Учебное пособие G. G. Gubina english for tourists in professional communication part I textbook

Country Study 
Nordic Countries
Task 12. Compare information about Nordic countries. Name similar and different features. 
Similar and Different Features of Nordic Countries 
Under the name Nordic countries, we understand Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
They have a lot in common, but, at the same time, there are properties that are unique to a particular 
country. These countries have the range of characteristics in common:
- 
geographical situation (Northern Europe, North Atlantic);
- 
Lutheran Christianity as a belief; 
- 
cooperation in Nordic Council; 
- 
unicameral parliament (all the states) and the monarchy (Denmark, Norway, Sweden); 
- 
developed welfare state apparatus; 
- 
respect of behavioural rules;
- 
high level of trust, punctuality; 
- 
social cohesion; 
- 
flat hierarchy, dislike of obvious signs of status and frequent use of informal address; 

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- 
low level of crime, corruption and conflict; 
- 
rather low population density; 
- 
direct communication, saying what the person thinks, respect of being modest; 
- 
high respect for women.
But, at the same time, there are some local variations:  
Characteristics 
Denmark 
Sweden 
Iceland 
Norway 
Finland 
European 
Union 
membership 
+ 
+ 
- 
- 
+ 
Eurozone 
- 
- 
- 
- 
+ 
Population 
Scandinavian 
Finnish 
Main language 
Danish 
Swedish 
Icelandic 
Norwegian 
Finnish