Few countries in the world have mastered the transition from an industrial society to an information society as quickly and as successfully as Sweden. [2] At the heart of the Swedish information and communications technology revolution lie Stockholm [3] and the Stockholm suburb of Kista, [4] which over the past two decades have become home to the world's most important center for mobile information and communications technologies (ICT).
[2] Virtual Sweden, www.virtualsweden.net.
[3] The City of Stockholm Development Agency, www.stockholm.se/english.
[4] Kista ” Sweden's Leading Industrial Park, www.kista.com.
The Swedish high-tech phenomenon developed in the early 1990s, when Sweden was fighting an economic and ideological crisis. The social democratic "Swedish Model" was considered to have failed, resulting in unprecedented levels of unemployment and budget deficit. To bring new life to the economy and new perspectives to the Swedish people, the government decided to focus on emerging information and communications technologies. [5] This proved to be a brilliant recipe for success that leveraged Sweden's traditional set of commercial skills and existing communications infrastructures while positioning the nation for the information age.
[5] The Swedish ICT Commission, www.itkommissionen.se.
| International Comparisons | | |
| | S WEDEN | U.S. | G ERMANY | U.K. | F RANCE | I RELAND |
| Large companies per million inhabitants [a] | 3.3 | N/A | 1 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 |
| Corporate income tax, 2000 (%) [b] | 28 | 40 | 43 | 30 | 37 | 24 |
| Average annual venture capital growth 1995 “1999 (%) [c] | 210 | 40 | 42 | 39 | N/A | N/A |
| Total expenditure on R&D (percent of GDP) [d] | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.4 |
| Investment in knowledge (percent of GDP) [e] | 6.5 | 6 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.1 |
| Percentage of population at highest literary skills [f] | 36 | 19 | 19 | 19 | N/A | 12 |
| Nobel Prizes per capita [g] | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.8 | N/A | 0.3 |
| Country ranking microeconomic climate [h] | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 9 | N/A |
| Future readiness in Europe (index) [i] | 93.2 | N/A | 81.3 | 84.9 | 84.0 | 88.8 |
[a] Ranked according to sales 1998. Source: EuroBusiness , December 1999.
[b] Source: KPMG, April 2000.
[c] Average annual growth of private equity and venture capital investments. Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers and 3i, 2000.
[d] Sweden, UK, Ireland are 1997 figures, US, Germany are 1998 figures. Source: OECD.
[e] Public spending on education plus spending on R&D and Ssoftware in 1998. Source: OECD.
[f] Population aged 16 to 65, literacy levels 4/5. Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 1998 .
[g] As of 1998. Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 1999 , IMD, 1999.
[h] 1999 MICI index rank. Source: M.E. Porter,"Micro-economic competitiveness: Findings from the 1999 Executive Survey," 1999.
[i] The index measures the availability of Internet hosts and access to telecommunications lines, R&D and the existence of well- educated people. Source: A.T. Kearney, "Global Leaders of Tomorrow," 1999.
