Sweden

Flag of Sweden

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Background:

A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 by the global economic downturn, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe delayed Sweden's entry into the EU until 1995, and waived the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Location:

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

Geographic coordinates:

62 00 N, 15 00 E

Area:

total: 449,964 sq km
land: 410,934 sq km
water: 39,030 sq km

Land boundaries:

total: 2,233 km
border countries: Finland 614 km, Norway 1,619 km

Coastline:

3,218 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)
exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate:

temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

Terrain:

mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.41 m
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources:

iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 5.93%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 94.06% (2005)

Irrigated land:

1,150 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

Environment - current issues:

acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Geography - note:

strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas

Population:

9,016,596 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 16.7% (male 775,433/female 732,773)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 3,001,928/female 2,918,242)
65 years and over: 17.6% (male 689,756/female 898,464) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 40.9 years
male: 39.8 years
female: 42 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.16% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

10.27 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

10.31 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

1.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 2.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 2.92 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 80.51 years
male: 78.29 years
female: 82.87 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.66 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2001 est.)

people living with HIV/AIDS:

3,600 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

less than 100 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Swede(s)
adjective: Swedish

Ethnic groups:

indigenous population: Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks

Religions:

Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist

Languages:

Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Country name:

conventional long form: Kingdom of Sweden
conventional short form: Sweden
local long form: Konungariket Sverige
local short form: Sverige

Government type:

constitutional monarchy

Capital:

Stockholm

Administrative divisions:

21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarnas, Gavleborgs, Gotlands, Hallands, Jamtlands, Jonkopings, Kalmar, Kronobergs, Norrbottens, Orebro, Ostergotlands, Skane, Sodermanlands, Stockholms, Uppsala, Varmlands, Vasterbottens, Vasternorrlands, Vastmanlands, Vastra Gotalands

Independence:

6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king)

National holiday:

Flag Day, 6 June

Constitution:

1 January 1975

Legal system:

civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Legislative branch:

unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held on 17 September 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 39.8%, Moderates 15.2%, Liberal Party 13.3%, Christian Democrats 9.1%, Left Party 8.3%, Center Party 6.1%, Greens 4.6%; seats by party - Social Democrats 144, Moderates 55, Liberal Party 48, Christian Democrats 33, Left Party 30, Center Party 22, Greens 17

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet)

Economy - overview:

Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole of the 20th century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and of jobs. The government's commitment to fiscal discipline resulted in a substantial budgetary surplus in 2001, which was cut by more than half in 2002, due to the global economic slowdown, declining revenue, and increased spending. The Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) focuses on price stability with its inflation target of 2%. Growth remained sluggish in 2003, but picked up in 2004 and 2005. Presumably because of generous sick-leave benefits, Swedish workers report in sick more often than other Europeans. In September 2003, Swedish voters turned down entry into the euro system, concerned about the impact on democracy and sovereignty.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$268.3 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$353.9 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.6% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$29,800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 28.6%
services: 69.7% (2005 est.)

Labor force:

4.49 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 2%
industry: 24%
services: 74% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate:

6% (2005 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 20.1% (1992)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

25 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.5% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

17.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $210.5 billion
expenditures: $205.9 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

Public debt:

50.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:

barley, wheat, sugar beets; meat, milk

Industries:

iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate:

3.3% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:

127.9 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:

131.8 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:

11.5 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:

24.3 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:

2,441 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:

346,100 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:

203,700 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:

553,100 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - consumption:

980 million cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

968 million cu m (2001 est.)

Current account balance:

$25.68 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:

$126.6 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:

machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals

Exports - partners:

US 10.7%, Germany 10.2%, Norway 8.6%, UK 7.8%, Denmark 6.7%, Finland 5.7%, France 4.8%, Netherlands 4.8%, Belgium 4.5% (2004)

Imports:

$104.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing

Imports - partners:

Germany 18.7%, Denmark 9.2%, Norway 7.6%, UK 7.5%, Netherlands 6.8%, Finland 6.4%, France 5.5%, Belgium 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$22.45 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:

$516.1 billion (30 June 2005)

Economic aid - donor:

ODA, $1.7 billion (1997)

Currency (code):

Swedish krona (SEK)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Telephones - main lines in use:

6.447 million (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

9.775 million (2004)

Telephone system:

general assessment: excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic system
domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cables carry most of the voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay systems carry some additional telephone channels
international: country code - 46; 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:

169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995)

Internet country code:

.se

Internet hosts:

2,701,456 (2005)

Internet users:

6.8 million (2005)

Airports:

255 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 155
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 80
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 36 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 100
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 91 (2005)

Heliports:

2 (2005)

Pipelines:

gas 798 km (2004)

Railways:

total: 11,481 km
standard gauge: 11,481 km 1.435-m gauge (9,400 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways:

total: 424,981 km
paved: 132,339 km (including 1,544 km of expressways)
unpaved: 292,642 km (2003)

Waterways:

2,052 km (2005)

Merchant marine:

total: 198 ships (1000 GRT or over) 3,528,264 GRT/2,193,807 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 29, chemical tanker 43, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 35, petroleum tanker 16, roll on/roll off 38, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 20
foreign-owned: 39 (Belgium 3, Denmark 3, Finland 11, Germany 4, Italy 7, Japan 2, Norway 8, US 1)
registered in other countries: 161 (The Bahamas 10, Bermuda 12, Cayman Islands 12, Cyprus 4, Finland 3, France 3, French Southern and Antarctic Lands 8, Gibraltar 5, Greece 1, Isle of Man 1, Liberia 8, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands 21, Netherlands Antilles 9, Norway 22, Panama 5, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Singapore 12, UK 15, US 4) (2005)

Ports and terminals:

Goteborg, Helsingborg, Karlshamn, Lulea, Malmo, Oxelosund, Stenungsund, Stockholm, Trelleborg

Military branches:

Army, Royal Swedish Navy (RSwN), Air Force (Flygvapnet)