1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
Coastline
3,218 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than California
Environment
water pollution; acid rain
Land boundaries
2,205 km total; Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km
Land use
arable land 7%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 2%; forest and woodland 64%; other 27%; includes irrigated NEGL%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower potential
Note
strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas
Terrain
mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
Total area
449,964 km2; land area: 410,928 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
13 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
homogeneous white population; small Lappish minority; foreign born or first-generation immigrants (Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks) about 12%
Infant mortality rate
6 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
4,572,000 (October 1990); government services 37.4%, mining, manufacturing, electricity, and water service 23.1%, private services 22.2%, transportation and communications 7%, construction 6.3%, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 3.8%, other 0.2% (1988)
Language
Swedish, small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities; immigrants speak native languages
Life expectancy at birth
75 years male, 81 years female (1991)
Literacy
99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1979 est.)
Nationality
noun--Swede(s); adjective--Swedish
Net migration rate
3 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
80% of labor force (1990 est.)
Population
8,564,317 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
Religion
Evangelical Lutheran 94%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Pentecostal 1%, other 3.5% (1987)
Total fertility rate
1.9 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
24 provinces (lan, singular and plural); Alvsborgs Lan, Blekinge Lan, Gavleborgs Lan, Goteborgs och Bohus Lan, Gotlands Lan, Hallands Lan, Jamtlands Lan, Jonkopings Lan, Kalmar Lan, Kopparbergs Lan, Kristianstads Lan, Kronobergs Lan, Malmohus Lan, Norrbottens Lan, Orebro Lan, Ostergotlands Lan, Skaraborgs Lan, Sodermanlands Lan, Stockholms Lan, Uppsala Lan, Varmlands Lan, Vasterbottens Lan, Vasternorrlands Lan, Vastmanlands Lan
Capital
Stockholm
Communists
VP and SKP; VP, formerly the Left Party-Communists, is reported to have roughly 17,800 members and attracted 5.8% of the vote in the 1988 election; VP dropped the Communist label in 1990, but maintains a Marxist ideology
Constitution
1 January 1975
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Anders THUNBORG; Chancery at Suite 1200, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 944-5600; there are Swedish Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York; US--Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN; Embassy at Strandvagen 101, S-115 89 Stockholm; telephone [46] (8) 783-5300
Elections
Riksdag--last held 15 September 1991 (next to be held September 1994); results--Social Democratic 37.6%, Moderate (conservative) 21.9%, Liberal People's Party 9.1%, Center Party 8.5%, Christian Democrats 7.1%, New Democracy 6.7%, Left Party (Communist) 4.5%, Green Party 3.4%, other 1.2%; seats--(349 total) Social Democratic 138, Moderate (conservative) 80, Liberal People's Party 33, Center Party 31, Christian Democrats 26, New Democracy 25, Left Party (Communist) 16; note: the Green Party leaves the Riksdag because it received less than the required 4% of the vote
Executive branch
monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
Flag
blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)
Independence
6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen)
Leaders
Chief of State--King CARL XVI Gustaf (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the King (born 14 July 1977); Head of Government--Prime Minister Carl BILDT (since 3 October 1991)
Legal system
civil law system influenced by customary law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch
unicameral Parliament (Riksdag)
Long-form name
Kingdom of Sweden
Member of
AfDB, AG (observer) AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-6, G-8, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL, INTELSAT, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
National holiday
Day of the Swedish Flag, 6 June
Political parties and leaders
ruling four-party coalition consists of the Moderate Party (conservative), Carl BILDT; Liberal People's Party, Bengt WESTERBERG; Center Party, Olof JOHANSSON; and the Christian Democratic Party, Alf SVENSSON; Social Democratic Party, Ingvar CARLSSON; New Democracy Party, Count Ian WACHMEISTER; Left Party (VP; Communist), Lars WERNER; Swedish Communist Party (SKP), Rune PETTERSSON; Communist Workers' Party, Rolf HAGEL; Green Party, no formal leader
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
constitutional monarchy
Economy
Agriculture
animal husbandry predominates, with milk and dairy products accounting for 37% of farm income; main crops--grains, sugar beets, potatoes; 100% self-sufficient in grains and potatoes, 85% self-sufficient in sugar beets
Budget
revenues $60.1 billion; expenditures $56.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY89)
Currency
Swedish krona (plural--kronor); 1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 ore
Economic aid
donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.3 billion
Electricity
39,716,000 kW capacity; 142,000 million kWh produced, 16,700 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1--5.6402 (January 1991), 5.9188 (1990), 6.4469 (1989), 6.1272 (1988), 6.3404 (1987), 7.1236 (1986), 8.6039 (1985)
Exports
$57.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products; partners--EC 54.4%, (FRG 14.2%, UK 10.1%, Denmark 6.6%), US 8.6%, Norway 8.2%
External debt
$14.1 billion (December 1990)
Fiscal year
1 July-30 June
GDP
$137.8 billion, per capita $16,200; real growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Imports
$54.7 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing; partners--EC 55.3%, US 8.4%
Industrial production
growth rate - 2.0% (1990)
Industries
iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
10.9% (1990)
Overview
Aided by a long period of peace and neutrality during World War I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has essentially full employment, a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy that is heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. For some observers, the Swedish model has succeeded in making economic efficiency and social egalitarianism complementary, rather than competitive, goals. Others argue that the Swedish model is on the verge of collapsing by pointing to the serious economic problems Sweden faces in 1991: high inflation and absenteeism, growing unemployment and deficits, and declining international competitiveness. In 1990, to improve the economy, the government approved a mandate for Sweden to seek EC membership and an austerity and privatization package and implemented a major tax reform. These reforms may succeed in turning the economy around in 1992.
Unemployment rate
1.6% (1990)
Communications
Airports
256 total, 254 usable; 137 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 92 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
115 major transports
Highways
97,400 km (51,899 km paved, 20,659 km gravel, 24,842 km unimproved earth)
Inland waterways
2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges
Merchant marine
182 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,226,923 GRT/2,879,057 DWT; includes 9 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 3 container, 45 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 2 railcar carrier, 28 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 27 chemical tanker, 6 specialized tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 8 combination ore/oil, 12 bulk, 1 combination bulk
Pipelines
84 km natural gas
Ports
Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Kalmar, Malmo, Stockholm; numerous secondary and minor ports
Railroads
12,000 km total; Swedish State Railways (SJ)--10,819 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 6,955 km electrified and 1,152 km double track; 182 km 0.891-meter gauge; 117 km rail ferry service; privately owned railways--511 km 1.435-meter standard gauge (332 km electrified); 371 km 0.891-meter gauge (all electrified)
Telecommunications
excellent domestic and international facilities; 8,200,000 telephones; stations--4 AM, 56 (321 relays) FM, 111 (925 relays) TV; 5 submarine coaxial cables; communication satellite earth stations operating in the INTELSAT (1 Atlantic Ocean) and EUTELSAT systems
Military and Security
Branches
Swedish Army, Royal Swedish Navy, Royal Swedish Air Force
Defense expenditures
$4.9 billion, 2.5% of GDP (FY90) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 2,136,227; 1,865,645 fit for military service; 55,198 reach military age (19) annually