Sweden

fresh water lake(s):

• Vanern - 5,580 sq km;
• Vattern - 1,910 sq km;
• Malaren - 1,140 sq km

• most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe;
• population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

• strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas;
• Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes, the largest of which, Vanern, is the third largest in Europe

noun:

Swede(s)

adjective:

Swedish

• most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe;
• population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east;
• the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total:

7.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

24% (2020 est.)

male:

29.8% (2020 est.)

female:

18.2% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

• marine pollution (Baltic Sea and North Sea);
• acid rain damage to soils and lakes;
• air pollution;
• inappropriate timber harvesting practices

particulate matter emissions:

5.89 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

43.25 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.42 megatons (2020 est.)

urban population:

88.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

4.377 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

1,416,835 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

32.4% (2015 est.)

fresh water lake(s):

• Vanern - 5,580 sq km;
• Vattern - 1,910 sq km;
• Malaren - 1,140 sq km

municipal:

955 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

industrial:

1.345 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

75 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Kingdom of Sweden

conventional short form:

Sweden

local long form:

Konungariket Sverige

local short form:

Sverige

etymology:

name ultimately derives from the North Germanic Svear tribe, which inhabited central Sweden and is first mentioned in the first centuries A.D.

name:

Stockholm

geographic coordinates:

59 20 N, 18 03 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology:

stock and holm literally mean "log" and "islet" in Swedish, but there is no consensus as to what the words refer to

history:

• Sweden has four fundamental laws which together make up the Constitution: The Instrument of Government (several previous; latest 1974);
• The Act of Succession (enacted 1810; changed in 1937 and 1980);
• The Freedom of the Press Act (many previous; latest in 1949);
• The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (adopted 1991)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage requires simple majority vote in two consecutive parliamentary terms with an intervening general election;
• passage also requires approval by simple majority vote in a referendum if Parliament approves a motion for a referendum by one third of its members;
• The Instrument of Government - amended several times, last in 2018;
• The Act of Succession - changed in 1937, 1980;
• The Freedom of the Press Act - amended several times, last in 2019;
• The Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression - amended several times, last in 2018

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

the father must be a citizen of Sweden; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen of Sweden and the father unknown

dual citizenship recognized:

no, unless the other citizenship was acquired involuntarily

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

description:

unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; 310 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by open party-list proportional representation vote and 39 members in "at-large" seats directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 11 September 2022

election results:

• percent of vote by party - S/SAP 30.3%, M 19.1%, SD 20.5%, C 6.7%, V 6.7%, KD 5.3%, L 4.6%, MP 5.1%, other 1.7%;
• seats by party - S/SAP 107, M 68, SD 73, C 24, V 24, KD 19, L 16, MP 18;
• composition as of mid-2022 - men 188, women 161, percent of women 46%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Sweden (consists of 16 justices, including the court chairman);
• Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 18 justices, including the court president)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court justices nominated by the Judges Proposal Board, a 9-member nominating body consisting of high-level judges, prosecutors, and members of Parliament;
• justices appointed by the Government;
• following a probationary period, justices' appointments are permanent

subordinate courts:

• first instance, appellate, general, and administrative courts;
• specialized courts that handle cases such as land and environment, immigration, labor, markets, and patents

• Center Party (Centerpartiet) or C [Annie LOOF resigned on 15 September 2022]
• Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna) or KD [Ebba BUSCH]
• Green Party (Miljopartiet de Grona) or MP [Marta STEVENI and Per BOLUND]
• Left Party (Vansterpartiet) or V [Nooshi DADGOSTAR]
• Moderate Party (Moderaterna) or M [Ulf KRISTERSSON]
• Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) or SD [Jimmie AKESSON]
• Swedish Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokraterna) or S/SAP [Magdalena ANDERSSON]
• The Liberals (Liberalerna) or L [Johan PEHRSON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Karin Ulrika OLOFSDOTTER (since 8 September 2017)

chancery:

