+46 is the dialing code for Sweden.
Sweden is one of Europe’s largest countries to the surface and consists mostly of forests, mountains and lakes. Forests, hydropower and iron ore formed the basis of prosperity as a plant with high technology and biochemical industry. In the second half of the 20th century, an advanced welfare system was built. When it comes to access to education, longevity and standard of living, Sweden is today among the ten highest ranked countries in the world.
- Abbreviationfinder: Brief profiles of Sweden, including geography, history, politics, economics as well as common acronyms about this country.
Geography and climate
Sweden is located on the northern outskirts of Europe and, on the surface, is one of the continent’s largest countries. It has long coasts to the east and southwest. Two thirds of the area is covered by forest. Almost a tenth of the country is occupied by about 100,000 lakes.
The distance from Treriksröset in the north to Skåne’s southern tip is almost 160 km, which corresponds to the Malmö-Rome section. The Arctic Circle, which forms the boundary for the midnight sun, cuts through Sweden’s northernmost part.
Conifers dominate except the furthest south. Almost a quarter of the country consists of mountains, mountains and marshes. The arable land accounts for only about seven percent of the actual land area. Off the coasts are archipelagos with tens of thousands of islands. The largest islands are Gotland and Öland, located in the Baltic Sea.
The Scandinavian mountain range along most of the border with Norway has some peaks over 1,500 meters. From the mountains several rivers (rivers) flow southeast to the Gulf of Bothnia and the Bothnian Sea. South of the mountains are some of the country’s largest lakes. The lake that gets its water from the Klar River is Western Europe’s largest lake. In southern Sweden there is a high plateau, the Småland highlands, while more fertile plains are north of the highlands and furthest to the south.
Country Facts
Geography
| Cultivated land | 7.5 % |
| Land area | 450295 km 2 |
Population and health
| Population development | 0.8 ‰ |
| Urban population (Urbanization) | 85.8 % |
| Death rate | 9.4 per 1000 residents |
| Life expectancy: Women | 83.99 years |
| Life expectancy: Men | 80.09 years |
| Birth rate | 11.99 births per 1000 residents |
| HDI index | 0.907 |
| Population | 9801616 |
| Infant mortality | 2.6 deaths / 1000 births |
Population Graph Source: Countryaah.com
Energy
| Electricity, production | 161000 million kWh |
| Energy consumption per resident | 5001.4 kg. oil per resident |
| Natural gas, production | million cubic meters |
| Crude oil, production | million tons |
Infrastructure
| Internet users | 89.1 per 100 residents |
| Mobile subscriptions | 127 per 100 residents |
| Passenger cars | 520 per 1000 residents |
Business and economics
| Unemployment | 7.4% of the workforce |
| GDP | 47900 per resident |
| Primary occupations | 1.1 % |
| Secondary profession | 28.2 % |
| Tertiary professions | 70.7 % |
The climate varies greatly between different parts of the country. But thanks to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, the Swedish climate is generally much milder than in many other places on the corresponding northern latitudes.
In the north, winter is long, cold and rich in snow, while summer can be pleasantly warm. Large parts of southern Sweden have a milder, more maritime climate, sometimes with winters without much snow.
FACTS – GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
Surface
450 295 km2 (2018)
Time
Swedish
Adjacent country (s)
Norway, Finland
Capital with number of residents
Stockholm 974 000
Other major cities
Gothenburg 579,000, Malmö 344,000, Uppsala 231,000 (2019)
Highest mountain
Kebnekaise (2,097 m asl) 1
Important rivers
Klarälven-Göta river, Dalälven, Torne river
Largest lake
Vänern
Average Precipitation / month
Stockholm 27 mm (Feb), 72 mm (July)
Average / day
Stockholm -3 °C (Feb), 17 °C (July)
- refers to Nordtoppen, the top glacier at Sydtoppen is usually higher but variesSources
2017
December
The government proposes a kind of consent
December 17
Prime Minister Löfven, in his Christmas speech, presents a government proposal on tougher sexual legislation. Above all, the government wants to introduce a so-called consent form, which means that it can be punishable to have sex with someone who is not explicitly involved in it. The scale of punishment also sharpened for several sex offenses. A kind of consent has been discussed for a long time, but the proposal is given special weight in view of the so-called metoo movement, which has had a major impact in Sweden during the autumn. The movement started in the United States as a result of a well-known Hollywood director accused of serious sex offenses. In Sweden, the movement has expressed its call for testimonies from one industry after another: actors, musicians, journalists, lawyers, doctors, athletes, students and employees in the construction industry. In total, tens of thousands of women have signed the petition.
