Sweden (2003) | World (2005) | |
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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 | 271 nations, dependent areas, and other entities |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.7% (male 804,296; female 763,213)
15-64 years: 65% (male 2,933,183; female 2,835,835) 65 years and over: 17.3% (male 654,575; female 886,983) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 919,726,623; female 870,468,158)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 2,117,230,183; female 2,066,864,970) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 207,903,775; female 263,627,270) note: some countries do not maintain age structure information, thus a slight discrepancy exists between the total world population and the total for world age structure (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | barley, wheat, sugar beets; meat, milk | - |
Airports | 245 (2002) | 49,973 (2004) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 145
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 82 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 100
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 90 (2002) |
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Area | total: 449,964 sq km
land: 410,934 sq km water: 39,030 sq km |
total: 510.072 million sq km
land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than California | land area about 16 times the size of the US |
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 was challenged in the 1990s 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 delayed Sweden's entry into the EU until 1995, and waived the introduction of the euro in 1999. | Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). |
Birth rate | 9.71 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 20.15 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $119 billion
expenditures: $110 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
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Capital | Stockholm | - |
Climate | temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north | two large areas of polar climates separated by two rather narrow temperate zones form a wide equatorial band of tropical to subtropical climates |
Coastline | 3,218 km | 356,000 km
note: 98 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bassas da India, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Europa Island, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Glorioso Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Juan de Nova Island, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Isle of Man, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tromelin Island, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan |
Constitution | 1 January 1975 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Sweden
conventional short form: Sweden local long form: Konungariket Sverige local short form: Sverige |
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Currency | Swedish krona (SEK) | - |
Death rate | 10.58 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $66.5 billion (1994) | $12.7 trillion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. HEIMBOLD, Jr.
embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds VAG 31, SE-11589 Stockholm mailing address: American Embassy Stockholm, Department of State, 5750 Stockholm Place, Washington, DC 20521-5750 (pouch) telephone: [46] (08) 783 53 00 FAX: [46] (08) 661 19 64 |
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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 |
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Disputes - international | none | stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 325 international land boundaries separate the 192 independent states and 73 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; maritime states have claimed limits and have so far established over 130 maritime boundaries and joint development zones to allocate ocean resources and to provide for national security at sea; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; most disputes over the alignment of political boundaries are confined to short segments and are today less common and less hostile than borderland, resource, and territorial disputes; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries, however, encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation around the world; disputes over islands at sea or in rivers frequently form the source of territorial and boundary conflict; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially petroleum) resources, fisheries, and arable land; nonetheless, most nations cooperate to clarify their international boundaries and to resolve territorial and resource disputes peacefully; regional discord directly affects the sustenance and welfare of local populations, often leaving the world community to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, deforestation, and desertification |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $1.7 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $154 billion official development assistance (ODA) (2004) |
Economy - overview | Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole 20th 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. The government's commitment to fiscal discipline resulted in a substantial budgetary surplus in 2001, which was cut by more than half in 2002, due to the global economic slowdown, revenue declines, and spending increases. The Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) is focusing on price stability with its inflation target of 2%. Growth remained sluggish in 2003. On September 14, 2003, Swedish voters turned down entry into the euro system, concerned about the impact on democracy and sovereignty. | Global output rose by 4.9% in 2004, led by China (9.1%), Russia (6.7%), and India (6.2%). The other 14 successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 7% range of growth. Growth results posted by the major industrial countries varied from a small gain in Italy (1.3%) to a strong gain by the United States (4.4%). The developing nations also varied in their growth results, with many countries facing population increases that erode gains in output. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the European Union. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 75 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuate a further growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued into 2005. |
Electricity - consumption | 134.9 billion kWh (2001) | 14.28 trillion kWh (2002 est.) |
Electricity - exports | 18.45 billion kWh (2001) | 500.8 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
Electricity - imports | 11.14 billion kWh (2001) | 497.6 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
Electricity - production | 152.9 billion kWh (2001) | 15.29 trillion kWh (2002 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 4%
hydro: 50.8% nuclear: 43% other: 2.3% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.41 m
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m |
lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m
note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m |
Environment - current issues | acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea | large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks | - |
Exchange rates | Swedish kronor per US dollar - 9.74 (2002), 10.33 (2001), 9.16 (2000), 8.26 (1999), 7.95 (1998) | - |
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 monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the prime minister is elected by the Parliament; election last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 votes |
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Exports | 203,700 bbl/day (2001) | 693.7 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Exports - partners | US 11.6%, Germany 10.1%, Norway 9%, UK 8.2%, Denmark 5.9%, Finland 5.6%, Netherlands 5.3%, France 5.1%, Belgium 4.7% (2002) | US 15.7%, Germany 7.7%, China 5.4%, France 5.1%, UK 5.1%, Japan 4.5% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
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) | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $230.7 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 2%
industry: 29% services: 69% (2001) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 32% services: 64% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $26,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.9% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 62 00 N, 15 00 E | - |
