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Sweden had had five parties who continually received enough votes to gain seats in the Riksdag—the Social Democrats, the Moderate Party, the Centre Party, the Liberal People's Party and the Left Party—before the Green Party became the sixth party in the election In the election, while the Greens lost their seats, two new parties gained seats for the first time the Christian Democrats and New Democracy The election saw the return of the Greens and the demise of New Democracy It was not until elections in that an eight party, the Sweden Democrats, gained Riksdag seats In the elections to the European Parliament, parties who have failed to pass the Riksdag threshold have managed to gain representation at that venue the June List – , the Pirate Party – , and Feminist Initiative present The party leaders lined up before the start of the televised live debate on September In the general election the Moderate Party formed the centre right Alliance for Sweden bloc and won a majority of the Riksdag seats In the general election the Alliance contended against a unified left block consisting of the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party The Alliance won a plurality of seats, but remained two seats short of a seat majority Nevertheless, neither the Alliance, nor the left block, chose to form a coalition with the Sweden Democrats The outcome of the general election resulted in the attainment of more seats by the three centre left parties in comparison to the centre right Alliance for Sweden, with the two blocs receiving and seats respectively The non aligned Sweden Democrats more than doubled their support and won the remaining seats On October , Stefan Löfven, formed a minority government consisting of the Social Democrats and the Greens Election turnout in Sweden has always been high by international comparison Although it declined in recent decades, the latest elections saw an increase in voter turnout % in , % in , % in and in Swedish politicians enjoyed a high degree of confidence from the citizens in the s, However, that level of confidence has since declined steadily, and is now at a markedly lower level than in its Scandinavian neighbours Administrative divisions Main articles Counties of Sweden and Municipalities of Sweden Municipal divisions of Sweden Sweden is a unitary state divided into county councils landsting and municipalities kommuner Every county council corresponds to a county län with a number of municipalities per county with the exception of Gotland County councils and municipalities have different roles and separate responsibilities relating to local government Health care, public transport and certain cultural institutions are administered by county councils Preschools, primary and secondary schooling, public water utilities, garbage disposal, elderly care and rescue services are administered by the municipalities The only exception is
Gotland Municipality which also has the responsibilities of a county council Municipal and county council government in Sweden is similar to city commission and cabinet style council government Both levels have legislative assemblies municipal councils and county council assemblies of between and members always an uneven number that are elecgted from party list proportional representation at the general election which are held every four years in conjunction with the national parliamentary elections Municipalities are also divided into a total of , parishes församlingar These have no official political responsibilities but are traditional subdivisions of the Church of Sweden and still have some importance as census districts for census taking and elections The Swedish government has County Administrative Boards Swedish länsstyrelser which are responsible for regional state administration not assigned to other government agencies or local government It is led by County Governors Swedish landshövding appointed for a term of six years and the list of previous officeholders, in most cases, stretches back to when the counties were created by Lord High Chancellor Count Axel Oxenstierna The main responsibility of the County Administrative Board is to co ordinate the development of the county in line with goals set by the Riksdag and Government There are older historical divisions, primarily the twenty five provinces and three lands, which still retain cultural significance Further information Subdivisions of Sweden and National Areas of Sweden Political history Kingdoms of Svear Sweonas and Götar Geats in the th century, with modern borders in grey The actual age of the kingdom of Sweden is unknown It depends mostly on whether Sweden should be considered a nation when the Svear Sweonas ruled Svealand or if the emergence of the nation started with the Svear and the Götar Geats of Götaland being united under one ruler In the first case, Sweden was first mentioned as having one single ruler in the year by Tacitus, but it is almost impossible to know for how long it had been this way However, historians usually start the line of Swedish monarchs from when Svealand and Götaland were ruled under the same king, namely Eric the Victorious Geat and his son Olof Skötkonung in the th century These events are often described as the consolidation of Sweden, although substantial areas were conquered and incorporated later Earlier kings, for which no reliable historical sources exist, can be read about in mythical kings of Sweden and semi legendary kings of Sweden Many of these kings are only mentioned in various saga and blend with Norse mythology The title Sveriges och Götes Konung was last used for Gustaf I of Sweden, after which the title became King of Sweden, of the Goths and of the Wends Sveriges, Götes och Vendes Konung in official documentation Up until the beginning of the s, all laws in Sweden were introduced with the words, We, the king of Sweden, of the Goths and Wends This title was used up until The present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, was the first monarch officially proclaimed King of Sweden Sveriges Konung with no additional peoples mentioned in his title The term riksdag was used for the first time in the s, although the first meeting where representatives of different social groups were called to discuss and determine affairs affecting the country as a whole took place as early as , in the town of Arboga During the Riksdag assemblies of and , under King Gustav Vasa, representatives of all four estates of the realm clergy, nobility, townsmen and peasants were called on to participate for the first time The monarchy became hereditary in Executive power was historically shared between the King and an aristocratic Privy