Pension settlement completed
December 14
The government and the alliance parties agree on changes to the pension system. The minimum age for taking out public pensions should be gradually increased from age 61 to 64 by 2026. The right to keep a job is extended from age 67 to 69. In addition, changes to the premium pension system are expected to lead to a sharp reduction in the number of funds.
November
Government settlement on unanimous agreement
November 27th
S and MP reach an agreement that could mean that many unaccompanied young people who came during the big wave of refugees in 2015 will be allowed to stay in Sweden, if they study in high school and then find work. The issue is about unanimous people, mainly from Afghanistan, who have been delayed due to long processing times. The issue is loaded and it has been speculated that it could crack the government. Parliament must approve the settlement for it to take effect.
October
Relations with Turkey are strained by charges against Gharavi
October 9
For the third time, Sweden is calling on Turkey’s ambassador to the country for talks on Swedish citizen Ali Gharavi, who is charged in Turkey with “supporting a terrorist group”. Gharavi, an IT consultant and author, was arrested in July along with other human rights activists in connection with a peaceful workshop. At the end of October, Gharavi and seven others who were detained are released, and they are allowed to leave Turkey. However, the trial is to be resumed and the defendants risk being sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Neo-Nazi march in Gothenburg will be violent
October 1st
The Nazi Party Nordic Resistance Movement (NMR) is conducting a much-debated demonstration in Gothenburg. The demonstration, which gathers hundreds of sympathizers, arouses strong feelings as the neo-Nazis were allowed to march relatively close to the city’s synagogue. Many counter-protesters also gather in the streets. Violent confrontations occur between the police and NMR protesters when a group tries to break out and deviate from the march route allowed by the police. Dozens of people are arrested, including the neo-Nazi party leader Simon Lindberg. Counter-protesters are also arrested.
New M-conductor selected
October 1st
The moderates elect Ulf Kristersson as new party leader. The choice made at an extraordinary meeting is unanimous; there are no counter candidates. Kristersson was Minister of Social Security 2010–2014 and has been a political-economic spokesman since the election.
September
Telia pays huge fines
September 21
Swedish telecom company Telia has to pay close to a billion dollars in fines in a settlement with US, Swedish and Dutch authorities about serious bribery in Uzbekistan. The company pays the fine for building a profitable telecom business in Uzbekistan with the help of bribes. The bribes have been paid out worldwide through accounts in New York. Telia and its Uzbek subsidiary Coscom have admitted that over several years they paid over $ 331 million in bribes to an Uzbek civil servant in exchange for mobile phone licenses in the Central Asian country as well as shares in the Uzbek telecom company Ucell.
August
The M-conductor leaves
August 25th
Since half of the Moderate Party District (11 of 22) has demanded Anna Kinberg Batra’s departure, she announces that she is leaving her post. Her confidence figures have long been low. At an extra party meeting, the party shall appoint a new leader.
July
The government is being reformed
July 27
In response to the opposition’s play the day before, Löfven reforms his government. Ygeman is reported to have resigned at his own request and now becomes a group leader in parliament. Morgan Johansson takes over the post of Minister of the Interior, but also remains Minister of Justice. New Minister of Infrastructure after Anna Johansson becomes Tomas Eneroth. Peter Hultqvist remains as Minister of Defense. When a vote of no confidence is eventually held against him, in September, C and L have changed his mind and Hultqvist remains.
Statement of confidence is requested against three ministers
July 26
The IT leak in the Swedish Transport Agency has led the bourgeois party leaders to instigate a declaration of confidence against Minister of the Interior Anders Ygeman, Minister of Defense Peter Hultqvist and Minister of Infrastructure Anna Johansson. Opposition leaders also demand that the Speaker extraordinarily convene Parliament. The three ministers have received strong criticism for their handling of the IT scandal. Ygeman and Hultqvist are criticized for not passing on information about the leak to Anna Johansson and Prime Minister Löfven, which they received in 2016. Johansson has said that she did not receive the information from her former secretary of state Erik Bromander.
