Sweden (2001) | Dominican Republic (2007) | |
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 | 31 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 district* (distrito); Azua, Bahoruco, Barahona, Dajabon, Distrito Nacional*, Duarte, El Seibo, Elias Pina, Espaillat, Hato Mayor, Independencia, La Altagracia, La Romana, La Vega, Maria Trinidad Sanchez, Monsenor Nouel, Monte Cristi, Monte Plata, Pedernales, Peravia, Puerto Plata, Salcedo, Samana, San Cristobal, San Jose de Ocoa, San Juan, San Pedro de Macoris, Sanchez Ramirez, Santiago, Santiago Rodriguez, Santo Domingo, Valverde |
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: 32.1% (male 1,532,813/female 1,477,033)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 2,971,620/female 2,851,207) 65 years and over: 5.7% (male 247,738/female 285,407) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk | sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, rice, beans, potatoes, corn, bananas; cattle, pigs, dairy products, beef, eggs |
Airports | 255 (2000 est.) | 34 (2007) |
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: 15
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
108 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 103 (2000 est.) |
total: 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2007) |
Area | total:
449,964 sq km land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
total: 48,730 sq km
land: 48,380 sq km water: 350 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | slightly more than twice the size of New Hampshire |
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. | Explored and claimed by Christopher COLUMBUS on his first voyage in 1492, the island of Hispaniola became a springboard for Spanish conquest of the Caribbean and the American mainland. In 1697, Spain recognized French dominion over the western third of the island, which in 1804 became Haiti. The remainder of the island, by then known as Santo Domingo, sought to gain its own independence in 1821, but was conquered and ruled by the Haitians for 22 years; it finally attained independence as the Dominican Republic in 1844. In 1861, the Dominicans voluntarily returned to the Spanish Empire, but two years later they launched a war that restored independence in 1865. A legacy of unsettled, mostly non-representative rule followed, capped by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas TRUJILLO from 1930-61. Juan BOSCH was elected president in 1962, but was deposed in a military coup in 1963. In 1965, the United States led an intervention in the midst of a civil war sparked by an uprising to restore BOSCH. In 1966, Joaquin BALAGUER defeated BOSCH in an election to become president. BALAGUER maintained a tight grip on power for most of the next 30 years when international reaction to flawed elections forced him to curtail his term in 1996. Since then, regular competitive elections have been held in which opposition candidates have won the presidency. Former President (1996-2000) Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna won election to a second term in 2004 following a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve more than one term. |
Birth rate | 9.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$133 billion expenditures: $125.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $5.658 billion
expenditures: $6.119 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Stockholm | name: Santo Domingo
geographic coordinates: 18 28 N, 69 54 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation; seasonal variation in rainfall |
Coastline | 3,218 km | 1,288 km |
Constitution | 1 January 1975 | 28 November 1966; amended 25 July 2002 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Sweden conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
conventional long form: Dominican Republic
conventional short form: The Dominican local long form: Republica Dominicana local short form: La Dominicana |
Currency | Swedish krona (SEK) | - |
Death rate | 10.61 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.5 billion (1994) | $7.909 billion (2006 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Roland W. BULLEN
embassy: corner of Calle Cesar Nicolas Penson and Calle Leopoldo Navarro, Santo Domingo mailing address: Unit 5500, APO AA 34041-5500 telephone: [1] (809) 221-2171 FAX: [1] (809) 686-7437 |
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 Flavio Dario ESPINAL Jacobo
chancery: 1715 22nd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-6280 FAX: [1] (202) 265-8057 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Boston, Chicago, Mayaguez (Puerto Rico), Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico) |
Disputes - international | none | Haitian migrants cross the porous border into the Dominican Republic to find work; illegal migrants from the Dominican Republic cross the Mona Passage each year to Puerto Rico to find better work |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $76.99 million (2005) |
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 Republic is a Caribbean representative democracy that enjoyed strong GDP growth until 2003. Although the country has long been viewed primarily as an exporter of sugar, coffee, and tobacco, in recent years the service sector has overtaken agriculture as the economy's largest employer due to growth in tourism and free trade zones. Growth turned negative in 2003 with reduced tourism, a major bank fraud, and limited growth in the US economy (the source of about 80% of export revenues), but recovered in 2004-06. With the help of strict fiscal targets agreed in the 2004 renegotiation of an IMF standby loan, President FERNANDEZ has stabilized the country's financial situation. Although the economy continues to grow at a respectable rate, high unemployment and inflation remain important challenges. The country suffers from marked income inequality; the poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth of GNP, while the richest 10% enjoys nearly 40% of national income. The Dominican Republic's development prospects improved with the ratification of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) in September 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 128.819 billion kWh (1999) | 8.791 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 15.9 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 8.35 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 146.633 billion kWh (1999) | 12.22 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
5.53% hydro: 47.24% nuclear: 45.42% other: 1.81% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m |
lowest point: Lago Enriquillo -46 m
highest point: Pico Duarte 3,175 m |
Environment - current issues | acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | water shortages; soil eroding into the sea damages coral reefs; deforestation |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks | mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11% |
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) | Dominican pesos per US dollar - 33.406 (2006), 30.409 (2005), 42.12 (2004), 30.831 (2003), 18.61 (2002) |
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 Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna (since 16 August 2004); Vice President Rafael ALBURQUERQUE de Castro (since 16 August 2004) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held 16 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Leonel FERNANDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Leonel FERNANDEZ 57.1%, Rafael Hipolito MEJIA Dominguez 33.7%, Eduardo ESTRELLA 8.7% |
Exports | $95.5 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | ferronickel, sugar, gold, silver, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, meats, consumer goods |
