Metrication in Sweden

Last updated June 30, 2022

Sweden decided to adopt the metric system in 1876. After a ten-year transition period starting 1879, the use of legacy units was outlawed by the beginning of 1889.^[1]

History

On 28 January 1875 André Oscar Wallenberg suggested to the Swedish parliament that the metric system should be implemented in Sweden.^[2] After the suggestion was approved in the Swedish Parliament 22 May 1875, work started to draft a law for metrication.^[3]

After about one year of drafts, debates and amendments, the law was approved 14 May 1876.^[1] The first part of the law stated that the meter was the basis for measurement of length and the kilogram the basis for measurement of weight. It also stated the prefixes and decimal relation to be used. During the debates, the length of the transition period, first planned until 1883, and the fact that Sweden already had changed to a decimal based measurement system in 1855 were discussed. The law also defined the ny mil as exactly 10000 meter, from the former 10688 meter Swedish mile.

The law stated that the introduction should take place progressively from 1879 to 1888, and that the metric system should be used exclusively from the beginning of 1889.

Late adoptions

Lumber is sold in metric units, with its width and thickness given in millimetres. Sawn timber is normally available by width and thickness in multiples of 25 millimetres, for example 50 × 100 mm. This is inherited from the former practice of using the 25 mm inch. Planned timber is normally sold in multiples of 25 mm minus 5 mm for planning, for example 45 × 95 mm.^[4] Giving the measurements in inches was still common in the late 20th century, about 100 years after the metric system was implemented, but have since become less common.

Current exceptions

In everyday language, display sizes for television sets and computer monitor screens are often referred to in their diagonal measured in inches. In formal specifications, centimetres are always given.
The lengths of pipes and watering hoses' are measured and sold in metres, but their diameters are measured in both inches (defined as 25 mm) and in millimetres.
Textile is normally sold in metres but the thread count is in threads per square inch.
The price of gold, is quoted in US dollars per ounce.
McDonald's sells its Quarter Pounder with cheese as Quarter Pounder Cheese or QP Cheese
The number of teeth on a saw is measured in teeth per inch (TPI)
Hammers are measured in millimetres but weighed in ounces.
Sailing yachts are measured in feet.
Distances larger than 10 to 20 kilometres are usually given in mil, a metric successor of the slightly longer Swedish mile, redefined in 1876 as 10 kilometres. However, road signs use metres and kilometres.
Traditionally, fuel consumption of cars was usually given in litres per mil. Since joining the European Union, the measure litres per 100 kilometre is legally required and more common in official material and advertising. In everyday use, litres per mil is still common. In some contexts, such as calculating cost of ownership of a vehicle ("milkostnad", i.e. cost per mil) and reimbursement for using a privately owned vehicle instead of a company car ("milersättning"), the mil is even still used in legal texts, in spite of officially not being a legal unit of length.
World oil price is quoted in US dollars per Barrels.
The metric yardstick is commonly called tumstock (tum is the Swedish word for inch), instead of meterstock or måttstock. It was during the 20th century usually graded in (English) inches and centimetres, but increasingly only in centimetres.
The power of fuel powered engines is given in horsepower, though the power of electrical engines is given in watts.
Like in most countries, aviation (altitude and flight level) is measured in feet.

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In Sweden, a common system for weights and measures was introduced by law in 1665. Before that, there were a number of local variants. The system was slightly revised in 1735. In 1855, a decimal reform was instituted that defined a new Swedish inch as 1⁄10 Swedish foot. Up to the middle of the 19th century, there was a law allowing the imposition of the death penalty for falsifying weights or measures. Sweden adopted the metric system in 1889, after a decision by the parliament in 1875 and a ten-year transition period from 1879. Only the Swedish mile, mil, has been preserved, now measuring 10 kilometres.

Metrication in Canada began in 1970 and ceased in 1985. While Canada has converted to the metric system for many purposes, there is still significant use of non-metric units and standards in many sectors of the Canadian economy and everyday life today. This is mainly due to historical ties with the United Kingdom, the traditional use of the imperial system of measurement in Canada, proximity to the United States, and strong public opposition to metrication during the transition period.

Metrication in Australia effectively began in 1966 with the conversion to decimal currency under the auspices of the Decimal Currency Board. The conversion of measurements—metrication—commenced subsequently in 1971, under the direction of the Metric Conversion Board and actively proceeded until the Board was disbanded in 1981.

Metrication in the Republic of Ireland happened mostly in the 20th century and was officially completed in 2005, with a few exceptions.

A thousandth of an inch is a derived unit of length in a system of units using inches. Equal to 1⁄1000 of an inch, a thousandth is commonly called a thou or particularly in North America a mil.

A Scandinavian mile is a unit of length common in Norway and Sweden, but not Denmark. Today, it is standardised as 1 mil being 10 kilometres, but it had different values in the past.

Chile adopted the metric system in 1848. Previously, the Spanish system of measures was used.

References

1 2 "Riksdagen. Riksdagens antagande af det metriska systemet, no67". 14 May 1876. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
↑ "Kungliga Biblioteket. Motioner i forsta kammaren, no27". 28 January 1875. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
↑ "Riksdagen. Inforandet af det metriska systemet, no76". 22 May 1875. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
↑ "Swedish Wood - Wood grades" . Retrieved 15 November 2019.

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[Riksdagen_1976_no67-1] 1 2 "Riksdagen. Riksdagens antagande af det metriska systemet, no67". 14 May 1876. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

[Riksdagen_1975_no27-2] "Kungliga Biblioteket. Motioner i forsta kammaren, no27". 28 January 1875. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

[Riksdagen_1975_no76-3] "Riksdagen. Inforandet af det metriska systemet, no76". 22 May 1875. Retrieved 16 November 2019.

[Swedishwood-4] "Swedish Wood - Wood grades" . Retrieved 15 November 2019.

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