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 has recently been undermined by high unemployment rising maintenance costs and a declining position in world markets. Indecision over the country's role in the political and economic integration of Europe caused Sweden not to join the EU until 1995 and to forgo the introduction of the euro in 1999.

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N 15 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 449,964 km²
Land: 410,934 km²
Water: 39,030 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries
Total: 2,205 km
Border countries: (2) Finland 586 km; , Norway 1,619 km

Coastline: 3,218 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
Territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)

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: Baltic Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources: zinc iron ore lead copper silver timber uranium hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 7%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 1%
Forests and woodland: 68%
Other: 24% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1150 km² (1993 est.)

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

Population: 8,875,053 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.02% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Swede
Adjective: Swedish

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

Languages
Note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Religions: Lutheran 87% Roman Catholic Orthodox Baptist Muslim Jewish Buddhist

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.19% (male 828,308; female 786,353)
15-64 years: 64.53% (male 2,911,949; female 2,814,730)
65 years and over: 17.28% (male 649,296; female 884,417) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.02% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 9.91 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 10.61 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.91 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Environment
Current issues: acid rain damaging 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 3.47 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 79.71 years
Male: 77.07 years
Female: 82.5 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.08% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 3,000 (1999 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99% (1979 est.)
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

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

Executive branch
Chief of state: King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977)
Head of government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON (since 21 March 1996)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections: the monarch is hereditary; prime minister elected by the Parliament; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
Election results: Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 votes

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 20 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002)
Election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 36.5%, Moderates 22.7%, Left Party 12%, Christian Democrats 11.8%, Center Party 5.1%, Liberal Party 4.7%, Greens 4.5%; seats by party - Social Democrats 131, Moderates 82, Left Party 43, Christian Democrats 42, Center Party 18, Liberal Party 17, Greens 16

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

Political parties and leaders: Center Party [Lennart DALEUS]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Communist Workers' Party [Rolf HAGEL]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokesperson is Briger SCHLAUG]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Gudrun SCHYMAN]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Bo LUNDGREN]; New Democracy Party [Vivianne FRANZEN]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CBSS CCC CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE EIB ESA EU FAO G- 6 G- 9 G-10 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITU MINURSO NAM (guest) NC NEA NIB NSG OAS (observer) OECD OPCW OSCE PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNITAR UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOGIP UNMOP UNOMIG UNTAET UNTSO UPU WEU (observer) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jan ELIASSON
In the us chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20,005-1702
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 467-2,600
In the us fax: [1] (202) 467-2,699
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Lyndon Lowell OLSON, Jr.
From the us embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11,589 Stockholm
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-5,750 (pouch)
From the us telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00
From the us fax: [46] (8) 661 19 64

Flag description: blue with a yellow cross that extends 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)

Economy overview: Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole twentieth 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 2% of the jobs. In recent years however this extraordinarily favorable picture has been somewhat clouded by budgetary difficulties high unemployment and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with those of the EU which it joined at the start of 1995. GDP growth is forecast for 4% in 2001.

Real gdp growth rate: 4.3% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.2%
Industry: 27.9%
Services: 69.9% (1999)

Agriculture products: grains sugar beets potatoes; 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: 7% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 4.4 million (2000 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry: 24%
By occupation services: 74% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.7%
Highest 10: 20.1% (1992)

Budget
Revenues: $133 billion
Expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.2% (2000 est.)

Exports: $95.5 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: machinery 35% motor vehicles paper products pulp and wood iron and steel products chemicals
Partners: EU 55% (Germany 11% UK 10% Denmark 6% Finland 5% France 5%) US 9% Norway 8% (1999)

Imports: $80 billion (f.o.b. 2000)
Commodities: machinery petroleum and petroleum products chemicals motor vehicles iron and steel; foodstuffs clothing
Partners: EU 67% (Germany 18% UK 10% Denmark 7% France 6%) Norway 8% US 6% (1999)

Debt external: $66.5 billion (1994)

Exchange rates: Swedish kronor per US dollar - 9.4669 (January 2001) 9.1622 (2000) 8.2624 (1999) 7.9499 (1998) 7.6349 (1997) 6.7060 (1996)

Electricity
Production: 146.633 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 5.53%
Production by source hydro: 47.24%
Production by source nuclear: 45.42%
Production by source other: 1.81% (1999)
Consumption: 128.819 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 15.9 billion kWh (1999)
Imports: 8.35 billion kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 6.017 million (December 1998)
Mobile cellular: 3.835 million (October 1998)

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: 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)

Internet
Country code: .se
Service providers isps: 29 (2000)
Users: 4.5 million (2000)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $5 billion (FY98)
Percent of gdp: 2.1% (FY98)

Airports: 255 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 147
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 80
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 28
With paved runways under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 108
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 103 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (2000 est.)

Pipelines: natural gas 84 km

Railways
Total: 12,821 km (includes 3,594 km of privately owned railways)
Standard gauge: 12,821 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified and 1,152 km double track) (1998)

Waterways
Note: navigable for small steamers and barges

Merchant marine
Total: 167 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,205,370 GRT/1,663,091 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 28, chemical tanker 31, combination ore/oil 4, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 29, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 40, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 17 (2000 est.)