Exports - partners | EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 10%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%, France 5%), US 9%, Norway 8% (1999) | US 72.6%, UK 3.2%, Belgium 2.4% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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) | a centered white cross that extends to the edges divides the flag into four rectangles - the top ones are blue (hoist side) and red, and the bottom ones are red (hoist side) and blue; a small coat of arms featuring a shield supported by an olive branch (left) and a palm branch (right) is at the center of the cross; above the shield a blue ribbon displays the motto, DIOS, PATRIA, LIBERTAD (God, Fatherland, Liberty), and below the shield, REPUBLICA DOMINICANA appears on a red ribbon |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $197 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2.2% industry: 27.9% services: 69.9% (1999) |
agriculture: 11.6%
industry: 28.6% services: 59.8% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.3% (2000 est.) | 10.7% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 15 00 E | 19 00 N, 70 40 W |
Geography - note | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas | shares island of Hispaniola with Haiti |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
210,760 km paved: 162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways) unpaved: 48,053 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.7% highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 1.4%
highest 10%: 41.1% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; has become a transshipment point for ecstasy from the Netherlands and Belgium destined for US and Canada; substantial money laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor the Dominican Republic for illicit financial transactions; significant amphetamine consumption |
Imports | $80 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 116,700 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | foodstuffs, petroleum, cotton and fabrics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals |
Imports - partners | EU 67% (Germany 18%, UK 10%, Denmark 7%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1999) | US 46.9%, Venezuela 8.4%, Colombia 6.3%, Mexico 5.7% (2006) |
Independence | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | 27 February 1844 (from Haiti) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
Industries | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles | tourism, sugar processing, ferronickel and gold mining, textiles, cement, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 27.94 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 25.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (2000 est.) | 7.6% (2006 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 | ACP, Caricom (observer), FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (suspended), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 29 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1993 est.) | 2,750 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges are appointed by the National Judicial Council comprised of the president, the leaders of both chambers of congress, the president of the Supreme Court, and an additional non-governing party congressional representative) |
Labor force | 4.4 million (2000 est.) | 3.896 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 17%
industry: 24.3% services: 58.7% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,205 km border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km |
total: 360 km
border countries: Haiti 360 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 1% forests and woodland: 68% other: 24% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.49%
permanent crops: 10.26% other: 67.25% (2005) |
Languages | Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Spanish |
Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate or Senado (32 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Camara de Diputados (178 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008); House of Representatives - last held 16 May 2006 (next to be held in May 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 22, PRD 6, PRSC 4; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PLD 96, PRD 60, PRSC 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
79.71 years male: 77.07 years female: 82.5 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.07 years
male: 71.34 years female: 74.87 years (2007 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 can read and write
total population: 87% male: 86.8% female: 87.2% (2002 census) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | Caribbean, eastern two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Haiti |
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) |
territorial sea: 6 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,587 GRT/1,165 DWT
by type: cargo 1 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 billion (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY98) | 0.8% (2006) |
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, 27 February (1844) |
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 | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower | nickel, bauxite, gold, silver |
Net migration rate | 0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | Dominican Liberation Party or PLD [Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna]; Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD [Ramon ALBURQUERQUE]; National Progressive Front [Vincent CASTILLO, Pelegrin CASTILLO]; Social Christian Reformist Party or PRSC [Enrique ANTUN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Citizen Participation Group (Participacion Ciudadania); Collective of Popular Organizations or COP; Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice (FINJUS) |
Population | 8,875,053 (July 2001 est.) | 9,365,818 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 42.2% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2001 est.) | 1.5% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 120, FM 56, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 8.25 million (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) |
total: 517 km
standard gauge: 375 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 142 km 0.762-m gauge note: additional 1,226 km operated by sugar companies in 1.076 m, 0.889 m, and 0.762-m gauges (2006) |
Religions | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist | Roman Catholic 95%, other 5% |
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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.868 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory; married persons regardless of age; note - members of the armed forces and national police cannot vote |
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: relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network
domestic: fixed telephone line density is about 10 per 100 persons; multiple providers of mobile cellular service with a subscribership of roughly 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.017 million (December 1998) | 897,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.835 million (October 1998) | 4.606 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) | 25 (2003) |
Terrain | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west | rugged highlands and mountains with fertile valleys interspersed |
Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.81 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2000 est.) | 16% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 2,052 km
note: navigable for small steamers and barges |
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