Sweden Overview
| Sweden is bordered by Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, with a long Baltic coast to the east and south. Approximately half the country is forested and most of the many thousands of lakes are situated in the southern central area. The largest lake is Vänern, with an area of 5540 sq km (2140 sq miles). Swedish Lapland to the north is mountainous and extends into the Arctic Circle. |
| 449,964 sq km (173,732 sq miles). |
| Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from Denmark in 1523. Recent history: The Social Democrats had held power for most of the last 70 years until the 2006 general elections when a centre-right coalition headed by Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt won a narrow majority in parliament. Former leader Goran Persson had spent 10 years as prime minister. |
| 8.9 million (UN, 2005). |
| 19.7 per sq km. |
| Swedish. Lapp is spoken by the Sámi population in the north; there are also Finnish-speaking minorities. English is taught as the first foreign language from the age of nine. |
| Around 86 per cent of the population belong to the Church of Sweden (Evangelical Lutheran), which separated from the state in January 2000; other Protestant minorities constitute the majority of the remainder. |
| GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October). |
| Stockholm. Population: 765,044 (2005). |
| 220 volts, three-phase AC, 50Hz. Two-pin continental plugs are used. |