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

total:

41.1 years (2024 est.)

male:

40.1 years

female:

42.1 years

• 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

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

2.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

2.5 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

81.2 years

female:

84.7 years

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

urban population:

88.7% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

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

particulate matter emissions:

5.96 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

43.25 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

4.42 megatons (2020 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:

700 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

1.27 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

1

global geoparks and regional networks:

Platåbergens (2023)

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 results of such a referendum are only binding if a majority vote against the proposal;
• there has not been a referendum on constitutional matters;
• 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 2023

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

chief of state:

King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 15 September 1973)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ulf KRISTERSSON (since 18 October 2022)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister

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 (next to be held on 13 September 2026)

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 - men 186, women 163, percentage women 46.7%

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
• Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna) or KD
• Green Party (Miljopartiet de Grona) or MP
• Left Party (Vansterpartiet) or V
• Moderate Party (Moderaterna) or M
• Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) or SD
• Swedish Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokraterna) or S/SAP
• The Liberals (Liberalerna) or L

chief of mission:

Ambassador Urban AHLIN (since 15 September 2023)

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, San Francisco

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)

• high-income, largest Nordic economy;
• EU member but non-euro user;
• export-oriented led by automotive, electronics, machinery and pharmaceuticals;
• highly ranked for competitiveness, R&D investments and governance;
• slowdown triggered by high inflation, weak consumption and financial tightening

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:

1.6% (2023 est.)

industry:

22.8% (2023 est.)

services:

65.3% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

21.6% (2023 est.)

male:

21.9% (2023 est.)

female:

21.2% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

12.5% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

3.1% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.8% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

22.7% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

6 (2023)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

6.94GW (2023 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

28.6% (2023 est.)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

7 (2023)

production:

1.115 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

3.396 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

43,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

2.152 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

5 million metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

11,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

283,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

consumption:

889.924 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

exports:

12.15 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

680.998 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

general assessment:

• Sweden’s telecom market includes mature mobile and broadband sectors which have been stimulated by the progressive investment of the main telcos in developing new technologies;
• the country retains one of the best developed LTE infrastructures in the region, while its MNOs have benefited from the January 2021 auction of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band which will enable them to expand services nationally;
• the country also has one of the highest fiber broadband penetration rates in Europe;
• the focus of FttP is aimed at fulfilling the government’s target of providing a 1Gb/s service to 98% of the population by 2025;
• the methodology to achieve this has rested on regulatory measures supported by public funds, as well as on the auction of spectrum in different bands;
• in the fixed-line broadband segment, the number of DSL subscribers is falling steadily as customers continue to migrate to fiber networks;
• there is also competition from HFC infrastructure, offering fiber-based broadband and investing in services based on the DOCSIS3.1 standard;
• this report assesses key aspects of the Swedish telecom market, providing data on fixed network services and profiling the main players;
• it also reviews the key regulatory issues, including interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability, carrier preselection and NGN open access;
• the report also analyses the mobile market, providing data on network operators and their strategies in a highly competitive environment;
• in addition, the report considers the fixed and fixed-wireless broadband markets, including analyses of market dynamics and the main operators, as well as providing subscriber forecasts (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line is 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular is 125 per 100 (2022)

international:

• country code - 46;
• landing points for Botina, SFL, SFS-4, Baltic Sea Submarine Cable, Eastern Light, Sweden-Latvia, BCS North-Phase1, EE-S1, LV-SE1, BCS East-West Interlink, NordBalt, Baltica, Denmark-Sweden-15,-17,-18, Scandinavian Ring -North,-South, IP-Only Denmark-Sweden, Donica North, Kattegate-1,-2, Energinet Laeso-Varberg and GC2 submarine cables providing links to other Nordic countries and Europe;
• 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) (2019)

• 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:

10,910 km (2020) 8,184 km electrified

narrow gauge:

65 km

total ports:

92 (2024)

large:

3

medium:

10

small:

30

very small:

49

ports with oil terminals:

49

key ports:

Falkenberg, Goteborg, Helsingborg, Karlsborg, Karlshamn, Lulea, Malmo, Norrkoping, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Uddevalla, Varberg, Vasteras

• the SAF's inventory is comprised of domestically produced and imported Western weapons systems, including from Finland, Germany, and the US;
• Sweden has a defense industry that produces a range of air, land, and naval systems, including armored vehicles, combat aircraft, and submarines;
• it also produces weapons systems jointly with other countries (2024)