{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
A military power during the 17th century, Sweden maintained a policy of military non-alignment until it applied to join NATO in May 2022. Stockholm preserved and armed neutrality in both World Wars. Since then, Sweden has pursued a successful economic formula consisting of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum. The share of Sweden’s population born abroad increased from 11.3% in 2000 to 20% in 2021.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "62 00 N, 15 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Europe" }, "Area": { "total": { "text": "450,295 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "410,335 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "39,960 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "almost three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "2,211 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Finland 545 km; Norway 1,666 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "3,218 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)" }, "exclusive economic zone": { "text": "agreed boundaries or midlines" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north" }, "Terrain": { "text": "mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Kebnekaise South 2,100 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "320 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "7.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 6.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 1.1% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "68.7% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "23.8% (2018 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "519 sq km (2013)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Vanern - 5,580 sq km; Vattern - 1,910 sq km; Malaren - 1,140 sq km" } }, "Population distribution": { "text": "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" }, "Natural hazards": { "text": "ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic" }, "Geography - note": { "text": "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" } }, "People and Society": { "Population": { "text": "10,536,338 (2023 est.)" }, "Nationality": { "noun": { "text": "Swede(s)" }, "adjective": { "text": "Swedish" } }, "Ethnic groups": { "text": "
Swedish 80.3%, Syrian 1.9%, Iraqi 1.4%, Finnish 1.4%, other 15%
(2020 est.)", "note": "note: data represent the population by country of birth; the indigenous Sami people are estimated to number between 20,000 and 40,000" }, "Languages": { "Languages": { "text": "Swedish (official)" }, "major-language sample(s)": { "text": "Sweden, the largest Nordic country in terms of size and population, is also Europe’s most sparsely populated. Most Swedish men and women agree that both partners should contribute to household income. Swedish society is very gender equal, which is reflected in the country’s public policies. A generous leave policy and high-quality subsidized childcare allows mothers and fathers to balance work and family life. Sweden’s income-replacement-based parental leave policy encourages women to establish themselves in the workforce before having children. In fact, Swedish women have one of the highest labor participation rates in Europe and one of its highest total fertility rates (TFR), the number of children women have in their lifetime. Postponement of parenthood has increased steadily. Since the late 1960s, marriage and divorce rates have declined, while non-marital cohabitation and births out of wedlock have increased rapidly. Sweden’s TFR has hovered for decades around 2, which is close to replacement level and among Europe’s highest.
Sweden experienced “the great emigration” between 1850 and the 1930s when, faced with famines, approximately 1.5 million Swedes sought a better life in the Americas and Australia. However, since World War II, Sweden has been a country of immigration. During World War II, thousands of refugees from neighboring countries worked in Swedish factories, agriculture, and forestry, replacing Swedish men who were called up for military service. During the 1950s and 1960s, Sweden joined the Geneva Convention and granted permanent residence to refugees from the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. During this period, Sweden also welcomed labor migrants, mainly from Finland and other Nordic countries, who bolstered the tax base needed to fund the country’s welfare programs.
