Sweden

constitutional monarchyIndependence 6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established

Sweden as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 72 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalStockholm
Area449,960 km2
1990

Every edition of Sweden

Populationas each edition published it
8.53 million July 1990 · 10.64m in 2025
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.58% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 40.1 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 78.08 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.9 children per woman 1990 · 1.66 in 2025
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
6 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 2.2 in 2025
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $16,900 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -1.7% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Land useshare of 449,960 km2

arable land 7%permanent crops 0%meadows and pastures 2%forest and woodland 64%other 27%includes NEGL% irrigated
Total area
449,960km2
land area: 411,620 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than California
Coastline
3,218km
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
2,193km total
Finland 536 km, Norway 1,657 km

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

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

Environment

water pollution; acid rain

Note

strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas

People

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

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth
13Death
11Net migration
3

Religion

Evangelical Lutheran 93.5%Roman Catholic 1.0%other 5.5%

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)

Language

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

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

Constitutional monarchy

17 fields

Parliament, 349 seats, elected 18 September 1988seats by party

Social Democratic 156Moderate (conservative) 66Liberals 44Center 42Communists 21Greens 20

Long-form name

Kingdom of Sweden

Type

constitutional monarchy

Capital

Stockholm

Administrative divisions

24 provinces (lan, singular and plural); Alvsborgs Lan, Blekinge Lan, Gavleborgs Lan, Goteborgs och Bohus Lan, Gotlands Lan, Hallands Lan, Jamtlands Lan, Jonkopings Lan, Kalmar Lan, Kopparbergs Lan, Kristianstads Lan, Kronobergs Lan, Malmohus Lan, Norrbottens Lan, Orebro Lan, Ostergotlands Lan, Skaraborgs Lan, Sodermanlands Lan, Stockholms Lan, Uppsala Lan, Varmlands Lan, Vasterbottens Lan, Vasternorrlands Lan, Vastmanlands Lan

Independence

6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established

Constitution

1 January 1975

National holiday

Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June

Executive branch

monarch, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch

unicameral Parliament (Riksdag)

Judicial branch

  • Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen) Chief of State--King CARL XVI Gustaf (since 19 September 1973);
  • Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, 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 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

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.

16 fields
GDP, purchasing power parity
$132.7billion
per capita $15,700; real growth rate 2.1% (1989 est.)
Inflation, consumer prices
5.7%
(September 1989)
External debt
$17.9billion
(1988)

Budget

Revenues
$58.0 billionExpenditures
$57.9 billion
expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89)

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 the work ethic, and a loss of competitive edge in international markets.

Exports

  • $52.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989 est.);
  • commodities--machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products;
  • partners--EC 52.1%, (FRG 12.1%, UK 11.2%, Denmark 6.8%), US 9.8%, Norway 9.3%

Imports

  • $48.5 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.);
  • commodities--machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing;
  • partners--EC 55.8% (FRG 21.2%, UK 8.6%, Denmark 6.6%), US 7.5%, Norway 6.0%

Industrial production

growth rate 3.3% (1989)

Electricity

39,716,000 kW capacity; 200,315 million kWh produced, 23,840 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

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

Agriculture

  • animal husbandry predominates, with milk and dairy products accounting for 37% of farm income;
  • main crops--grains, sugar beets, potatoes;
  • 100% self-sufficient in grains and potatoes, 85% self-sufficient in sugar beets

Aid

donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $7.9 billion

Currency

Swedish krona (plural--kronor); 1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 ore

Exchange rates

Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1--6.1798 (January 1990), 6.4469 (1989), 6.1272 (1988), 6.3404 (1987), 7.1236 (1986), 8.6039 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 173 ships by type

short-sea passenger 9cargo 29container 3roll-on/roll-off cargo 42vehicle carrier 11railcar carrier 2petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker 27chemical tanker 25liquefied gas 1combination ore/oil 5specialized tanker 6bulk 12combination bulk 1173 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,856,217 GRT/2,215,659 DWT

Airports, 259 total, 256 usable

permanent-surface runways
138runways over 3,659 m
nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m
11runways 1,220-2,439 m
91

Networkskm

Highways
97,400Pipelines
84
Highways: (51,899 km paved, 20,659 km gravel, 24,842 km unimproved earth)

Railroads

  • 12,000 km total;
  • Swedish State Railways (SJ)--10,819 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 6,955 km electrified and 1,152 km double track;
  • 182 km 0.891-meter gauge;
  • 117 km rail ferry service;
  • privately owned railways--511 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (332 km electrified);
  • 371 km 0.891-meter gauge (all electrified)

Highways

97,400 km (51,899 km paved, 20,659 km gravel, 24,842 km unimproved earth)

Inland waterways

2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges

Ports

Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Malmo, Stockholm; numerous secondary and minor ports

Civil air

65 major transports

Telecommunications

  • excellent domestic and international facilities;
  • 8,200,000 telephones;
  • stations--4 AM, 56 (320 relays) FM, 110 (925 relays) TV;
  • 5 submarine coaxial cables;
  • communication satellite earth stations operating in the INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems

Defense Forces

Royal Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Air Force, Royal Swedish Navy

3 fields

Military manpower

males 15-49
2,133,101fit for military service
1,865,526reach military age (19) annually
56,632
Defense expenditures
$4.5billion
(1989 est.)

Branches

Royal Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Air Force, Royal Swedish Navy

Central Intelligence Agency. “Sweden.” The World Factbook 1990. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/sweden/1990.

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