1992 Edition

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

Continental shelf

200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation

Disputes

none

Environment

water pollution; acid rain

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Land area

410,928 km2

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%

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

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

449,964 km2

Birth rate

13 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

11 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

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 (1992)

Labor force

4,552,000 community, social and personal services 38.3%, mining and manufacturing 21.2%, commerce, hotels, and restaurants 14.1%, banking, insurance 9.0%, communications 7.2%, construction 7.0%, agriculture, fishing, and forestry 3.2% (1991)

Languages

Swedish, small Lapp- and Finnish-speaking minorities; immigrants speak native languages

Life expectancy at birth

75 years male, 81 years female (1992)

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

2 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

80% of labor force (1990 est.)

Population

8,602,157 (July 1992), growth rate 0.4% (1992)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 94%, Roman Catholic 1.5%, Pentecostal 1%, other 3.5% (1987)

Total fertility rate

1.9 children born/woman (1992)

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

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)

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; FAX [46] (8) 661-1964

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)

Head of Government

Prime Minister Carl BILDT (since 3 October 1991)

Independence

6 June 1809, constitutional monarchy established

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Hogsta Domstolen)

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 WACHTMEISTER; Left Party (VP; Communist), Lars WERNER; Swedish Communist Party (SKP), Rune PETTERSSON; Communist Workers' Party, Rolf HAGEL; Green Party, no formal leader

Riksdag

last held 15 September 1991 (next to be held NA September 1994); results - Social Democratic Party 37.6%, Moderate Party (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 Party (conservative) 80, Liberal People's Party 33, Center Party 31, Christian Democrats 26, New Democracy 25, Left Party (Communist) 16; note - the Green Party has no seats in the Riksdag because it received less than the required 4% of the vote

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

constitutional monarchy

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 $67.5 billion; expenditures $78.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92 est.)

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 (1991)

Exchange rates

Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1 - 6.0259 (March 1992), 6.0475 (1991) 5.9188 (1990), 6.4469 (1989), 6.1272 (1988), 6.3404 (1987)

Exports

$54.5 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products partners: EC, (FRG, UK, Denmark), US, Norway

External debt

$10.7 billion (November 1991)

Fiscal year

1 July - 30 June

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $147.6 billion, per capita $17,200; real growth rate -1.1% (1991)

Imports

$50.2 billion (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing partners: EC 55.3%, US 8.4% (1990)

Industrial production

growth rate -5.3% (1991)

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)

8.0% (1991)

Overview

new and small business; privatization; liberalizing foreign ownership restrictions; and opening the welfare system to competition and private alternatives, which the government will still finance. Growth is expected to remain flat in 1992, but increase slightly in 1993, while inflation should remain around 3% for the next few years. On the down side, unemployment may climb to slightly over 4% in 1993, and the budget deficit will reach nearly $9 billion in 1992.

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. In the last few years, however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been clouded by inflation, growing absenteeism, and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. The new center-right government, facing a sagging economic situation which is unlikely to improve until 1993, is pushing full steam ahead with economic reform proposals to end Sweden's recession and to prepare for possible EC membership in 1995. The free-market-oriented reforms are designed to spur growth, maintain price stability, lower unemployment, create a more efficient welfare state, and further adapt to EC standards. The measures

include

cutting taxes, particularly the value-added tax (VAT) and levies on

Unemployment rate

2.7% (1991)

Airports

254 total, 252 usable; 139 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 10 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 94 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

186 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,665,902 GRT/3,646,165 DWT; includes 10 short-sea passenger, 29 cargo, 3 container, 43 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 12 vehicle carrier, 2 railcar carrier, 33 petroleum tanker, 28 chemical tanker, 4 specialized tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 7 combination ore/oil, 12 bulk, 1 combination bulk, 1 refrigerated cargo

Pipelines

natural gas 84 km

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; mainly coaxial and multiconductor cables carry long-distance network; parallel microwave network carries primarily radio, TV and some telephone channels; automatic system; broadcast stations - 5 AM, 360 (mostly repeaters) FM, 880 (mostly repeaters) TV; 5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 EUTELSAT

Branches

Swedish Army, Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $6.2 billion, about 4% of GDP (FY91)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 2,129,996; 1,858,944 fit for military service; 57,492 reach military age (19) annually