Shock, horror! Swedish logistics company Sweco has suggested that Santa Claus should leave his traditional home in Lapland and relocate to Kyrgyzstan.

The company drew this conclusion on the basis that:

By starting his journey there [from Kyrgyzstan], Santa can achieve the most efficient around-the-world trip to distribute Christmas gifts. He can eliminate time-consuming detours and avoid subjecting his reindeer to undue strain.

The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat provides more details about how this startling conclusion was reached after half a day’s (!) calculations:

Santa has to make it to 2.5 billion households in just one night.For the delivery of gifts, Father Christmas can spare a massive 34 microseconds (millionths of a second) per home. And on the round-the-world delivery route Santa’s reindeer sleigh will travel at the modest speed of 5,800 kilometres per second. Logistically speaking, all this would be easiest done from Kyrgyzstan. If Santa lived in Korvatunturi in Finnish Lapland – a place traditionally branded as the location of Santa’s Grotto for Finnish children – the presented figures would be significantly higher.

However, like most people, I doubt Santa will be trading in his trusty reindeer for a herd of shaggy yaks just yet. So does Sweco’s representative, who was quick to reaffirm his belief that Santa’s true home is Korvatunturi. Nevertheless, I’m sure both Sweco and Kyrgyzstan will welcome such good-humoured publicity.