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 Sweden



Geography

Total area: 449,960 km²; land area: 411,620 km²

Comparative area: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries: 2,193 km total; Finland 536 km, Norway 1,657 km

Coastline: 3,218 km

Maritime claims:
 * Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
 * Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

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

Land use: 7% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 2% meadows and pastures; 64% forest and woodland; 27% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Environment: water pollution; acid rain

Note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas

People

Population: 8,526,452 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

Birth rate: 13 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 3 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 75 years male, 81 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 1.9 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Swede(s); adjective—Swedish

Ethnic divisions: homogeneous white population; small Lappish minority; about 12% foreign born or first-generation immigrants (Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks)

Religion: 93.5% Evangelical Lutheran, 1.0% Roman Catholic, 5.5% other

Language: Swedish, small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities; immigrants speak native languages

Literacy: 99%

Labor force: 4,531,000 (1988); 32.8% private services, 30.0% government services, 22.0% mining and manufacturing, 5.9% construction, 5.0% agriculture, forestry, and fishing, 0.9% electricity, gas, and waterworks (1986)

Organized labor: 90% of labor force (1985 est.)

Government

Long-form name: Kingdom of Sweden

Type: constitutional monarchy

Capital: Stockholm

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (län, singular and plural); Älvsborgs Län, Blekinge Län, Gävleborgs Län, Göteborgs och Bohus Län, Gotlands Län, Hallands Län, Jämtlands Län, Jönköpings Län, Kalmar Län, Kopparbergs Län, Kristianstads Län, Kronobergs Län, Malmöhus Län, Norrbottens Län, Örebro Län, Östergötlands Län, Skaraborgs Län, Södermanlands Län, Stockholms Län, Uppsala Län, Värmlands Län, Västerbottens Län, Västernorrlands Län, Västmanlands Län

Independence: 6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established

Constitution: 1 January 1975

Legal system: civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June

Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Riksdag)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court ( Högsta Domstolen)

Leaders: Chief of State—King CARL XVI Gustaf (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Désirée, daughter of the King (born 14 July 1977);

Head of Government—Prime Minister Ingvar CARLSSON (since 12 March 1986); Deputy Prime Minister Kjell-Olof FELDT (since NA March 1986)

Political parties and leaders: Moderate (conservative), Carl Bildt; Center, Olof Johansson; Liberal People's Party, Bengt Westerberg; Social Democratic, Ingvar Carlsson; Left Party-Communist (VPK), Lars Werner; Swedish Communist Party (SKP), Rune Pettersson; Communist Workers' Party, Rolf Hagel; Green Party, no formal leader

Suffrage: universal at age 18

Elections: Parliament—last held 18 September 1988 (next to be held September 1991); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(349 total) Social Democratic 156, Moderate (conservative) 66, Liberals 44, Center 42, Communists 21, Greens 20

Communists: VPK and SKP; VPK, the major Communist party, is reported to have roughly 17,800 members; in the 1988 election, the VPK attracted 5.8% of the vote

Member of: ADB, CCC, Council of Europe, DAC, EFTA, ESA, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, INTELSAT, IPU, ISO, ITU, IWC—International, Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, Nordic Council, OECD, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Anders THUNBORG; Chancery at Suite 1200, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 944-5600; there are Swedish Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York; US—Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN; Embassy at Strandvagen 101, S-115 27 Stockholm; telephone [46] (8) 7835300

Flag: 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 a long period of peace and neutrality during World War I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has essentially full employment, a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled and intelligent labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy that is 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. As the 1990s open, however, Sweden faces serious economic problems: long waits for adequate housing, the decay of 299