How are Scandinavian countries so prosperous despite not engaging in external colonialism ?
In: Other
As mentioned, there is some colonialism, but not to the same degree as many other european nations. Also it seemed that there was a shift away from colonialism earlier than others. I’m not an expert, but I think it was realized that colonies are more trouble than it is worth. Some people mention Norway in the same breath, but fail to recognized that Norway was deep into poverty until they became an oil exporter.
Sweden also has pretty good natural resources.
Denmark does not, unless you count farmland.
So I think the succes story of this group of countries are not due to colonialism and resources only. I think a big part of it has been carried by investments in education. A well educated populus will be better positioned to develop a good government (compared to other resource rich nations that have gone down less prosporous paths). A well educated population will be better positioned to transition in order to keep up with the times – for example a succesful transition from a manufacturing economy to a service economy requires a highly educated population.
Honestly – some of it is luck – but a significant part is that education has been a top priority in this region for about a century. That has made a huge difference.
Also – the scandinavian countries went through world war 2 relatively unscathed. Denmark and Norway were invaded but didn’t put up much of a fight. Sweden succesfully remained a neutral actor.
So there are a lot of factors at play here. It isn’t just one thing. Probably a bit much for an actual 5 year old to understand, but perhaps a 10 year old would get it.
Latest Answers