Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

Geographic coordinates: 62 00 N, 15 00 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total: 449,964 sq km
land : 410,928 sq km
water: 39,036 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 2,205 km
border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km

Coastline: 3,218 km

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)

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

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

Land use:
arable land : 7%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 68%
other: 24%(1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,150 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

Environment - current issues: acid rain damaging soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas

Population: 8,876,744 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 817,688; female 776,018)
15-64 years:64.7% (male 2,922,095; female 2,824,770)
65 years and over :17.3% (male 651,120; female 885,053) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.02% (2002 est.)

Birth rate:9.81 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate:10.6 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 3.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population:79.84 years
male: 77.19 years
female : 82.64 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.54 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun : Swede(s)
adjective: Swedish

Ethnic groups:indigenous population: Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks

Religions:Lutheran 87%, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist

Languages: Swedish
note: small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population : 99% (1979 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

Country name:
conventional long form : Kingdom of Sweden
conventional short form: Sweden
local long form: Konungariket Sverige
local short form: Sverige

Data code: SW

Government type: constitutional monarchy

National capital: Stockholm

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

Independence: 6 June 1523, Gustav VASA was elected king; 6 June 1809, a constitutional monarchy was established

National holiday: Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June

Constitution: 1 January 1975

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

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; prime minister elected by the Parliament; election last held NA September 1998 (next to be held 20 September 2002)
election results : Goran PERSSON reelected prime minister with 131 out of 349 votes

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 15 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

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Hogsta Domstolen, judges are appointed by the government (prime minister and cabinet)

Political parties and leaders:Center Party [Maud OLOFSSON]; Christian Democratic Party [Alf SVENSSON]; Communist Workers' Party [Rolf HAGEL]; Green Party [no formal leader but party spokespersons are Maria WETTERSTRAND and Peter ERIKSSON]; Left Party or VP (formerly Communist) [Gudrun SCHYMAN]; Liberal People's Party [Lars LEIJONBORG]; Moderate Party (conservative) [Bo LUNDGREN]; Social Democratic Party [Goran PERSSON]

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 6, G- 8, 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, MTCR, NACC (observer), NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jan ELIASSON
chancery: 1501 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone: [1] (202) 467-2600
FAX : [1] (202) 467-2699
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles A. HEIMBOLD, Jr.
embassy: Strandvagen 101, S-115 89 Stockholm
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [46] (8) 783 53 00
FAX : [46] (8) 661 19 64

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)

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 substantive budgetary surplus in 2001, but is expected to shrink somewhat in 2002, due to the global economic slowdown, tax cuts, and spending increases. The Swedish central bank (the Riksbank) is focusing on price stability with an inflation target of 2% for 2002.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $219 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 1.6% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $24,700 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry : 28.7%
services: 69.3% (2000)

Inflation rate - consumer price index:2.7% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total: 4.4 million (2000 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services 74% (2000 est.)

Unemployment rate: 3.9% (2001 est.)

Budget:
revenues:$119 billion
expenditures : $110 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate:4.5% (2001 est.)

Electricity - capacity: 35.46 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 144.621 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 139.176 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk

Exports:
total value: $96 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities : machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products
partners: EU 53.6% (Germany 10.6%, UK 9.1%, Denmark 5.3%, France 5.1%), US 9.5%, Norway 7.5% (2000)

Imports:
total value : $89.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing
partners:EU 60.3% (Germany 16.3%, UK 8.8%, Denmark 6.7%, France 5.6%), Norway 8.2%, US 6.7% (2000)

Debt - external: $66.5 billion (1994)

Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $1.7 billion (1997)

Currency: 1 Swedish krona (SEK) = 100 oere

Exchange rates: Swedish kronor per US dollar - 10.4381 (January 2002), 10.3291 (2001), 9.1622 (2000), 8.2624 (1999), 7.9499 (1998), 7.6349 (1997)

Fiscal year: 1 January - 31 December (Sweden changed its fiscal year from 1 July - 30 June in 1995)

Telephones: 6.017 million (December 1998)

Telephone system: excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic system
domestic: coaxial and multiconductor cable carry most voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay network carries 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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 265, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:8.25 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 169 (plus 1,299 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions: 4.6 million (1997)

Railways:
total: 12,821 km
standard gauge: 12,600 km 1.435-m gauge (7,918 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 221 km 0.891-m gauge (2001)

Highways:
total:210,760 km
paved:162,707 km (including 1,428 km of expressways)
unpaved : 48,053 km (1999)

Waterways: 2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges

Pipelines: natural gas 84 km

Ports and harbors: Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall

Merchant marine:
total:174 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,255,344 GRT/1,609,844 DWT
ships by type:bulk 5, cargo 37, chemical tanker 33, combination ore/oil 4, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 27, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 38, short-sea passenger 4, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 18

Airports: 255 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total:147
over 3,047 m : 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 80
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m : 25 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 108
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m :102 (2001)

Heliports: 1 (2001)

Military branches: Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,060,205 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males:1,800,991 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males : 51,506 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4,395,100,000 (FY01)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.1% (FY01)

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: minor transshipment point for and consumer of narcotics shipped via the CIS and Baltic states; increasing consumer of European amphetamines