The Course of Development

‘Scandinavia’ is an international term; it is hardly ever used by Scandinavians. In its strict sense, it means the three countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, but in practice it inevitably includes Finland, not only for historical reasons but also because Finnish society, both generally and economically, is typically Scandinavian. Finland even managed to retain its Scandinavian characteristics through a century of Russian sovereignty (1809–1917). For the purposes of this paper, however, it may simplify things if the very interesting Finnish case is treated separately, after the sections on Scandinavia proper.

The combined population of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden was 4.1 million in 1800, 6.3 million in 1850, 9.7 million in 1900, and 14.6 million in 1950. Thus in 150 years it had more than trebled. It is impossible to give precise, or even imprecise, figures for the national product of the three countries during the earlier part of the period, though a recent and very tentative Danish estimate goes as far back as 1820. Comparisons are possible beginning in the 1860s. During the ninety years from 1860 to 1950 the Swedish national product increased by a factor of fourteen – perhaps a somewhat exaggerated calculation – and its Danish counterpart by a factor of ten, while the Norwegian figures show an eightfold increase during the somewhat shorter period 1865–1950. These figures must of course be treated with the greatest caution, since the definitions and the means of calculating the figures are different in the several countries.