Geography - note | strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas | the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13-billion-year age estimated for the universe |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 212,402 km
paved: 166,523 km (including 1,499 km of expressways) unpaved: 45,879 km (2000) |
total: 32,345,165 km
paved: 19,403,061 km unpaved: 12,942,104 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 20.1% (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA %
highest 10%: NA % |
Illicit drugs | - | cocaine: worldwide, coca is grown on an estimated 173,450 hectares - almost exclusively in South America with 70% in Colombia; potential cocaine production during 2003 is estimated at 728 metric tons (or 835 metric tons of export quality cocaine); coca eradication programs continue in Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru; 376 metric tons of export quality cocaine are documented to have been seized in 2003, and 26 metric tons disrupted (jettisoned or destroyed); consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been 800 metric tons
opiates: cultivation of opium poppy occurred on an estimated 137,944 hectares in 2003 - mostly in Southwest and Southeast Asia - with 44% in Afghanistan, potentially produced 3,775 metric tons of opium, which conceivably could be converted to the equivalent of 429 metric tons of pure heroin; opium eradication programs have been undertaken in Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam |
Imports | 553,100 bbl/day (2001) | 718.7 billion cu m (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing | the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services |
Imports - partners | Germany 18.5%, Denmark 8.8%, UK 8.6%, Norway 8.2%, Netherlands 6.7%, France 5.4%, Finland 5.2%, US 5% (2002) | Germany 9.4%, US 9.3%, China 8.5%, Japan 6.5%, France 4.5% (2004) |
Independence | 6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.9% (2002 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Industries | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles | dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems |
Infant mortality rate | total: 3.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 2.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 50.11 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.1 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2002 est.) | developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 60% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in several Third World countries (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 29 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,150 sq km (1998 est.) | 2,714,320 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen (judges are appointed by the prime minister and the cabinet) | - |
Labor force | 4.4 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,205 km
border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km |
the land boundaries in the world total 250,472 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries
note: 43 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked |
Land use | arable land: 6.8%
permanent crops: 0% other: 93.2% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.73%
permanent crops: 1% other: 88.27% (2001) |
Languages | Swedish
note: small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities |
Chinese, Mandarin 13.69%, Spanish 5.05%, English 4.84%, Hindi 2.82%, Portuguese 2.77%, Bengali 2.68%, Russian 2.27%, Japanese 1.99%, German, Standard 1.49%, Chinese, Wu 1.21% (2004 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
Legal system | civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court |
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 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Social Democrats 39.8%, Moderates 15.2%, Liberal Party 13.3%, Christian Democrats 9.1%, Left Party 8.3%, Center Party 6.1%, Greens 4.6%; seats by party - Social Democrats 144, Moderates 55, Liberal Party 48, Christian Democrats 33, Left Party 30, Center Party 22, Greens 17 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.97 years
male: 77.31 years female: 82.78 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 64.33 years
male: 62.73 years female: 66.04 years (2005 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: 82% male: 87% female: 77% note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.) |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | - |
Map references | Europe | Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World |
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) |
a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm , contiguous zone - 24 nm , and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm ; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 166 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,329,925 GRT/1,609,986 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 35, chemical tanker 31, combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 25, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea passenger 8, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 21 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 8, Finland 8, Germany 3, Italy 3, Japan 2, Norway 7 (2002 est.) |
total ships: 30,936 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Royal Navy (including Coast Artillery and Naval Helicopter Service), Air Force | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $4.395 billion (FY01) | aggregate real expenditure on arms worldwide in 1999 remained at approximately the 1998 level, about three-quarters of a trillion dollars (1999 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY01) | roughly 2% of gross world product (1999 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,060,044 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,800,376 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 52,692 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Flag Day, 6 June | - |
Nationality | noun: Swede(s)
adjective: Swedish |
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Natural hazards | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
Natural resources | zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower | the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address |
Net migration rate | 1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | - |
Pipelines | gas 798 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party [Maud OLOFSSON]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokespersons are Maria WETTERSTRAND and Peter ERIKSSON]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Ulla HOFFMAN (acting)]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Fredrik REINFELDT]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON] | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 8,878,085 (July 2003 est.) | 6,446,131,400 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | - |
Population growth rate | 0.01% (2003 est.) | 1.14% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Lulea, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA |
Railways | total: 11,481 km
standard gauge: 11,481 km 1.435-m gauge (7,527 km electrified) (2002) |
total: 1,115,205 km
broad gauge: 257,481 km standard gauge: 671,413 km narrow gauge: 186,311 km (2003) |
Religions | Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist | Christians 32.84% (of which Roman Catholics 17.34%, Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.44%, Anglicans 1.27%), Muslims 19.9%, Hindus 13.29%, Buddhists 5.92%, Sikhs 0.39%, Jews 0.23%, other religions 12.63%, non-religious 12.44%, atheists 2.36% (2003 est.) |
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: 0.74 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 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: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.017 million (December 1998) | 843,923,500 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.835 million (October 1998) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995) | NA |
Terrain | mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west | the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean |
Total fertility rate | 1.54 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.6 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment |
Waterways | 2,052 km
note: navigable to small steamers and barges |
671,886 km (2004) |