Sweden

Sweden

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Konungariket Sverige/Kingdom of Sweden Area 450,000 sq km/173,745 sq mi Capital Stockholm Language Swedish (official), Finnish, Saami (Lapp) Religion Evangelical Lutheran, Church of Sweden (established national church) 90%; Muslim, Jewish Time difference GMT +1 Major holidays 1, 6 January, 1 May, 1 November, 24–26, 31 December; variable: Ascension Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Midsummer Eve and Day (June)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Göteborg, Malmö, Uppsala, Norrköping, Västerås, Linköping, Orebro, Helsingborg Major ports Helsingborg, Malmö, Göteborg, Stockholm Physical features mountains in west; plains in south; thickly forested; more than 20,000 islands off the Stockholm coast; lakes, including Vänern, Vättern, Mälaren, and Hjälmaren Airports five international airports and over 30 domestic airports; total passengers carried: 11.6 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 10,998 km/6,834 mi; total passenger journeys: 115.2 million (1999) Roads total road network: 424,981 km/264,070 mi, of which 31.1% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 504 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state King Carl XVI Gustaf from 1973 Head of government Fredrik Reinfeldt from 2006 Political system liberal democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions 24 counties Political parties Christian Democratic Community Party (KdS), Christian, centrist; Left Party (Vp), European, Marxist; Social Democratic Party (SAP), moderate, left of centre; Moderate Party (M), right of centre; Liberal Party (Fp), left of centre; Centre Party (C), centrist; Ecology Party (MpG), ecological; New Democracy (NG), right wing, populist Death penalty abolished in 1972 Armed forces 27,600; plus 262,000 reservists and paramilitary forces of 35,000 (2006 est) Conscription 7–15 months (army and navy) or 8–12 months (air force) Defence spend (% GDP) 1.6 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 7.7 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 8 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Swedish krona GDP (US$) 354.1 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 4 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 370.5 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 31,420 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 1.5% (2006 est) Unemployment 4.5% (2006 est) Labour force 2% agriculture, 22% industry, 76% services (2005) Major trading partners USA, Germany, Norway, Denmark, UK, the Netherlands, Finland, EU25 Resources iron ore, uranium, copper, lead, zinc, silver, hydroelectric power, forests Industries motor vehicles, foodstuffs, machinery, precision equipment, iron and steel, metal products, wood products, chemicals, shipbuilding, electrical goods Exports machinery and transport equipment, forestry products (wood, pulp, paper), motor vehicles, power-generating non-electrical machinery, chemicals, iron and steel. Principal market: USA 10.6% (2005) Imports machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, mineral fuels and lubricants, textiles, clothing, footwear, food and live animals. Principal source: Germany 18.1% (2005) Arable land 5.9% (2006 est) Agricultural products barley, wheat, oats, potatoes, sugar beet, tame hay, oil seed; livestock and dairy products


POPULATION

Population 9,069,900 (2006 est) Population growth rate 9,069,900 (2006 est) Population density (per sq km) 20 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 83 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 18%, 15–59 59%, 60+ 23% (2005 est) Ethnic groups predominantly of Teutonic descent, with small Saami (Lapp), Finnish, and German minorities Life expectancy 79 (men); 83 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 4 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 10 Literacy rate 99% (men); 99% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 30.5 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 3.6 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 0.2 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <100 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 100 (urban); 100 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 71.5 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 93.3 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 2,811 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 1,088 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 76.1 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 75.8 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

8th century Kingdom of the Svear, based near Uppsala, extended its rule across much of southern Sweden. 9th–11th centuries Swedish Vikings raided and settled along the rivers of Russia. c. 1000 Olaf Skötkonung, king of the Svear, adopted Christianity and united much of Sweden (except south and west coasts, which remained Danish until 17th century). 11th–13th centuries Sweden existed as isolated kingdom under the Stenkil, Sverker, and Folkung dynasties; series of crusades incorporated Finland. 1397 Union of Kalmar: Sweden, Denmark, and Norway united under single monarch; Sweden effectively ruled by succession of regents. 1448 Breach with Denmark: Sweden alone elected Charles VIII as king. 1523 Gustavus Vasa, leader of insurgents, became king of fully independent Sweden. 1527 Swedish Reformation: Gustavus confiscated Church property and encouraged Lutherans. 1544 Swedish crown became hereditary in House of Vasa. 1592–1604 Sigismund Vasa, a Catholic, was king of both Sweden and Poland until ousted from Swedish throne by his Lutheran uncle Charles IX. 17th century Sweden, a great military power under Gustavus Adolphus 1611–32, Charles X 1654–60, and Charles XI 1660–97, fought lengthy wars with Denmark, Russia, Poland, and Holy Roman Empire. 1720 Limited monarchy established; political power passed to Riksdag (parliament) dominated by nobles. 1721 Great Northern War ended with Sweden losing nearly all its conquests of the previous century. 1741–43 Sweden defeated in disastrous war with Russia; further conflict 1788–90. 1771–92 Gustavus III increased royal power and introduced wide-ranging reforms. 1809 Russian invaders annexed Finland; Swedish nobles staged coup and restored powers of Riksdag. 1810 Napoleonic marshal, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, elected crown prince of Sweden, as Charles XIII had no heir. 1812 Bernadotte allied Sweden with Russia against France. 1814 Treaty of Kiel: Sweden obtained Norway from Denmark. 1818–44 Bernadotte reigned in Sweden as Charles XIV John. 1846 Free enterprise established by abolition of trade guilds and monopolies. 1866 Series of liberal reforms culminated in new two-chambered Riksdag dominated by bureaucrats and farmers. late 19th century Development of large-scale forestry and iron-ore industry; neutrality adopted in foreign affairs. 1905 Union with Norway dissolved. 1907 Adoption of proportional representation and universal suffrage. 1920s Economic boom transformed Sweden from agricultural to industrial economy. 1932 Social Democrat government of Per Halbin Hansson introduced radical public-works programme to combat trade slump. 1940–43 Under duress, neutral Sweden permitted limited transit of German forces through its territory. 1946–69 Social Democrat government of Tage Erlander developed comprehensive welfare state. 1959 Sweden joined European Free Trade Association. 1971 Constitution amended to create single-chamber Riksdag. 1975 Remaining constitutional powers of monarch removed. 1976–82 Centre–right coalition government ended 44 years of Social Democrat dominance. 1982–91 Social Democrats back in power. 1991–94 Moderate Party headed coalition government with Centre, Liberal, and Christian Democratic partners. 1994–2006 Social Democratic government restored, with Göran Persson as prime minister from 1996. 1995 Sweden joined European Union. 2003 Adoption of single European currency (euro) rejected in referendum. 2006 Centre-right alliance headed by Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt won parliamentary elections.


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