Since Nordic Intelligence receives a great deal of interest from the Latin nation, we decided to investigate.
Nordic Intelligence receives a considerable volume of interest from readers origination in the Lusophone giant, which is strange as all of our content is in English and we have never explicitly marketed to the country. Yet a bit of detective work as to the origin of the love affair between Brazil and the Northern powerhouse that is Sweden would suggest a few possible causes of the interest in Sweden and the Nordics more generally from our Portuguese speaking friends.
- Sweden is not very corrupt
In 2015 Sweden was ranked as the third least corrupt nation on earth, according to the corruption perceptions index. It fell behind fellow Nordic nations Denmark and Finland, which were ranked first and second, respectively. By comparison Brazil was ranked a lowly 76th, having being embroiled in a range of political scandals that include controversies relating to state owned giant Petrobras. It is possible our Brazilian friends are interested in examining a part of the world with less corruption.
2. Sweden is cold
Dealing with intense heat is not for everyone. There is the sweat stains to contend with, the feeling of being tired when you go for a long walk, as well as the stressful nature of having to avoid anywhere that may cause you to get overheated and collapse with exhaustion. Some of us were born to live in cooler climates despite the tropical conditions we found ourselves in. This is a possible cause of the Brazilian love affair with Sweden.
3. Sweden is full of blondes
Someone had to say it. While Southern Brazil has a large number of people with a Northern European background, the country is dominated by people with darker hair and many Brazilians are fascinated by blonde hair and blue eyes given its relative rarity in the nation. It is perhaps therefore no surprise that Brazilians’ interest flocks towards the one country known to have more than its fair share of blondes.