I can answer for Sweden.

Sweden had in 1925 made large cuts to its defence budgets. The number of divisions were reduced from 13 to 4 plus one brigade. The navy was denied replacement ships and the purchase of tanks and armoured cars was pushed forwards.

The Swedish defence budget started increasing in 1936 and took off after the Münich agreement, hit a high after the invasion of Poland and all bets off after the invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940.

When the war broke out, the Prime Minister, Per-Albin Hansson of the social democratic party held a radio speech in which he stated that "our readiness is good". It is still debated if he referred to the military readiness or supply readiness. If it is the former, it was most likely a lie to calm worried citizens, as the Swedish military was weak, if it was the latter, it was actually true.

In ww1, Sweden had been placed under the British blockade since the Swedish government upheld the laws of neutrality strictly - a neutral had the right to trade non-contraband goods (including food) to a belligrent power. Sweden thus imported food and resold it to Germany until the British, after the Swedes refused to stop, placed Sweden under (an illegal) blockade as well. The lack of food imports, fertilizer and raw materials, especially chemicals (which made the Swedish paper and wood pulp industries, both important industries, grind to a halt) made the food and labour situation hard, and the cold Spring of 1917 saw massive riots and indications of a coming revolution.

This was foremost on the minds of most Swedes when war broke out - ww1 had not come close to affecting Sweden with direct fighting, and most people thought the new war would bring more of the same - the grand powers would fight it out, but neutral nations would mostly be left alone.

And Sweden had prepared. There were large stockpiles of food and vital raw materials (such as oil, gasoline, fertilizer, nitrates, chemicals, rubber, rare metals etc.) in a governmental reserve. There were agreements ready to allow a number of Swedish ships both through the German blockade of the southeastern North Sea (protecting Germany and German coastal trade through minefields etc.) and the British blockade of Germany.

Still, Sweden was barely self-sufficient in food, and most of the shipments brought in strategic raw materials, not food. Sweden produced a lot of sugar through sugar beets in Scania, but otherwise food was heavily rationied.

After the bad harvest of autumn 1942, the rations hit their worst, with the following per individual and day.

• 22 grams of meat and pork.

• 67 grams of sugar.

• 4 grams of cheese.

• 36 grams of fat (oil, butter, cream etc).

• 3 grams of coffee.

• 170 grams of flour and grits.

• 8 eggs per month.

Milk (reduced to 3% fat to free more milk fat for cheese and fats), potatoes and vegetables were free and usually in decent supply. Vegetables consisted mostly of cabbages, root crops and cucumbers. Fresh vegetables such as salad, cucumbers, tomatoes were available only in small numbers and only in season.

Fish was free, but usually only available in coastal cities, as refrigerated transport was rare in Sweden at the time. Tinned fish could be available.

Berries, mushrooms and fruit were free, but apart from pears and apples (available mostly in season, somtimes tinned and sometimes stored) there were no fruit available. Berries and mushrooms you had to pick yourself, and a one-week autumn school holiday was introduced to allow families to go to the countryside and pick berries and mushrooms, and perhaps help at a relative's farm. Sweden was much less urbanised then, and most city dwellers were actually first or second generation urban dwellers and had close contacts with family on the countryside. Going "back home" and help on the farm to get a ham for christmas outside the coupon system was common. Those that knew people on the countryside could get something extra outside the coupon system (which was illegal, but not frowned upon too much) Those that had money could always get what they wanted at the black market.

Wild game was free, but usually only available in the countryside and during the hunting season, again because of the lack of refrigerated transport. Many kept hares or rabbits in their gardens or back yards, or even in alloted spaces in city parks to increase their meat supply. "Coupon free" meat (ie meat not under the ration) was often served at restaurants and could include animals such as fox, hare, rabbit, crow and badger. There were hot dogs that did not require meat coupons and most people did not want to ask what they contained.

Interestingly, cakes, cookies and sweetbread bought at a confectionery or café was not subject to rationing, but the amount of flour, eggs ans sugar provided to the confectionery or café was of course heavily regulated, and they could run out.

Soap and laundry detergent, shoes, clothes and cloth and tobacco was also rationed. Trading ration coupons was common - non-smokers or non-coffee drinkers coudl trade their coupons for more food or other goods.

Sweden was dependent on German coal for steel production, electricity and heating, and when cut off from the world by the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, Sweden had no choice but to trade with Germany. Sweden exported high-quality iron ore, wood pulp, wood, paper and high-quality ball bearings to Germany and imported coal, fertilizer, artificial rubber and weapons.

The Swedish armed forces expanded rapidly during the war and went from roughly 450 000 in 1939 to 650 000 plus about 120 000 in the home guard in 1945. Men were called in, the Swedish industry did what it could to build arms and provide supplies for the armed forces. Unemployment, which had been going down but still was at 10,9% in 1939 dissapeared overnight as men were called into the army and into the forests to chop lumber to replace part of the reduced coal import.

Men were called in for extra training, reservist training or "readiness service" (guarding the borders at times of extra tension). During the winter war, Sweden had almost 100 000 men along the border with Finland and 8 250 volunteers fighting in Finland. In May 1940, a total mobilisation had brought almost 500 000 men to the armed forces guarding against a German invasion from Norway. Other times that the armed forces were put on high alert were in January 1942, when at least 200 000 men guarded the border with Norway and in July 1943 when 350 000 men were called in to guard the border with Norway when Sweden cancelled the transit agreement with Germany.

Note that the population of Sweden was roughly 6 500 000 at this time.

Sweden also accepted about 70 000 Norwegian refugees, took care of about 80 000 Finnish children during Finland's war (to keep them out of harms way) and took in about 4 000 jews from Denmark in 1943 when Germany was planning to round them off and send them to death camps.

So, bottom line, how was life affected?

• Unemployment dissapered almost overnight.

• A lot of men spend a lot of time in the armed forces.

• The defence budget skyrocketed and society became very much militarised.

• It was cold - hot water and heating was rationed and provided more by wood and charcoal than coal (which was less effective).

• Food was strictly rationed.

• Imports were strictly regulated and colonial goods and tropical goods were almost impossible to acquire.