Map of Sweden | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: A military power during the 17th century Sweden has not participated in any war for two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both world wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995 but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.


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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

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 450,295 km²
Land: 410,335 km²
Water: 39,960 km²
Rank: 57
Comparative: almost three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California

Land boundaries
Total: 2,211 km
Border countries: (2) Finland 545 km; Norway 1666 km

Coastline: 3,218 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Mean elevation: 320 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon near Kristianstad -2.4 m: highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources: iron ore copper lead zinc gold silver tungsten uranium arsenic feldspar timber hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 7.5%
Forest: 68.7%
Other: 23.8%

Irrigated land: 1640 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: ice floes in the surrounding waters especially in the Gulf of Bothnia can interfere with maritime traffic

Geography
Note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes the largest of which Vanern is the third largest in Europe


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Population
Distribution: most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated: 9,960,487 (July 2017 est.)
Rank: 91
Growth rate: 0.81% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 131
Below poverty line: 15% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Swede
Adjective: Swedish

Ethnic groups: indigenous population: Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities; most common countries of origin among immigrants: Finland Syria Iraq Poland Iran

Languages: Swedish (official)
Note: Finnish Sami Romani Yiddish and Meankieli are official minority languages

Religions: Church of Sweden (Lutheran) 63% other (includes Roman Catholic Orthodox Baptist Muslim Jewish and Buddhist) 17% (2016 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.43%
15-24 years: 11.31%
25-54 years: 39.42%
55-64 years: 11.58%
65 years and over: 20.26% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 58.5
Youth dependency ratio: 27.4
Elderly dependency ratio: 31.1
Potential support ratio: 3.2

Median age
Total: 41.2 years
Male: 40.2 years
Female: 42.2 years
Rank: 38

Population growth rate: 0.81% (2017 est.)
Rank: 131

Birth rate: 12.1 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 167

Death rate: 9.4 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 57

Net migration rate: 5.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 24

Population distribution: most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

Urbanization
Urban population: 86.1% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.86% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: STOCKHOLM (capital) 1.486 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male/female
55-64 years: 1.01 male/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 29.1 years (2015 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 2.6 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 2.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 2.3 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 218

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 82.1 years
Male: 80.2 years
Female: 84.2 years
Rank: 16

Total fertility rate: 1.88 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 141

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 4.11 physicians/1000 population (2013)

Hospital bed density: 2.54 beds/1000 population (2014)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 98
People living with hivaids: 11,000 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 92
Deaths: 100 (2016 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 20.6% (2016)
Rank: 97

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 7.7% of GDP (2013)
Rank: 20

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 18 years
Male: 17 years
Female: 20 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Kingdom of Sweden
Conventional short form: Sweden
Local long form: Konungariket Sverige
Local short form: Sverige
Etymology: name ultimately derives from the North Germanic Svear tribe which inhabited central Sweden and is first mentioned in the first centuries A.D.

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Capital
Name: Stockholm
Geographic coordinates: 59 20 N 18 03 E
Time difference: UTC+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 21 counties (lan singular and plural); Blekinge Dalarna Gavleborg Gotland Halland Jamtland Jonkoping Kalmar Kronoberg Norrbotten Orebro Ostergotland Skane Sodermanland Stockholm Uppsala Varmland Vasterbotten Vasternorrland Vastmanland Vastra Gotaland

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union between Denmark Norway and Sweden)

National holiday: National Day 6 June (1983); note - from 1916 to 1982 this date was celebrated as Swedish Flag Day

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted 1 January 1975
Amendments: proposed by Parliament; passage requires simple majority vote in two consecutive parliamentary terms with an intervening general election; passage also requires approval by simple majority vote in a referendum if Parliament approves a motion for a referendum by one-third of its members; amended several times last in 2014 (2016)

Legal system: civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and customary law

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Sweden; in the case of a child born out of wedlock the mother must be a citizen of Sweden and the father unknown
Dual citizenship recognized: no unless the other citizenship was acquired involuntarily
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CARL XVI GUSTAF ; Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977)
Head of government: Prime Minister Stefan LOFVEN ; Deputy Prime Minister Isabella LOVIN (since 25 May 2016)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Parliament or Riksdag
Elections: last held on 14 September 2014
Election results: percent of vote by party - SAP 31.0% M 23.3% SD 12.9% MP 6.9% C 6.1% V 5.7% L 5.4% KD 4.6% other 4.1%; seats by party - SAP 113 M 84 SD 49 MP 25 C 22 V 21 L 19 KD 16

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court of Sweden ; Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 18 justices including the court president)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court justices nominated by the Board of Judges a 9-member nominating body consisting of high-level judges prosecutors and members of Parliament; justices appointed by the Government; following a probationary period justices' appointments are permanent
Subordinate courts: first instance appellate general and administrative courts; specialized courts that handle cases such as land and environment immigration labor markets and patents

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Arctic Council Australia Group BIS CBSS CD CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EITI (implementing country) EMU ESA EU FAO FATF G-9 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINUSMA MONUSCO NC NEA NIB NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP Schengen Convention UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMISS UNMOGIP UNRWA UNTSO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Karin Ulrika OLOFSDOTTER
In the us chancery: The House of Sweden 2,900 K Street NW Washington DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] 467-2,600
In the us FAX: [1] 467-2,699
In the us consulate general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires David E. LINDWALL (since 20 January 2017)
From the us embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Vag 31 SE-11,589 Stockholm
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm US Department of State 5,750 Stockholm Place Washington DC 20,521-5,750
From the us telephone: [46] 783 53 00
From the us FAX: [46] 661 19 64

Flag description: blue with a golden yellow cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag); the colors reflect those of the Swedish coat of arms - three gold crowns on a blue field