council until , followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the commoner estates of the Riksdag As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in , followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in , and , the latter granting several civil liberties In Sweden became a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament, with the First Chamber indirectly elected by local governments, and the Second Chamber directly elected in national elections every four years In the parliament became unicameral Legislative power was symbolically shared between the King and the Riksdag until Swedish taxation is controlled by the Riksdag Sweden has a history of strong political involvement by ordinary people through its popular movements Folkrörelser , the most notable being trade unions, the independent Christian movement, the temperance movement, the women's movement and more recently the intellectual property pirate movements Sweden was the first country in the world to outlaw corporal punishment of children by their parents parents' right to spank their own children was first removed in , and it was explicitly prohibited by law from July Sweden is currently leading the EU in statistics measuring equality in the political system and equality in the education system The Global Gender Gap Report ranked Sweden as the number one country in terms of gender equality Some Swedish political figures have become known worldwide, among these are Raoul Wallenberg, Folke Bernadotte, the former Secretary General of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld, the former Prime Minister Olof Palme, the former Prime Minister and later Foreign minister Carl Bildt, the former President of the General Assembly of the United Nations Jan Eliasson, and the former International Atomic Energy Agency Iraq inspector Hans Blix Judicial system Main article Judiciary of Sweden The courts are divided into two parallel and separate systems The general courts allmänna domstolar for criminal and civil cases, and general administrative courts allmänna förvaltningsdomstolar for cases relating to disputes between private persons and the authorities Each of these systems has three tiers, where the top tier court of the respective system typically only will hear cases that may become precedent There are also a number of special courts, which will hear a narrower set of cases, as set down by legislation While independent in their rulings, some of these courts are operated as divisions within courts of the general or general administrative courts Bonde Palace in Stockholm, seat of the Supreme Court of Sweden The Supreme Court of Sweden Swedish Högsta domstolen is the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in Sweden Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal must be obtained, and with few exceptions, leave to appeal can be granted only when the case is of interest as a precedent The Supreme Court consists of Justices Swedish justitieråd , appointed by the Government, but the court as an institution is independent of the Riksdag, and the Government is not able to interfere with the decisions of the court According to a victimisation survey of , residents in , Sweden has above average crime rates compared to other EU countries Sweden has high or above average levels of assaults, sexual assaults, hate crimes, and consumer fraud Sweden has low levels of burglary, car theft and drug problems Bribe seeking is rare A mid November news report announced that four prisons in Sweden were closed during the year due to a significant drop in the number of inmates The decrease in the number of Swedish prisoners was considered out of the ordinary by the head of Sweden's prison and probation services, with prison numbers in Sweden falling by around % a year since Prisons were closed in the towns of Åby, Håja, Båtshagen, and Kristianstad Foreign relations Main article Foreign relations of Sweden The EU parliament in Brussels Sweden is one of member states of the European Union Throughout the th century, Swedish foreign policy was based on the principle of non alignment in peacetime and neutrality in wartime Sweden's government pursued an independent course of nonalignment in times of peace so that neutrality would be possible in the event of war Sweden's doctrine of neutrality is often traced back to the th century as the country has not been in a state of war since the end of the Swedish campaign against Norway in During World War II Sweden joined neither the allied nor axis powers This has sometimes been disputed since in effect Sweden allowed in select cases the Nazi regime to use its railroad system to transport troops and goods, especially iron ore from mines in northern Sweden, which was vital to the German war machine However, Sweden also indirectly contributed to the defence of Finland in the Winter War, and permitted the training of Norwegian and Danish troops in Sweden after Development aid measured in GNI in Source OECD As a percentage Sweden is the largest donor During the early Cold War era, Sweden combined its policy of non alignment and a low profile in international affairs with a security policy based on strong national defence The function of the Swedish military was to deter attack At the same time, the country maintained relatively close informal connections with the Western bloc, especially in the realm of intelligence exchange In , a Swedish DC was shot down over the Baltic Sea by a Soviet MiG jet fighter Later investigations revealed that the plane was actually gathering information for NATO Another plane, a Catalina search and rescue plane, was sent out a few days later and shot down by the Soviets as well Prime Minister Olof Palme made an official visit to Cuba during the s, during which he denounced Fulgencio Batista's government and praised contemporary Cuban and Cambodian revolutionaries in a speech Beginning in the late s, Sweden attempted to play a more significant and independent role in international relations It involved itself significantly in international peace efforts, especially through the United Nations, and in support to the Third World On October , a Whiskey class submarine U from the Soviet Union ran aground close to the naval base at Karlskrona in the southern part of the country Research has never clearly established whether the submarine ended up on the shoals through a navigational mistake or if an enemy committed espionage against Swedish military potential The incident triggered a diplomatic crisis between Sweden and the Soviet Union The assassination of Olof Palme and with the end of the Cold War, Sweden has adopted a more traditional foreign policy approach Nevertheless, the country remains active