Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sweden Almanac
Official Name:
Konungariket Sverige—the Kingdom of Sweden—or
simply Sweden.
Population:
Sweden's 9.5 million people (about 57 per square mile) are
mostly ethnically Swedish. Foreign-born and first-generation immig-
rants account for about 12 percent of the population and are primar-
ily from Finland, the former Yugoslavia, and the Middle East. Sweden
is also home to about 17,000 indigenous Sami people. Swedish is the
dominantlanguage,withmostspeakingEnglishaswell.Whileimmig-
rants bring their various religions with them, ethnic Swedes who go to
church tend to be Lutheran.
Latitude and Longitude:
62°N and 15°E, similar latitude to Canada's
Northwest Territories.
Area:
174,000 square miles (a little bigger than California).
Geography:
A chain of mountains divides Sweden from Norway on
the Scandinavian Peninsula. Sweden's mostly forested landscape is
flanked to the east by the Baltic Sea, which contributes to the temper-
ate climate. Sweden also encompasses several islands, of which Got-
land and Öland are the largest.
Biggest City:
Sweden's capital city, Stockholm, has a population of
870,000; more than two million live in the metropolitan area.
Economy:
Sweden has a $386 billion Gross Domestic Product and a
per capita GDP of $40,900—similar to Canada's. Manufacturing, tele-
communications, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals rank among its
top industries, along with timber, hydropower, and iron ore. The
Swedish economy emerged from the recent financial crisis as one
of the strongest in Europe, helped by its competitive high-tech busi-
nesses—and by the government's generally conservative fiscal
policies. Eighty percent of Swedish workers belong to a labor union.
Currency:
7 Swedish kronor (kr, officially SEK) = about $1.
