Sweden (2001) | Dominica (2002) | |
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 | 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter |
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.) |
0-14 years: 28.3% (male 10,052; female 9,800)
15-64 years: 63.8% (male 23,011; female 21,782) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,245; female 3,268) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 255 (2000 est.) | 2 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
147 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 80 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 25 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
108 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 103 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
449,964 sq km land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean. |
Birth rate | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$133 billion expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $72 million
expenditures: $79.9 million, including capital expenditures of $11.5 million (FY97/98) |
Capital | Stockholm | Roseau |
Climate | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
Coastline | 3,218 km | 148 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1975 | 3 November 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Sweden conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
Currency | Swedish krona (SEK) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.11 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.5 billion (1994) | $150 million (2000) (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lyndon Lowell OLSON, Jr. embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5750 (pouch) telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (8) 661 19 64 |
the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; US interests are served by the embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jan ELIASSON chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1702 telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600 FAX: [1] (202) 467-2699 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $24.4 million (1995) (1995) |
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. | The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions. Hurricane Luis devastated the country's banana crop in 1995 after tropical storms wiped out a quarter of the 1994 crop. The subsequent recovery has been fueled by increases in construction, soap production, and tourist arrivals. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. Economic growth is sluggish, and unemployment is greater than 20%. The government has been attempting to develop an offshore financial sector in order to diversify the island's production base. |
Electricity - consumption | 128.819 billion kWh (1999) | 62.31 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 15.9 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 8.35 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 146.633 billion kWh (1999) | 67 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
5.53% hydro: 47.24% nuclear: 45.42% other: 1.81% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 52% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
Environment - current issues | acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | NA |
Environment - 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 signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks | black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian |
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) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
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 |
chief of state: President Vernon Lordon SHAW (since 6 October 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES (since 1 October 2000); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Roosevelt DOUGLAS cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 6 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vernon Lordon SHAW elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | $95.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $49 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
Exports - partners | EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 10%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%, France 5%), US 9%, Norway 8% (1999) | Caricom countries 47%, UK 36%, US 7% (1996 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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) | green, with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white and the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $197 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $262 million (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.2% industry: 27.9% services: 69.9% (1999) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | -3.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 15 00 E | 15 25 N, 61 20 W |
Geography - note | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas | known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
210,760 km paved: 162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways) unpaved: 48,053 km (1999) |
total: 780 km
paved: 390 km unpaved: 390 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.7% highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $80 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $132 million c.i.f. (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | EU 67% (Germany 18%, UK 10%, Denmark 7%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1999) | US 41%, Caricom countries 25%, UK 13%, Netherlands, Canada (1996 est.) |
Independence | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | 3 November 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | -10% (1997 est.) |
Industries | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
Infant mortality rate | 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 15.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
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 | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 29 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 4.4 million (2000 est.) | 25,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,205 km border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 68% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4%
permanent crops: 16% other: 80% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
English (official), French patois |
Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law |
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 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 |
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 31 January 2000 (next to be held by 17 July 2005) note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five years from the first seating of parliament (17 April 2000) plus a 90 day grace period election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -DLP 10, UWP 9, DFP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.71 years male: 77.07 years female: 82.5 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.86 years
male: 70.98 years female: 76.88 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% (1979 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (1970 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
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) |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force | Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (including Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY98) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,062,566 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,803,995 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
51,506 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Flag Day, 6 June | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Swede(s) adjective: Swedish |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
Natural resources | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower | timber, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -18.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 84 km | - |
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] | Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Pierre CHARLES]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
Population | 8,875,053 (July 2001 est.) | 70,158 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2001 est.) | -0.81% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall | Portsmouth, Roseau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 3, FM 10, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 8.25 million (1997) | 46,000 (1997) |
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) |
0 km |
Religions | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist | Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), none 2%, other 6% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network international: microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.017 million (December 1998) | 19,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.835 million (October 1998) | 461 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) | 0 (however, there is one cable television company) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west | rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 23% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 2,052 km
note: navigable for small steamers and barges |
none |