in peace keeping missions and maintains a considerable foreign aid budget Since Sweden has been a member of the European Union, and as a consequence of a new world security situation the country's foreign policy doctrine has been partly modified, with Sweden playing a more active role in European security co operation Military Main articles Swedish Armed Forces and Law enforcement in Sweden The JAS Gripen is an advanced Swedish multi role fighter aircraft of the Swedish Air Force The law is enforced in Sweden by several government entities The Swedish police is a Government agency concerned with police matters The National Task Force is a national SWAT unit within the Police Service The Swedish Security Service's responsibilities are counter espionage, anti terrorist activities, protection of the constitution and protection of sensitive objects and people Försvarsmakten Swedish Armed Forces is a government agency reporting to the Swedish Ministry of Defence and responsible for the peacetime operation of the armed forces of Sweden The primary task of the agency is to train and deploy peace support forces abroad, while maintaining the long term ability to refocus on the defence of Sweden in the event of war The armed forces are divided into Army, Air Force and Navy The head of the armed forces is the Supreme Commander Överbefälhavaren, ÖB , the most senior commissioned officer in the country Up to the King was pro forma Commander in Chief, but in reality it was clearly understood all through the th century that the Monarch would have no active role as a military leader The Infantry fighting vehicle Strf , which is produced and used by Sweden Until the end of the Cold War, nearly all males reaching the age of military service were conscripted In recent years, the number of conscripted males has shrunk dramatically, while the number of female volunteers has increased slightly Recruitment has generally shifted towards finding the most motivated recruits, rather than solely those otherwise most fit for service All soldiers serving abroad must by law be volunteers In the total number of conscripts was , By it was down to , On July Sweden stopped routine conscription, switching to an all volunteer force unless otherwise required for defence readiness The need to recruit only the soldiers later prepared to volunteer for international service will be emphasised The total forces gathered would consist of about , men This could be compared with the s before the fall of the Soviet Union, when Sweden could gather up to , , men Swedish units have taken part in peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Liberia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Chad Currently, one of the most important tasks for the Swedish Armed Forces has been to form a Swedish led EU Battle Group to which Norway, Finland, Ireland and Estonia will also contribute The Nordic Battle Group NBG had a day deployment readiness during the first half of and, although Swedish led, had its Operational Headquarters OHQ in Northwood, outside London Economy Main article Economy of Sweden Gross Regional Product GRP per capita in thousands of kronor Nordstan is one of the largest shopping malls in northern Europe Sweden is the seventh richest country in the world in terms of GDP gross domestic product per capita and a high standard of living is experienced by its citizens Sweden is an export oriented mixed economy Timber, hydropower and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy with a heavy emphasis on foreign trade Sweden's engineering sector accounts for % of output and exports, while telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance Sweden is the ninth largest arms exporter in the world Agriculture accounts for % of GDP and employment The country ranks among the highest for telephone and Internet access penetration In Sweden's income Gini coefficient was the third lowest among developed countries, at —slightly higher than Japan and Denmark—suggesting Sweden had low income inequality However, Sweden's wealth Gini coefficient at was the second highest in developed countries, and above European and North American averages, suggesting high wealth inequality Even on a disposable income basis, the geographical distribution of Gini coefficient of income inequality varies within different regions and municipalities of Sweden Danderyd, outside Stockholm, has Sweden's highest Gini coefficient of income inequality, at , while Hofors near Gävle has the lowest at In and around Stockholm and Scania, two of the more densely populated regions of Sweden, the income Gini coefficient is between and In terms of structure, the Swedish economy is characterised by a large, knowledge intensive and export oriented manufacturing sector an increasing, but comparatively small, business service sector and by international standards, a large public service sector Large organisations, both in manufacturing and services, dominate the Swedish economy High and medium high technology manufacturing accounts for % of GDP The largest by turnover registered Swedish companies in were Volvo, Ericsson, Vattenfall, Skanska, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Electrolux, Volvo Personvagnar, TeliaSonera, Sandvik, Scania, ICA, Hennes & Mauritz, IKEA, Nordea, Preem, Atlas Copco, Securitas, Nordstjernan and SKF The vast majority of Sweden's industry is privately controlled, unlike many other industrialised Western countries, and, in accordance with a historical standard, publicly owned enterprises are of minor importance Real GDP growth in Sweden, – An estimated million Swedish residents are employed and around a third of the workforce completed tertiary education In terms of GDP per hour worked, Sweden was the world's ninth highest in at US$ , compared to US$ in Spain and US$ in the United States GDP per hour worked is growing % per year for the economy as a whole and the trade terms balanced productivity growth is % According to the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD , deregulation, globalisation, and technology sector growth have been key productivity drivers Sweden is a world leader in privatised pensions and pension funding problems are relatively small compared to many other Western European countries A pilot program to test the feasibility of a six hour workday, without loss of pay, will commence in , involving the participation of Gothenburg municipal staff The Swedish government is seeking to reduce its costs through decreased sick leave hours and increased efficiency Sweden is part of the Schengen Area and the EU single market The typical worker receives % of his or her labour costs after the tax wedge Total tax collected by Sweden as a percentage of its GDP