| The Kingdom of Sweden (Konungariket Sverige) is a country in the Northern Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsula and a member of the European Union since January 1, 1995 and a country, which signed the Schengen agreement. The constitutional monarchy of the Kingdom of Sweden is not a member of NATO. The name of the country originates from the Scandinavian svear-rige — “Realms of the Swedes”. Stockholm is the capital of Sweden.
With a territory of 449 964km², Sweden occupies third place, with respect to area, amongst the Western European countries and fifth in Europe as a whole.
Political structure:
The head of the state is the king. Since Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, the king now has no power. The country is governed by the government headed by the prime minister who is elected by parliament — Riksdag. The parliament is re-elected every four years through general elections.
During previous elections, the Moderate Party garnered a record number of votes — 26.1%, and the block headed by them as a part of four parties — 48.1% votes.
Fredrik Reinfeldt replaced Goran Persson (Social Democratic Party), who was the Prime Minister of Sweden for 10 years.
Administrative division:
Sweden is divided into 21 districts — county (län) and the county Administrative board (länsstyrelse) is head of the county, which is appointed by the government. Local governing bodies – (county councils) or landstings exist in each county, which are elected by the local population. Each county is further divided into municipalities (kommuners), the total number of which constitutes 290 (2008). The historical well-established division of Sweden into provinces and regions also exists.
Geography:
Sweden is located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Scandinavia. Sweden has common borders with Norway in the west, Finland in the Northeast and with Denmark in the Southwest. Sweden is washed by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea. The ridge of Scandinavian mountains in the western part of the country separates Sweden from Norway.
Despite being situated in the northern latitudes, Sweden has temperate climate, basically, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Sweden has taiga forests (pine, spruce, birch and aspen) in the northern parts, mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forests to the south and broad-leaved forests (oak, beech) in the extreme south. The sub-arctic climate dominates in the northern mountainous regions. Part of the country is situated beyond the northern polar circle, where the sun never sets at night during summer and the polar nights (unending) ensues during winters. The waters of Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia soften the climate in the eastern parts.
Average temperatures:
Stockholm: January – 2.8°С; July + 17.2°С
Average duration of daylight in a day:
January: 6 hrs July: 18 hrs
Hydrography
Numerous water sources are available on the territory of Sweden:
* Major lakes:
o Venern;
o Vattern;
o Hjalmaren;
o Malaren
* Rivers
o Kalix alv;
o Skellefte alv
o Ume alv;
o Torne alv
Economy:
The main resources of economy are timber, hydraulic power and iron ore. The economy is focused predominantly on foreign trade.
About 90% of production is done by private companies, such as Ericsson AB, Alfa Laval Group, IKEA and about 50% of them belong to mechanical engineering. Agriculture makes only 2% of GDP.
The drive of the government towards strict financial discipline has led to a budget surplus in 2001 and in 2002 it has decreased two fold due to the global economic recession, reduction in incomes and an increase in expenditure.
The central bank of Sweden (Riksbank) strives to support a stable currency rate and the retention of the inflation level at 2%.
The growth of GDP in 2005 was at 2.7% (in 2004 — 3.7 %). Since 2001, unemployment increased and in March 2005, unemployment stood at 5.5% according to official data.
Communication and transport are the most important components of the general infrastructure of the country.
Nuclear power plants of Sweden:
* Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant;
* Oskarshamn Nuclear Power Plant;
* Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant
Population
Apart from Swedes, more than 17000 Lapps, more than 50 000 radical Finns and also more than 450 000 ethnic Finns, who immigrated to the country during the 20th century and also their descendants live in Sweden.
Before World War I, the Swedish nation was mainly a nation of emigrants. The situation changed after World War II; now, about 12% of the population is born abroad and approximately a fifth of the population are immigrants or their descendants. The maximum number of immigrants in Sweden is from Finland, the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Iran, Norway, Poland and Denmark. The demographic situation reflects the migration between countries of Northern Europe, early periods of labor immigration and the late periods of resettlement by refugees and their families.
The de facto language is Swedish, belonging to group of German languages, related to the Norwegian and Danish languages but differs in pronunciation and orthography.
The average life expectancy in men is 78 years and in women is 82 years.
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This coming Friday is the Official Flag Day in Sweden and is the Namesday of Swedish Queen Silvia.
