From Abba to Icona Pop, from Roxette to Robyn, Sweden’s reputation for pop superiority has spanned for decades, and it continues today with artists like Zara Larsson.

The pop group ABBA really started it all, but the arrival of Ace of Base helped usher in the “Swedish Music Miracle,” a period of time from about 1990 to 2003 when Sweden’s musical exports were at their economic peak.

A 1999 report from Sweden’s Ministry of Finance found that royalty payments to Sweden from foreign markets were twice the U.S. per capita figure.

Third largest music export country in world

Today, according to other reports, Sweden is the third-largest music exporter in the world behind the U.S. and the UK. In 2003, Swedish music exports began to decline, but behind the scenes, the country’s pop talent has remained active.

In May of 2012, half of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were written or produced by Swedes.