Breakdown of Åttio procent är sysselsatta, varav hälften är kvinnor.
vara
to be
kvinnan
the woman
åttio
eighty
hälften
the half
Questions & Answers about Åttio procent är sysselsatta, varav hälften är kvinnor.
How exactly does varav function here, and could I just use av vilka instead?
Varav literally means "of which" or "of whom" (a combination of var and av). It is a formal, compact way to introduce a subset of a previously mentioned group (here, the 80% who are employed). You could technically say av vilka (of whom), but varav is highly idiomatic and preferred in standard Swedish for statistics and proportions.
Why does sysselsatta get a plural -a ending when the word procent doesn't look plural?
While procent has the same form in singular and plural, 80% of a population logically refers to multiple people. Swedish adjectives and participles agree with the underlying meaning of the subject in these cases. Since many people are employed, the word sysselsatt takes the plural -a ending to become sysselsatta.
Why do we use the definite noun hälften ("the half") instead of an adjective like halv?
In Swedish, when you talk about half of a specific group or total amount, you must use the noun en hälft in its definite form, hälften (literally "the half"). The adjective halv is only used for a fraction of a single unit, like en halv timme (half an hour).
What would the word order be if I wanted to say "of which half are not women"?