2900 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 467-2600

FAX:

[1] (202) 467-2699

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.swedenabroad.se/en/embassies/usa-washington/

consulate(s) general:

New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Erik D. RAMANATHAN (since 20 January 2022)

embassy:

Dag Hammarskjolds Vag 31, SE-115 89 Stockholm

mailing address:

5750 Stockholm Place, Washington, DC 20521-5750

telephone:

[46] (08) 783-53-00

FAX:

[46] (08) 661-19-64

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://se.usembassy.gov/

• 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);
• the colors reflect those of the Swedish coat of arms - three gold crowns on a blue field

total World Heritage Sites:

15 (13 cultural, 1 natural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Royal Domain of Drottningholm (c);
• Laponian Area (m);
• High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago (n);
• Birka and Hovgården (c);
• Hanseatic Town of Visby (c);
• Church Town of Gammelstad, Luleå (c);
• Naval Port of Karlskrona (c);
• Rock Carvings in Tanum (c);
• Engelsberg Ironworks (c);
• Mining Area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun (c)

Fitch rating:

AAA (2004)

Moody's rating:

Aaa (2002)

Standard & Poors rating: AAA (2004)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

2%

industry:

12%

services:

86% (2014 est.)

total:

24.8%

male:

25.3%

female:

24.1% (2021 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.4%

highest 10%:

24% (2012)

production:

1.07 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

3.328 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

24,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

2.144 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

1 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

10,600 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

295,800 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

403,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

1,275,785,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

exports:

34.886 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

imports:

1,310,671,000 cubic meters (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

• publicly owned TV broadcaster operates 2 terrestrial networks plus regional stations;
• multiple privately owned TV broadcasters operating nationally, regionally, and locally;
• about 50 local TV stations;
• widespread access to pan-Nordic and international broadcasters through multi-channel cable and satellite TV;
• publicly owned radio broadcaster operates 3 national stations and a network of 25 regional channels;
• roughly 100 privately owned local radio stations with some consolidating into near national networks;
• an estimated 900 community and neighborhood radio stations broadcast intermittently

total:

14,127 km (2016)

standard gauge:

14,062 km (2016) 1.435-m gauge (12,322 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

65 km (2016) 0.891-m gauge (65 km electrified)

total:

573,134 km (2016) (includes 2,050 km of expressways)

paved:

140,100 km (2016)

unpaved:

433,034 km (2016)

note: includes 98,500 km of state roads, 433,034 km of private roads, and 41,600 km of municipal roads

total:

370

by type:

general cargo 49, oil tanker 22, other 299 (2021)

major seaport(s):

Brofjorden, Goteborg, Helsingborg, Karlshamn, Lulea, Malmo, Stockholm, Trelleborg, Visby

LNG terminal(s) (import):

Brunnsviksholme, Lysekil

• the inventory of the SAF is comprised of domestically-produced and imported Western weapons systems;
• since 2010, the US is the leading supplier of military hardware to Sweden;
• Sweden's defense industry produces a range of air, land, and naval systems (2021)

• 18-47 years of age for male and female voluntary military service;
• service obligation: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), 8-12 months (Air Force);
• after completing initial service, soldiers have a reserve commitment until age 47;
• compulsory military service, abolished in 2010, was reinstated in January 2018;
• conscription is selective, includes both men and women (age 18), and requires 9-12 months of service (2022)

note 1: Sweden conscripts about 5,500 men and women each year

note 2: as of 2021, women made up about 11% of the military's full-time personnel

refugees (country of origin):

114,995 (Syria), 28,744 (Afghanistan), 26,911 (Eritrea), 11,574 (Somalia), 11,153 (Iraq), 7,516 (Iran) (2020); 49,789 (Ukraine) (as of 20 December 2022)

stateless persons:

50,098 (mid-year 2021); note - the majority of stateless people are from the Middle East and Somalia