Svennebanan

Svennebanan = En vidare påbyggnad av "svenne", med lite mer betoning p att denne/dessa präktiga, tråkiga, medelmåttiga och trångtänkta typ av personligheter med anknytning till sverige också är förbannat töntiga. Är man riktigt lat kan man dra till med bara "banan" också.

-Excerpt from Slangopedia for a "Svenne Banana" and my rough translation below: 

• An extension of a typical Swede but with a little more emphasis on the practical, boring, mediocre and narrow-thinking personalities. If you are lazy, you can just say "banana". 
• Svenne/Sven = a first name in Sweden, I think? I've never met anyone with that name. But as a non-Swede, I always heard about the Svens in Sweden. It may come from the root of the words for the Swedish language (svenska) and people (svenskarna).  Anyhow, the idea is your average Swede. *If anyone knows the real answer, feel free to chime in with comments below :) 

We learned about those considered to be a svennebanan in my Swedish class. In a not-so-flattering way, obviously, this Swede is seen as boring, shy and habitually conservative. During your first trip to Sweden you may notice that strangers won't make a big effort to interact with you. If you start up a conversation, they will be happy to chat though. I can attest to the fact that I have met more people here than in the US who seem very flustered by sudden changes of plans or when you propose an idea that requires some thinking/exploring outside the box. But I don't think it's the norm, at least not in Stockholm.  Or maybe I just don't understand enough Swedish?

So who are the real average Swedes? Well... here is a little pamphlet we got in my class.  

The basic stats:

• The typical family is a married couple with 2 kids. The live in a house and drive a '99 volvo. The parents names are Maria and Lars Frederik Johansson. Their kids are named Oscar (age 14) and Julia (age 11). They both have phones and bicycles, but Oscar likely has his own computer and TV while Julia doesn't. Lars may be a little overweight and earns more than his wife in his manufacturing job. Maria does most of the food shopping, cooking and cleaning while her husband spends more time in front of the TV. 
• The average household income is 57,481 kronor a month ($8,848) 
• In the past 30 years the consumption of fika bread has tripled, meat consumption is up 71% and milk products 43%.