peaked at % in The country faced a real estate and banking crisis in – , and consequently passed tax reforms in to implement tax rate cuts and tax base broadening over time Since , taxes as a percentage of GDP collected by Sweden has been dropping, with total tax rates for the highest income earners dropping the most In % of the country's GDP was collected as taxes, the second highest among OECD countries, and nearly double the percentage in the US or South Korea Tax income financed employment represents a third of the Swedish workforce, a substantially higher proportion than in most other countries Overall, GDP growth has been fast since reforms—especially those in manufacturing—were enacted in the early s Sweden is the fourth most competitive economy in the world, according to the World Economic Forum in its Global Competitiveness Report – Sweden is the top performing country in the Global Green Economy Index GGEI Sweden is ranked fourth in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook According to the book The Flight of the Creative Class by the US economist Professor Richard Florida of the University of Toronto, Sweden is ranked as having the best creativity in Europe for business and is predicted to become a talent magnet for the world's most purposeful workers The book compiled an index to measure the kind of creativity it claims is most useful to business—talent, technology and tolerance Sweden maintains its own currency, the Swedish krona SEK , a result of the Swedes having rejected the euro in a referendum The Swedish Riksbank—founded in and thus the oldest central bank in the world—is currently focusing on price stability with an inflation target of % According to the Economic Survey of Sweden by the OECD, the average inflation in Sweden has been one of the lowest among European countries since the mid s, largely because of deregulation and quick utilisation of globalisation The largest trade flows are with Germany, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Finland Financial deregulation in the s impacted adversely on the property market, leading to a bubble and eventually a crash in the early s Commercial property prices fell by up to two thirds, resulting in two Swedish banks having to be taken over by the government In the following two decades the property sector strengthened By , legislators, economists and the IMF were again warning of a bubble with residential property prices soaring and the level of personal mortgage debt expanding Household debt to income rose above % as the IMF was calling on legislators to consider zoning reform and other means of generating a greater supply of housing as demand was outstripping what was available, pushing prices higher By August , % of home borrowers had interest only loans while those that didn't were repaying principal at a rate that would take years to fully repay Energy See also Nordic energy market, Nuclear power phase out in Sweden and Oil phase out in Sweden Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant, located south of Gothenburg Sweden's energy market is largely privatised The Nordic energy market is one of the first liberalised energy markets in Europe and it is traded in NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe and Nord Pool Spot In , out of a total electricity production of TWh, electricity from hydropower accounted for TWh % , and nuclear power delivered TWh % At the same time, the use of biofuels, peat etc produced TWh % of electricity, while wind power produced TWh % Sweden was a net importer of electricity by a margin of TWh Biomass is mainly used to produce heat for district heating and central heating and industry processes The oil crisis strengthened Sweden's commitment to decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels Since then, electricity has been generated mostly from hydropower and nuclear power The use of nuclear power has been limited, however Among other things, the accident of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station United States prompted the Riksdag to ban new nuclear plants In March , an opinion poll showed that % supported maintaining or increasing nuclear power Politicians have made announcements about oil phase out in Sweden, decrease of nuclear power, and multibillion dollar investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency The country has for many years pursued a strategy of indirect taxation as an instrument of environmental policy, including energy taxes in general and carbon dioxide taxes in particular Sweden was in a net exporter of electricity by a margin of TWh, the production from windpower mills had increased to , TWh Transport Main article Transport in Sweden The Öresund Bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen in Denmark Sweden has , km , mi of paved road and , km mi of expressways Motorways run through Sweden, Denmark and over the Øresund Bridge to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala and Uddevalla The system of motorways is still under construction and a new motorway from Uppsala to Gävle was finished on October Sweden had left hand traffic Vänstertrafik in Swedish from approximately and continued to do so well into the th century Voters rejected right hand traffic in , but after the Riksdag passed legislation in changeover took place in , known in Swedish as Dagen H The Stockholm metro is the only subway system in Sweden and serves the city of Stockholm via stations The rail transport market is privatised, but while there are many privately owned enterprises, many operators are still owned by state The counties have financing, ticket and marketing responsibility for local trains For other trains the operators handle tickets and marketing themselves Operators include SJ, Veolia Transport, DSB, Green Cargo, Tågkompaniet and Inlandsbanan Most of the railways are owned and operated by Trafikverket Most tram nets were closed in , as Sweden changed from left side to right side driving, but they survived in Norrköping and Gothenburg The Stockholm Central Station The largest airports include Stockholm–Arlanda Airport million passengers in km mi north of Stockholm, Göteborg–Landvetter Airport million passengers in , and Stockholm–Skavsta Airport million passengers Sweden hosts the two largest port companies in Scandinavia, Port of Göteborg AB Gothenburg and the transnational company Copenhagen Malmö Port AB The most used airport for a large part of Southern Sweden is Kastrup or Copenhagen Airport which is located only minutes by train from the closest Swedish railway station, Hyllie Copenhagen Airport also is the largest international airport in Scandinavia and Finland Sweden has also car ferry connections to several neighbouring