Sweden has terrible soil. Rock with a thin layer of sandy earth on top. Only Skåne, the southernmost part, sustains really productive farming, which is probably

Sweden has terrible soil. Rock with a thin layer of sandy earth on top. Only Skåne, the southernmost part, sustains really productive farming, which is probably the main reason the Swedes fought a series of succesful wars in the seventeenth century to grab it from neighbouring Denmark. Also why Swedish farmers decamped for North America in record numbers in the second part of the eighteen hundreds. About a quarter of the population emigrated. To this day, Sweden cannot feed itself - about halt its consumed foodstuff must be imported. Contrast the much smaller Denmark - sans Skåne - which is self-sustainable in that particular regard. No rocks, plenty of soil.