Until 1971, labor migrants, particularly from Finland, southern Europe (including then Yugoslavia, Italy, and Greece) the Baltics, and Turkey, came to Sweden as its industries flourished. Companies recruited many of the workers, but others came on their own. Sweden’s labor demand eventually decreased, and the job market became saturated. The government restricted the flow of labor migrants, putting an end to labor migration from non-Nordic countries in 1972. From then until the 1990s, inflows consisted largely of asylum seekers from the Middle East, the Balkans, and South America, as well as persons looking to reunite with family members already in Sweden. The country began a new era of labor immigration in 2008, as companies were encouraged to hire non-EU workers. Among the largest source countries have been India, Thailand, and China. As of 2020, over a quarter of Sweden’s population had a migrant background.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "17.26% (male 936,274/female 882,347)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "62.05% (male 3,346,891/female 3,190,608)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "20.69% (2023 est.) (male 1,021,707/female 1,158,511)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "60.8" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "28.5" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "32.3" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "3.1 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "41.1 years" }, "male": { "text": "40.1 years" }, "female": { "text": "42.1 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.51% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "10.76 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "9.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "3.79 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "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" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88.7% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.700 million STOCKHOLM (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.06 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.06 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.88 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "29.7 years (2020 est.)" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "2.28 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "2.5 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "2.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "82.8 years" }, "male": { "text": "81.05 years" }, "female": { "text": "84.66 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.67 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.81 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "70.3% (2017)", "note": "note: percent of women aged 16-49" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 99.8% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 99.7% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 99.8% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0.2% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0.3% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "11.4% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "7.09 physicians/1,000 population (2019)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "2.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "20.6% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "7.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "2.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "3.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "24% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "29.8% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "18.2% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "NA" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "53.4% (2023 est.)" }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "7.2% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "total population": { "text": "NA" }, "male": { "text": "NA" }, "female": { "text": "NA" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "20 years" }, "male": { "text": "18 years" }, "female": { "text": "21 years (2020)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "24.5%" }, "male": { "text": "26.1%" }, "female": { "text": "23% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "marine pollution (Baltic Sea and North Sea); acid rain damage to soils and lakes; air pollution; inappropriate timber harvesting practices
" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Climate": { "text": "temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "7.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 6.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 1.1% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "68.7% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "23.8% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "88.7% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.21% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "5.89 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "43.25 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "4.42 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "4.377 million tons (2015 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "1,416,835 tons (2015 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "32.4% (2015 est.)" } }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Vanern - 5,580 sq km; Vattern - 1,910 sq km; Malaren - 1,140 sq km" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "700 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "1.27 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "100 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "174 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Kingdom of Sweden" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Sweden" }, "local long form": { "text": "Konungariket Sverige" }, "local short form": { "text": "Sverige" }, "etymology": { "text": "name ultimately derives from the North Germanic Svear tribe, which inhabited central Sweden and is first mentioned in the first centuries A.D." } }, "Government type": { "text": "parliamentary constitutional monarchy" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Stockholm" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "59 20 N, 18 03 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October" }, "etymology": { "text": "stock and holm literally mean \"log\" and \"islet\" in Swedish, but there is no consensus as to what the words refer to" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarna, Gavleborg, Gotland, Halland, Jamtland, Jonkoping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Orebro, Ostergotland, Skane, Sodermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Varmland, Vasterbotten, Vasternorrland, Vastmanland, Vastra Gotaland" }, "Independence": { "text": "6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden, marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)" }, "National holiday": { "text": "National Day, 6 June (1983); note - from 1916 to 1982 this date was celebrated as Swedish Flag Day" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "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": { "text": "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" } }, "Legal system": { "text": "civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and customary law" }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction" }, "Citizenship": { "citizenship by birth": { "text": "no" }, "citizenship by descent only": { "text": "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": { "text": "no, unless the other citizenship was acquired involuntarily" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "5 years" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 15 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree (daughter of the monarch, born 14 July 1977)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Ulf KRISTERSSON (since 18 October 2022); Deputy Prime Minister Ebba BUSCH (since 18 October 2022)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Cabinet appointed by the prime minister" }, "elections/appointments": { "text": "the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister" } }, "Legislative branch": { "description": { "text": "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": { "text": "last held on 11 September 2022" }, "election results": { "text": "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%" } }, "Judicial branch": { "highest court(s)": { "text": "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": { "text": "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": { "text": "first instance, appellate, general, and administrative courts; specialized courts that handle cases such as land and environment, immigration, labor, markets, and patents" } }, "Political parties and leaders": { "text": "Center Party (Centerpartiet) or C [Muharrem DEMIROK]none identified
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "113,213 (Syria), 26,857 (Afghanistan), 25,849 (Eritrea), 10,464 (Iraq), 9,315 (Somalia), 7,146 (Iran) (mid-year 2022); 56,165 (Ukraine) (as of 6 June 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "46,515 (2022); note - the majority of stateless people are from the Middle East and Somalia" } } } }