countries For instance to Finland from both the Stockholm area across Sea of Åland to Turku, Mariehamn and Helsinki and from Umeå across Kvarken to Vaasa, Estonia across the Baltic Sea, Latvia and to Poland also across the Baltic Sea both between Karlskrona and Gdynia as well as and from both Ystad and Trelleborg to Swinoujscie The most importaint ferry routes from Sweden is however the routes to Denmark and Germany From Trelleborg goes three different routes with four lines to Germany The Trelleborg – Sassnitz line started as a steam ferry route for trains in the th Century, and today's ferries still carries the trains of the Malmö to Berlin line during the summer The route Trelleborg to Rostock is served by two shipping lines The Trelleborg harbour is the most busy in Sweden when it comes to number of transpored weight with lorries Ferries to Travemünde also departures from Trelleborg but also from Malmö The latter line doesn't just cross the Baltic Sea, but also the southern part of Øresund To Germany also typical long Lorries only or mainly sails between Nynäshamn and Gdansk as well as between Gothenburg and Kiel, the route goes across Kattegat and the Danish strait Great Belt From Gothenburg ferries also departure to Frederikshavn and the Danish peninsula Jutland, by crossing the Kattegat Despite the opening of the fixed link to Denmark, known as the Øresund Bridge, the busiest ferry route from any Swedish is still the HH Ferry route between Helsingborg and Helsingør where ferries departures more than seventy times in each direction every day During daytime a ferry departures every th minute Ferries has previously also sailed to the United Kingdom from Gothenburg British destinations has been Immingham, Harwich and Newcastle Sweden has two domestic ferry lines with large vessels, both connecting Gotland with the mainland The lines leave from Visby harbour on the island, and the ferries sail to either Oskarshamn or Nynäshamn A smaller car ferry connects the island of Ven in Øresund with Landskrona Public policy See also Nordic model and Social welfare in Sweden Sweden has one of the most highly developed welfare states in the world According to a OECD report, the country had the second highest public social spending as a percentage of its GDP after France % and %, respectively , and the third highest total public and private social spending at % of its GDP, after France and Belgium % and %, respectively Sweden spent % of its GDP, the th highest among OECD countries, to provide equal access to education On health care, the country spent % of its total GDP, the th highest Historically, Sweden provided solid support for free trade except agriculture and mostly relatively strong and stable property rights both private and public , though some economists have pointed out that Sweden promoted industries with tariffs and used publicly subsidised R&D during the country's early critical years of industrialisation After World War II a succession of governments expanded the welfare state by raising the taxes During this period Sweden's economic growth was also one of the highest in the industrial world A series of successive social reforms transformed the country into one of the most equal and developed on earth The consistent growth of the welfare state led to Swedes achieving unprecedented levels of social mobility and quality of life—to this day Sweden consistently ranks at the top of league tables for health, literacy and Human Development—far ahead of some wealthier countries for example the United States However, from the s and onwards Sweden's GDP growth fell behind other industrialised countries and the country's per capita ranking fell from th to th place in a few decades From the mid s until today Sweden's economic growth has once again accelerated and has been higher than in most other industrialised countries including the US during the last years A report from the United Nations Development Program predicted that Sweden's rating on the Human Development Index will fall from in to in Sweden began slowing the expansion of the welfare state in the s, and even trimming it back, and according to the OECD and McKinsey, Sweden has recently been relatively quick to adopt economic liberalisation policies, such as deregulation, compared to countries such as France The current Swedish government is continuing the trend of moderate rollbacks of previous social reforms Growth has been higher than in many other EU countries Also since the mid s, Sweden has had the fastest growth in inequality of any developed nation, according to the OECD This has largely been attributed to the reduction in state benefits and a shift toward the privatisation of public services According to Barbro Sorman, an activist of the opposition Left Party, The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer Sweden is starting to look like the USA Nevertheless, it remains far more egalitarian than most nations Partly as a result of these privatisations and widening economic disparity, the Swedes in the elections put the Social Democrats back in power Sweden adopted free market agricultural policies in Since the s, the agricultural sector had been subject to price controls In June , the Riksdag voted for a new agricultural policy marking a significant shift away from price controls As a result, food prices fell somewhat However, the liberalisations soon became moot because EU agricultural controls supervened Since the late s, Sweden has had the highest tax quota as percentage of GDP in the industrialised world, although today the gap has narrowed and Denmark has surpassed Sweden as the most heavily taxed country among developed countries Sweden has a two step progressive tax scale with a municipal income tax of about % and an additional high income state tax of – % when a salary exceeds roughly , SEK per year Payroll taxes amount to % In addition, a national VAT of % is added to many things bought by private citizens, with the exception of food % VAT , transportation, and books % VAT Certain items are subject to additional taxes, e g electricity, petrol diesel and alcoholic beverages In , total tax revenue was % of GDP, the second highest tax burden among developed countries, down from % Sweden's inverted tax wedge – the amount going to the service worker's wallet – is approximately %, compared to % in Belgium, % in Ireland, and % in United States Public sector spending amounts to % of the GDP State and municipal employees total around a third of the workforce, much more than in most Western countries Only Denmark has a larger public sector % of Danish workforce Spending on transfers is also high Seventy per cent of the employed workers is organised in trade unions Union density in was % among blue collar workers most of them in the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, LO and % among white collar workers most of them in the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees, TCO, and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations, SACO Trade unions have the right to elect two representatives to the board in all Swedish companies with more than employees Sweden has a relatively high amount of sick leave per worker in OECD the average worker loses days due to sickness In December , the number employed in the – age group was % The employment tendency was very strong in The positive trend continued during the first half of , but the rate of increase slackened According to Statistics Sweden, the unemployment rate in June was at % Unemployment among youth aged or younger in was %, making Sweden the OECD country with the highest ratio of youth unemployment versus unemployment in general Science and technology Main article Swedish inventions Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite and institutor of the Nobel Prize In the th century Sweden's scientific revolution took off Previously, technical progress had mainly come from mainland Europe In , the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was founded, with people such as Carolus Linnaeus and Anders Celsius as early members Many of the companies founded by early pioneers still remain major international brands Gustaf Dalén founded AGA, and received the Nobel Prize for his sun valve Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and instituted the Nobel Prizes Lars Magnus Ericsson started the company bearing his name, Ericsson, still one of the largest telecom companies in the world Jonas Wenström was an early pioneer in alternating current and is along with Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla credited as one of the inventors of the three phase electrical system The traditional engineering industry is still a major source of Swedish inventions, but pharmaceuticals, electronics and other high tech industries are gaining ground Tetra Pak was an invention for storing liquid foods, invented by Erik Wallenberg Losec, an ulcer medicine, was the world's best selling drug in the s and was developed by AstraZeneca More recently Håkan Lans invented the Automatic Identification System, a worldwide standard for shipping and civil aviation navigation A large portion of the Swedish economy is to this day based on the export of technical inventions, and many large multinational corporations from Sweden have their origins in the ingenuity of Swedish inventors Swedish inventors held , patents in the United States in , according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office As a nation, only ten other countries hold more patents than Sweden Combined, the public and the private sector in Sweden allocate over % of GDP to research & development R&D per year, making Sweden's investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP the second highest in the world For several decades the Swedish government has prioritised scientific and R&D activities As a percentage of GDP, the Swedish government spends the most of any nation on research and development Sweden tops other European countries in the number of published scientific works per capita Swedish–ESO Submillimetre Telescope discovered the Boomerang Nebula and the first extragalactic silicon monoxide maser In , the decisions to construct Sweden's two largest scientific installations, the synchrotron radiation facility MAX IV and the European Spallation Source, were taken Both installations will be built in Lund The European Spallation Source, costing some SEK billion to construct, will be operational in and will give an approximately times stronger neutron beam than any of today's existing neutron source installations The MAX IV, costing some SEK billion, will be operational in Both facilities have strong implications on material research Demographics Main articles Demographics of Sweden and Swedes The total population of Sweden was estimated to be , , on November The population exceeded million for the first time on approximately August and million in the spring of , according to Statistics Sweden The population density is people per km² per square mile and it is substantially higher in the south than in the north About % of the population live in urban areas The capital city Stockholm has a municipality population of about , with million in the urban area and million in the metropolitan area The second and third largest cities are Gothenburg and Malmö Greater Gothenburg counts close to a million inhabitants and the same goes for the Western part of Scania, around the Øresund Together with Greater Copenhagen, the entire population around the Öresund counts close to million at a land area of less than km An other area with notably higher population density compared to the general Swedish, is the agricultural part of Östergötland Also the western coast is fairly well populated even ouside Scania and Greater Gothenburg So is also the area around Lake Mälaren even outside Greater Stockolm and the agricultural area around Uppsala While Norrland which cover approximately % of the Swedish territory has a very low population density below people per km The mountains and most of the coast remotely areas are next to unpopulated Low population density exists also in large parts of western Svealand, as well as southern and central Småland An area known as Finnveden, which is located in the south west of Småland, and mainly below the th latitude, can also be considered as next to empty of people Between and , approximately million Swedes, a third of the country's population, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States There are more than million Swedish Americans according to a US Census Bureau estimate In Canada, the community of Swedish ancestry is , strong There are no official statistics on ethnicity, but according to Statistics Sweden around , , % inhabitants of Sweden were of a foreign background in , defined as being born abroad or born in Sweden to two parents born abroad With the same definition, the most common countries of origin were Finland % , former Yugoslavia or its successing states % , Iraq % , Poland % and Iran % v t e Largest cities or towns in Sweden http www citypopulation de Sweden UA html#Stadt_alpha Rank Name County Pop Rank Name County Pop Stockholm Stockholm Gothenburg Gothenburg Stockholm Stockholm , , Lund Skåne , Malmö Malmö Uppsala Uppsala Gothenburg Västra Götaland , Umeå Västerbotten , Malmö Skåne , Gävle Gävleborg , Uppsala Uppsala , Borås Västra Götaland , Västerås Västmanland , Eskilstuna Södermanland , Örebro Örebro , Södertälje Stockholm , Linköping Östergötland , Karlstad Värmland , Helsingborg Skåne , Täby Stockholm , Jönköping Jönköping , Växjö Kronoberg , Norrköping Östergötland , Halmstad Halland , Language Main articles Swedish language and Languages of Sweden See also Swedish dialects Distribution of speakers of the Swedish language The official language of Sweden is Swedish, a North Germanic language, related and very similar to Danish and Norwegian, but differing in pronunciation and orthography Norwegians have little difficulty understanding Swedish, and Danes can also understand it, with slightly more difficulty than the Norwegians The same goes for standard Swedish speakers, who find it far easier to understand Norwegian than Danish The dialects spoken in Scania, the southernmost part of the country, are influenced by Danish because the region traditionally was a part of Denmark and is nowadays situated closely to it Sweden Finns are Sweden's largest linguistic minority, comprising about % of Sweden's population, and Finnish is recognised as a minority language Along with Finnish, four other minority languages are also recognised Meänkieli, Sami, Romani and Yiddish Swedish became Sweden's official language on July , when a new language law was implemented The issue of whether Swedish should be declared the official language has been raised in the past, and the Riksdag voted on the matter in , but the proposal narrowly failed In varying degrees, depending largely on frequency of interaction with English, a majority of Swedes, especially those born after World War II, understand and speak English owing to trade links, the popularity of overseas travel, a strong Anglo American influence and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films, and the relative similarity of the two languages which makes learning English easier In a survey by Eurobarometer, % of Swedes reported the ability to speak English English became a compulsory subject for secondary school students studying natural sciences as early as , and has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since the late s Depending on the local school authorities, English is currently a compulsory subject between first grade and ninth grade, with all students continuing in secondary school studying English for at least another year Most students also study one and sometimes two additional languages These include but are not limited to German, French and Spanish Some Danish and Norwegian is at times also taught as part of Swedish courses for native speakers Religion Main article Religion in Sweden Before the th century, Swedes adhered to Norse paganism, worshiping Æsir gods, with its centre at the Temple in Uppsala With Christianisation in the th century, the laws of the country were changed, forbidding worship of other deities into the late th century After the Protestant Reformation in the s, a change led by Martin Luther's Swedish associate Olaus Petri, the authority of the Roman Catholic Church was abolished The church and state were separated, allowing Lutheranism to prevail This process was completed by the Uppsala Synod of Lutheranism became Sweden's official religion During the era following the Reformation, usually known as the period of Lutheran orthodoxy, small groups of non Lutherans, especially Calvinist Dutchmen, the Moravian Church and Walloons or French Huguenots from Belgium, played a significant role in trade and industry, and were quietly tolerated as long as they kept a low religious profile The Sami originally had their own shamanistic religion, but they converted to Lutheranism by the work of Swedish missionaries in the th and th centuries Uppsala Cathedral With religious liberalisations in the late th century believers of other faiths, including Judaism and Roman Catholicism, were allowed to openly live and work in the country However, until it remained illegal for Lutheran Swedes to convert to another religion The th century saw the arrival of various evangelical free churches, and, towards the end of the century, secularism,
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leading many to distance themselves from Church rituals Leaving the Church of Sweden became legal with the so called dissenter law of , but only under the provision of entering another Christian denomination The right to stand outside any religious denomination was formally established in the Law on Freedom of religion in In the Church of Sweden was separated from the state and Sweden ceased to have any official church Church of Sweden Year Population Church members Percentage , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % , , , , % At the end of , % of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden Lutheran this number has been decreasing by about one percentage point a year for the last two decades Approximately % of the church's members regularly attend Sunday services The reason for the large number of inactive members is partly that, until , children automatically became members at birth if at least one of the parents was a member Since , only children that are christened become members Some , Swedes are today members of various free churches where congregation attendance is much higher , and immigration has meant that there are now some , Roman Catholics and , Eastern Orthodox Christians living in Sweden The first Muslim congregation was established in when a small contingent of Tatars migrated from Finland, but Islam's presence in Sweden remained marginal until the s when Sweden started to receive migrants from the Balkans and Turkey Further immigration from North Africa and the Middle East have brought the estimated Muslim population to , However, only about , are members of a congregation and of these approximately , actively practise Islam in the sense that they pray five times a day and attend Friday prayer In a Eurostat survey, % of Swedish citizens responded that they believe there is a God , whereas % answered that they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force and % that they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force Sociology professor Phil Zuckerman claims that Swedes, despite a lack of belief in God, commonly question the term atheist, preferring to call themselves Christians while being content with remaining in the Church of Sweden Other research has shown that religion in Sweden continues to play a role in cultural identity This is evidenced by the fact that around per cent of adults continue to remain members of the Lutheran Church despite having to pay a church tax moreover, rates of baptism remain high and church weddings are increasing in Sweden Health See also Healthcare in Sweden and Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare