The Swede diaspora of Europe originated from Sweden with largest population being Finland. Swedes tend to emigrate mostly to their neighbour countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland), and English speaking countries (United State, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany).

The native language of nearly all Swedes is Swedish, a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is, to a considerable extent, mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish.

Along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is the largest of the North Germanic languages by numbers of speakers.

They are predominantly non-religious.