National symbols: three crowns lion; national colors: blue yellow

National anthem
Name: 'Du Gamla Du Fria'
Lyrics and music: Richard DYBECK/traditional
Note: in use since 1844; also known as 'Sang till Norden' is based on a Swedish folk tune; it has never been officially adopted by the government; 'Kungssangen' (The King's Song) serves as the royal anthem and is played in the presence of the royal family and during certain state ceremonies

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 39

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 86

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 26

Gross national saving:
Rank: 28

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 44.6%
Government consumption: 26.2%
Investment in fixed capital: 24%
Investment in inventories: 0.6%
Exports of goods and services: 44.3%
Imports of goods and services: -39.7%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.6%
Industry: 33.2%
Services: 65.2%

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: 1.4% (2016 est.)
Rank: 131

Labor force: 5.276 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 78
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 12%
By occupation services: 86%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 92

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 15% (2014 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.4%
Highest 10: 24%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 145

Budget
Revenues: $261 billion
Expenditures: $256.2 billion
Surplus or deficit: 0.9% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 27

Taxes and other revenues: 51% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 14

Public debt:
Note: data cover general government debt and includes debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities as well as intra-governmental debt; intra-governmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds such as for retirement medical care and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions
Rank: 129

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 89

Central bank discount rate:
Note: the Discount rate was abolished in 2002 and replaced by a 'Reference rate' with no bearing on monetary policy; the rate quoted here is the Reference rate
Rank: 160

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 179

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 17

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 32

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 19

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 21

Current account balance:
Rank: 15

Exports:
Rank: 30
Commodities: machinery 35% motor vehicles paper products pulp and wood iron and steel products chemicals (2012 est.)
Partners: Germany 10.6% Norway 10.4% US 7.3% Denmark 7% Finland 6.8% UK 6% Netherlands 5.4% Belgium 4.7% France 4.4% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 29
Commodities: machinery petroleum and petroleum products chemicals motor vehicles iron and steel; foodstuffs clothing
Partners: Germany 18.8% Netherlands 8.2% Norway 7.8% Denmark 7.6% China 5.6% UK 5.2% Belgium 4.6% Finland 4.5% France 4.1% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 36

Debt external:
Rank: 17

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 20

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 17

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 154.3 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 25
Consumption: 125.4 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 30
Exports: 26.02 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 7
Imports: 14.29 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 17
Installed generating capacity: 39.67 million kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 26
Generation sources fossil fuels: 6.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 203
Generation sources nuclear: 24.3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 5
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 40.9% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 50
Generation sources other renewable sources: 30% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 13

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 197
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 194
Crude oil imports: 393,900 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 24
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 196

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 418,700 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products production rank: 38
Products consumption: 320,200 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 42
Products exports: 336,300 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products exports rank: 25
Products imports: 220,300 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products imports rank: 30

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2015 est.)
Production rank: 199
Consumption: 1.25 billion m³ (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 94
Exports: 0 m³ (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 187
Imports: 812 million m³ (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 63
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 197

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 62 million Mt (2015 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 55

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,328,371
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34
Fixed lines rank: 43
Mobile cellular total: 12,362,191
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 125
Mobile cellular rank: 75

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed telecommunications infrastructure; ranked among leading countries for fixed-line mobile-cellular Internet and broadband penetration
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; submarine cables provide links to other Nordic countries and Europe; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat 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) (2016)

Broadcast media: publicly owned TV broadcaster operates 2 terrestrial networks plus regional stations; multiple privately owned TV broadcasters operating nationally regionally and locally; about 50 local TV stations; widespread access to pan-Nordic and international broadcasters through multi-channel cable and satellite TV; publicly owned radio broadcaster operates 3 national stations and a network of 25 regional channels; roughly 100 privately owned local radio stations with some consolidating into near national networks; an estimated 900 community and neighborhood radio stations broadcast intermittently (2008)

Internet
Country code: .se
Users total: 9,041,427
Users percent of population: 91.5%
Users rank: 47

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 84

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-47 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; Swedish citizenship required; service obligation: 7.5 months (Army) 7-15 months (Navy) 8-12 months (Air Force); after completing initial service soldiers have a reserve commitment until age 47; compulsory military service abolished in 2010 is due to be reinstated in 2018 (2017)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 8
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 219
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 11,623,930
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: SE (2016)

Airports: 231 (2013)
Rank: 25
With paved runways total: 149
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 12
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 75
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 22
With paved runways under 914 m: 37
With unpaved runways total: 82
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 77

Heliports: 2 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 1626 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 14,127 km
Standard gauge: 14,062 km 1.435-m gauge
Narrow gauge: 65 km 0.891-m gauge (2016)
Rank: 21

Roadways
Total: 573,134 km
Paved: 140,100 km
Unpaved: 433,034 km
Note: includes 98,500 km of state roads 433,034 km of private roads and 41,600 km of municipal roads
Rank: 13

Waterways: 2,052 km (2010)
Rank: 40

Merchant marine
Total: 190
By type: bulk carrier 7 general dry cargo 8 anti-pollution vessel 1 cable layer 2 dredge 2 ice 6 inspection 7 survey 6 training 4 tug 11 multi-purpose 1 passenger/ferry 26 ro-pax 38 ro-ro 29 ro-ro/container 4 tanker 37 tanker (LNG) 1
Foreign: 275 (2015)
Rank: 35

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Brofjorden Goteborg Helsingborg Karlshamn Lulea Malmo Stockholm Trelleborg Visby
LNG terminal: Brunnsviksholme Lysekil


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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 96,914 (Syria); 25,968 (Eritrea); 21,693 (Iraq); 22,548 (Somalia); 16,558 (Afghanistan) (2016)
Stateless persons: 36,036 ; note - the majority of stateless people are from the Middle East and Somalia

Illicit drugs