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Sweden

Country in Northern Europe / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Sweden,[lower-alpha 6] formally the Kingdom of Sweden,[18][lower-alpha 7] is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridgetunnel across the Öresund. At 447,425 square kilometres (172,752 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.5 million,[13] and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi), with around 87% of Swedes residing in urban areas, which cover 1.5% of the entire land area, in the central and southern half of the country.

63°N 16°E
Quick facts: Kingdom of SwedenKonungariket Sverige (S...
Kingdom of Sweden
Konungariket Sverige (Swedish)
Anthem: 
Du gamla, Du fria[lower-alpha 1]
(English: "Thou ancient, Thou free")
Royal anthem: 
Kungssången
(English: "Song of the King")
EU-Sweden_%28orthographic_projection%29.svg
EU-Sweden.svg
Location of Sweden (dark green)

 in Europe (green & dark grey)
 in the European Union (green)   [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Stockholm
59°21′N 18°4′E
Official languagesSwedish[lower-alpha 2]
National minority languages
Religion
(2020)[4][5]
  • 36.0% No religion
  • 2.3% Islam
  • 0.3% Others
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary
constitutional monarchy
 Monarch
Carl XVI Gustaf
Andreas Norlén
Ulf Kristersson
LegislatureRiksdag
History
 A unified Swedish kingdom established
By the early 12th century
 Part of the Kalmar Union
17 June 1397 – 6 June 1523
 Part of the Swedish-Norwegian Union
4 November 1814 – 26 October 1905[11]
1 January 1995
Area
 Total
447,425 km2 (172,752 sq mi) (55th)
 Water (%)
8.97 (2022)[12]
Population
 31 May 2022 estimate
Neutral increase 10,481,937[13] (87th)
 Density
25/km2 (64.7/sq mi) (198th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
 Total
Increase $712 billion[14] (40th)
 Per capita
Increase $65,842[14] (18th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
 Total
Increase $599 billion[14] (25th)
 Per capita
Decrease $55,395[14] (14th)
Gini (2021)Positive decrease 26.8[15]
low
HDI (2021)Increase 0.947[16]
very high · 7th
CurrencySwedish krona (SEK)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Date formatyyyy-mm-dd
Driving sideright[lower-alpha 4]
Calling code+46
ISO 3166 codeSE
Internet TLD.se[lower-alpha 5]
Website
sweden.se
  1. ^ Persons who have foreign backgrounds are defined as persons who are foreign born, or born in Sweden with foreign born parents.[17] As the Swedish government does not base any statistics on ethnicity, there are no exact numbers on the ethnic background of migrants and their descendants in Sweden. This is not, however, to be confused with migrants' national backgrounds, which are recorded.
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Nature in Sweden is dominated by forests and many lakes, including some of the largest in Europe. Many long rivers run from the Scandes range through the landscape, primarily emptying into the northern tributaries of the Baltic Sea. It has an extensive coastline and most of the population lives near a major body of water. With the country ranging from 55°N to 69°N, the climate of Sweden is diverse due to the length of the country. The usual conditions are mild for the latitudes with a maritime south, continental centre and subarctic north. Snow cover is variable in the densely populated south, but reliable in higher latitudes. Furthermore, the rain shadow of the Scandes results in quite dry winters and sunny summers in much of the country.

Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats (Swedish: Götar) and Swedes (Svear) and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. An independent Swedish state emerged during the early 12th century. After the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century killed about a third of the Scandinavian population,[19][20] the dominance of the Hanseatic League in Northern Europe threatened Scandinavia economically and politically. This led to the formation of the Scandinavian Kalmar Union in 1397,[21] which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side, an expansion of its territories began, forming the Swedish Empire, which remained one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century.

Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, ending with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814 when Norway was militarily forced into a personal union, which peacefully dissolved in 1905. In 2014, Sweden celebrated 200 years of peace, a longer span of peacetime than even Switzerland.[22] Sweden maintained an official policy of neutrality during wartime and non-participation in military alliances during peacetime, although Sweden secretly relied on U.S. nuclear submarines during the Cold War.[23] Sweden has since 2008 joined EU battlegroups, provided intelligence to NATO[24] and since 2009 openly moved towards cooperation with NATO. In 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sweden announced its intent to join NATO.

Sweden is a highly developed country ranked seventh in the Human Development Index,[25] it is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. It is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has the world's 14th highest GDP per capita and ranks very highly in quality of life, health, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, income equality, gender equality and prosperity.[26][27] Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 but rejected Eurozone membership following a referendum. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).