Löfven calls IT scandal “failure”
23 July
Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said in a comment on a security leak that occurred at the Swedish Transport Agency that the authority’s management has been replaced and that further measures are being taken to reduce damage. The criticism against the government is growing since it was revealed that the Swedish Transport Agency has outsourced its computer operation, which has resulted in sensitive material leaked abroad. The computer company IBM got the assignment in 2015 and let sub-companies overseas manage it. Säpo sounded alarm but it was ignored and then Director General Maria Ågren enforced the decision in violation of several laws. The result was that the entire driver’s license register, as well as secretly stamped material on protected identities and crime suspicions, became available to personnel who were not security checked. The branch was dismissed in January 2017, but the cause became known only in early July,
June
SD politician Ekeroth convicted of minor abuse
June 28
Stockholm District Court sentenced Kent Ekeroth (SD) to SEK 38,400 in fines for minor abuse. Ekeroth is convicted of striking a man in connection with a fight in a queue for a nightclub in Stockholm on November 24, 2016.
Swedish Johan Gustafsson released in Mali
June 26
Swede Johan Gustafsson, who was captured by al-Qaeda in Maghreb (Aqim) in 2011, has been released. This is announced by the Swedish government. Gustafsson has flown home to Sweden and feels relatively well.
Protest against Russian fighter aircraft
21 June
The government requests that Russia’s ambassador to the Foreign Ministry appear after a Russian fighter aircraft has flown dangerously close to a Swedish signal stress plane. The incident occurred in international airspace over the Baltic Sea on June 19. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist calls Russian action “unprofessional” and “unacceptable”. In July 2014, a Russian hunting plane also flew near a signal voltage plan, and in December the same year, both Sweden and Denmark protested since a Russian signal voltage plan flew near an SAS plane.
May
ID checks at the border are abolished
May 2
The Government announces that the ID checks at the Öresund Bridge introduced in January 2016 are now being abolished. At the same time, the border checks carried out by the Swedish police must be tightened.
April
Terrorist act in Stockholm
April 7
Four people are killed when a man cuts a truck and drives at high speed on Drottninggatan in Stockholm, straight into the Åhléns department store. The suspected perpetrator, an Uzbek who has been refused a residence permit application, is arrested later that day in a suburb. A fifth person dies a few weeks later from injuries from the suspected terrorist attack.
March
Afghanistan efforts are criticized
March 2
When the results of a government inquiry into Sweden’s efforts in Afghanistan in 2002–2014 are presented, the conclusion is disappointing. The goals of reducing poverty and increasing security and democracy have hardly been achieved. The effort cost up to SEK 27.5 billion. Today, there are only about 50 Swedes in Afghanistan, with the main task of being an adviser to the domestic security forces. The study found that 8,000 Swedes served in the country. Six have been killed and 31 injured.
The military duty is reactivated
March 2
The government decides that military service will again apply from 2018 (see also July 2010). As early as the end of the second half of the year, 13,000 people will be called for patrolling (of around 100,000 in the current year). Of these, 4,000 will be taken for basic education. The decision is justified by the fact that the security policy situation in the immediate area has deteriorated and that the Armed Forces does not succeed in recruiting sufficiently on a voluntary basis. Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist points to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, aggression in Ukraine and “exercise activities” in the immediate area as reasons for strengthening the defense.
February
Trump’s statement about Sweden stirs up emotions
February 17th
A statement from the US recently acceded to President Donald Trump about an event “last night” in Sweden – suggesting terrorist acts or violent crimes by immigrants – raises many comments. Former Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt tweeted a wonder at what Trump has smoked and many are reproducing images of a quiet country. When a riot a few days later occurs in an immigrant-tight neighborhood, Trump’s supporters get water on his mill. SD leaders Jimmie Åkesson and Mattias Karlsson write in the prestigious US newspaper Wall Street Journal that Trump is right in his image of Sweden, prompting Justice Minister Morgan Johansson to protest “lies” and King Carl Gustaf appeals in a newspaper interview on objective reporting in media.
January
M opens to fold government
January 19
Moderate leader Anna Kinberg Batra says in a complete reversal that the alliance parties should submit a joint budget motion and accept support from the Sweden Democrats, and thus be able to fold the government a year before the next election. However, both the Center and the Liberals reject the proposal.
No quota in boards
January 12
The government is forced to give up an attempt to legislate on quotas for women on corporate boards. According to the proposal, which was launched in autumn 2016, companies would be forced to pay a penalty if the proportion of women – or men – on a board of directors was less than 40 percent. However, the opposition votes down the proposal.