| Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige Timeline: Differently | ||||||
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| Anthem: "Du Gamla, Du Fria" Royal anthem: Kungssången |
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 Location of Sweden (green)
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| Capital (and largest city) | Stockholm | |||||
| Official languages | Swedish and Teedish | |||||
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | King | Gustav VI | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Annie Lööf | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Unification | c. 12th century | ||||
| - | Kalmar Union | 1397–1523 | ||||
| - | Swedish Empire | 1611–1809 | ||||
| - | Union between Sweden and Norway | 1814–1905 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 450,295 km2 173,860 sq mi |
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| Population | ||||||
| - | Estimate | 10.3 million (87th) | ||||
| Currency | Krona (SEK) |
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund Strait. At over 450,000 square kilometres, Sweden is the fifth-largest country in Europe and the 58th-largest in the world. The capital city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.3 million, of which 2.5 million have a foreign background, making it the 14th-most populous country in Europe and the 87th in the world. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi) and the highest urban concentration is in the central and southern half of the country.
The climate is in general mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Despite the high latitude, Sweden often has warm continental summers, being located in between the North Atlantic, the Baltic Sea and the vast Eurasian Russian landmass. The general climate and environment varies significantly from the south and north due to the vast latitudinal difference and much of Sweden has reliably cold and snowy winters. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested and includes a portion of the Scandinavian Mountains.
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with Legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. It is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has the world's eleventh-highest per capita income and ranks very highly in quality of life, health, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, equality, gender equality, prosperity and human development. Sweden is a founding member of the League of Nations and was a founding member of the Germanic League until 2022.
History[]
King Gustav V Adolphus of Sweden, the first Hanoverian King
Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats (Swedish Götar) and Swedes (Svear) and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen. An independent Swedish state emerged during the early 12th century. After the Black Death in the middle of the 14th century killed about a third of the Scandinavian population, the Hanseatic League threatened Scandinavia's culture, finances and languages. This led to the forming of the Scandinavian Kalmar Union in 1397, which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years War on the Reformist side, an expansion of its territories began and eventually the Swedish Empire was formed. This became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 19th century, following the loss of its territories outside of Scandinavia in the Russo-Swedish War of 1808-1809.
In 1810, the British-German prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, was elected as Crown Prince of Sweden, beating out Jean Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo. This took place because Charles XIII had no legitimate heir, and a crown prince previously elected in January 1810, Charles August, suddenly had died of a stroke during a military exercise.
In 1922 the last Hannover king died without a male heir. The Swedish Riksdag elected a Danish Glücksburg prince named Andreas, who took the name King Andreas I.
Sweden was part of the Allied Powers during the Great War. In 1940, the country fought briefly alongside Germany in the Polish-German War due to the influence of Hilterism, but ended up leaving the conflict after several significant losses.
Political parties[]
There are four major parties in Sweden.
- Centern: The largest party, holding 150 of the 349 seats.
- Socialdemokraterna: The second-largest party, holding 90 of the 349 seats.
- Moderaterna: The third-largest party in the Riksdag, holding 80 of the 349 seats.
- Monarkistierna: The fourth-largest party, which currently cooperates with the government. It holds the remaining seats.
Sports[]
Association football (soccer) is relatively popular in Sweden. The country is notable for having hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup, which their national team also won.
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