a president that is the head of state and the Armed Forces and the Prime Minister
is head of the government within this government they have two chambers of
Parliament known as the Senate and the CM and as for the presidential elections
They are a little bit different from Sweden because they happen every five years
Overall executive power of the country is worked through what is known as a multi platform
Party system and that has worked with the president and the council members
Which is led by the Prime Minister jumping over to Sweden it as a parliamentary representative Democratic
Constitutional monarchy basically, meaning that they still have a king and a queen and these people they don't need to be elected
They go off of family blood
however
it should also be mentioned that the country does also have a prime minister and this form of government also works in a
Multi-party system and for them when they do elections for their prime minister
It happens every four years and for the Armed Forces commander and chief
It is actually not
Given to one individual man or woman but is given to the cabinet for the Prime Minister and in this current state it is known
As the love and after Prime Minister Steven luffing as well the cabinet for the Prime Minister acts as caretakers for the government
Culinary, let's talk about food food is important you love food. I love food
We all love food, but the food in these two countries is a little bit different
Although they do have some similar aspects in their culinary and lightly they have also adopted american-style food
Poland is generally traditionally known for things like sausages to be very popular and for them their sausages are called Cabasa
I don't know if that's how you actually pronounce it in Polish. But in Canada, that's how we pronounce it
We call it gay basa
But did you also know that bagels originated from Poland and one of the most popular dishes that comes from the country is pierogies?
Oh, yeah, and I love pierogies. Mm-hmm Sweden
They are also known for many other different things one food in the northern regions that they are known for is eating reindeer
But for Sweden the most international food that they are known for is Swedish meatballs
Like there's literally a million jokes about Swedish meatballs out there in the real world
It's crazy. These meatballs are served with gravy and in other countries around the world
It's usually something that you get around Christmas also speaking about Christmas when it comes to Sweden they have what is known as the smorgasbord
Which is kind of like a mini buffet of food
Basically, you get things like cheese bread meat balls fish and other meats boiled potatoes and other things of that nature, of course
We should also mention that if we're going to talk about Christmas dishes Poland has their own sort of individual dishes
Basically, they also have a Christmas supper which is known as Wiggy Leah. I think that's how you pronounce it
However, it's traditionally a meatless meal where you have borscht and small dumplings and considering you mentioned Christmas
Let's just talk about some of the rest of the holidays within these two nations. And what makes them different for Sweden
It has 11 public holidays and Poland actually beats them by having 13
Of course, they do have similarities like I mentioned Christmas
They also have Easter they have multiple independence days or culture country appreciation days
They also both celebrate epiphany which happens on January 6th and oddly enough both countries do celebrate All Saints Day
Which is no member first. I don't know if they really celebrate Halloween in those countries
But all Saints Day at least is celebrated
But for Sweden one major holiday that is definitely different and as their own is known as Midsummer's Day
Which is a day to celebrate the summer solstice now
I've actually heard that other countries do celebrate this and even in countries like Poland celebrate it but Sweden has a very unique way of
celebrating this particular holiday and it seems to be that the way they do it in Sweden is more internationally known as
During this holiday people raise what is known as the Maypole and dance around it?
Also, it is a time where one decorates their house in greenery
And it's supposed to bring good luck through the season Poland. However has one really interesting holiday
It's also a shared holiday that happens on August 15th
It's literally two holidays in one known most commonly as the Armed Forces Day
It's also shared with the day of Assumption of the Virgin Mary which of course is a Catholic holiday, but for Armed Forces Day
It's a very particular Polish holiday because it commemorates the 1920 victory against the Russians during the Battle of Warsaw
I also find this holiday to be very significantly important within Poland because in
1947 that is when the Soviet Union took control of Poland and they pretty much banned this holiday from being celebrated until
1992 when the Soviet Union dissolved and collapsed speaking of history
I do want to mention one major difference between these two countries is their history during the Second World War
It's quite different and because of that you got to keep in mind that things that happen in the past
Also change how people are in the present day because for Poland it has had a major history of oppression
For example during the Second World War Poland was a country that was completely invaded by the Germans on
September 1st. 1939
Which started the beginning of world war two, of course?
They were the ones that attacked from the West but oddly enough the Soviets also attacked from the east as well Poland had a major
Turbulent history when the Nazis ended up placing ash whit's and other concentration camps within the country
Which was basically the beginning of the Holocaust and we all know the history of that. I don't need to go into that
Which even more?
Unfortunate for Poland and I mean some people might agree
some people might disagree is that after the war Poland was pretty much consumed by the Soviet Union and they really just didn't get their
Independence, which I feel like they actually deserved Sweden
However on September 1st had actually announced its neutrality during the war
Partially due to the fact that Sweden had not been in a war since
1815 and it was part of their policy to just stay out of wars
altogether also it's interesting to know that out of the 20 countries that declared themselves neutral only eight of them could actually do so and
Sweden was one of them
however
Sweden also became a major refugee center for the Jewish people coming from Denmark and they say during the war about
8,000 Jews fled from Denmark safely to Sweden and last but not least just to leave it on a really happy note
Let's talk about music because these two countries have contributed a lot in history to music
Poland has actually had a very crazy history of musicians
especially during the Classical era around the 17 - 1800s
For example, one of my favourite classical composers is Chaplin
He's from Poland on top of that Poland produced over a dozen other
Classical composers and it's probably due to the fact that during that time Poland was a major hub for music
Just kind of like Sweden is today
It also should be mentioned that even since its creation in the 1980s metal death metal and goth metal seem to be extremely popular
Music in the country even beating hip hop and alternative music altogether
Sweden also has a lot of world-famous musicians like bands like Abba
Which is also one of the world's most prominent and best-selling bands
they also had bands like Europe rock set and Ace of Base that
Originated from the country and that's probably due to the fact that in the modern world as Sweden has been a major
Contributor to music and actually in the whole world
They are the 3rd largest producers of music out of any country in the world
And as a matter of fact in 2015 Sweden ranked to number one for having the most chart hits per capita
Either way that is just a small look at the differences between these two great nations
My name's Dave waffle and I just want to know did we miss any?
Differences between these two countries if you guys are from these two different country
be sure to let us know some cultural things that we missed that you might want to throw in there because hey man if you
Guys like this, maybe we'll do a part two, but other than that
I hope you guys really liked this hit that subscribe button
Also hit those like buttons for that part too, and I will see you in the next one. Bye e
Alright by the way before you guys get out of here
Be sure to check out our country's playlist because this is a really cool playlist. We can learn about different countries from around the world
Specifically this one where we're talking about Europe on top of that be sure to check out our what-if playlists would we look at what?
Would happen if two nations actually combined and we'll see guys in the next one. Bye