Healthcare in Sweden is similar in quality to other developed nations Sweden ranks in the top five countries with respect to low infant mortality It also ranks high in life expectancy and in safe drinking water A person seeking care first contacts a clinic for a doctor's appointment, and may then be referred to a specialist by the clinic physician, who may in turn recommend either in patient or out patient treatment, or an elective care option The health care is governed by the landsting of Sweden and is mainly funded by taxes, with nominal fees for patients Education Main article Education in Sweden Uppsala University established Children aged – years old are guaranteed a place in a public kindergarten Swedish förskola or, colloquially, dagis Between the ages of and , children attend compulsory comprehensive school In the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA , Swedish year old pupils score close to the OECD average After completing the th grade, about % of the students continue with a three year upper secondary school gymnasium , which can lead to both a job qualification or entrance eligibility to university The school system is largely financed by taxes The Swedish government treats public and independent schools equally by introducing education vouchers in as one of the first countries in the world after the Netherlands Anyone can establish a for profit school and the municipality must pay new schools the same amount as municipal schools get School lunch is free for all students in Sweden, and providing breakfast is also encouraged There are a number of different universities and colleges in Sweden, the oldest and largest of which are situated in Uppsala, Lund, Gothenburg and Stockholm In , % of Swedish people held a tertiary degree, making the country th in the OECD in that category Along with several other European countries, the government also subsidises tuition of international students pursuing a degree at Swedish institutions, although a recent bill passed in the Riksdag will limit this subsidy to students from EEA countries and Switzerland Immigration Main article Immigration to Sweden Immigrants red and emigrants blue , Sweden – Immigration has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of Sweden, and in recent centuries the country has been transformed from a nation of net emigration, ending after World War I, to a nation of net immigration, from World War II onwards The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused controversy regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non immigrants, settlement patterns, impact on upward social mobility, crime, and voting behaviour There are no exact numbers on the ethnic background of migrants and their descendants in Sweden because the Swedish government does not base any statistics on ethnicity This is, however, not to be confused with the migrants' national backgrounds, which are recorded In , there were , , inhabitants of a foreign background foreign born and children of international migrants , comprising around % of the Swedish population Around , , , or %, came from Scandinavia and the rest of Europe and , , or %, came from the rest of the world Around % or , , inhabitants of Sweden had a full or partial foreign background in Of these inhabitants , , persons living in Sweden were born abroad In addition, , persons were born in Sweden to two parents born abroad and another , persons had one parent born abroad with the other parent born in Sweden Thus, with the total population in being , , , roughly % of the population was born abroad, % of the population was born in Sweden to two parents born abroad, and another % was born in Sweden to one parent born abroad Around % of the Swedish population is, at least partly, of foreign descent Population by ancestry, Sweden – According to Eurostat, in , there were million foreign born residents in Sweden, corresponding to % of the total population Of these, % were born outside the EU and % were born in another EU Member State In , immigration reached its highest level since records began, with , people emigrating to Sweden Immigrants in Sweden are mostly concentrated in the urban areas of Svealand and Götaland Since the early s, immigration to Sweden has been mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in the Middle East and Latin America In , Sweden granted , people asylum an increase of % compared to The ten largest groups of foreign born persons in the Swedish civil registry in were from Finland , Iraq , Poland , Former Yugoslavia , Iran , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Germany , Turkey , Denmark , Somalia , Culture Main article Culture of Sweden Nationalmuseum in Stockholm Sweden has many authors of worldwide recognition including August Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren, and Nobel Prize winners Selma Lagerlöf and Harry Martinson In total seven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to Swedes The nation's most well known artists are painters such as Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles Swedish th century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström In the s– s, the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and actors Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman became internationally noted people within cinema More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström have received international recognition Throughout the s and s Sweden was seen as an international leader in what is now referred to as the sexual revolution , with gender equality having particularly been promoted At the present time, the number of single people is one of the highest in the world The early Swedish film I Am Curious Yellow reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the Swedish sin that had been introduced earlier in the US with Ingmar Bergman's Summer with Monika The image of hot love and cold people emerged Sexual liberalism was seen as part of modernisation process that by breaking down traditional borders would lead to the emancipation of natural forces and desires Sweden has also become very liberal towards homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Show Me Love, which is about two young lesbians in the small Swedish town of Åmål Since May , Sweden repealed its registered partnership laws and fully replaced them with gender neutral marriage, Sweden also offers domestic partnerships for both same sex and opposite sex couples Cohabitation sammanboende by couples of all ages, including teenagers as well as elderly couples, is widespread Recently, Sweden is experiencing a baby boom Music Main article Music of Sweden The Swedish band ABBA in April , a few days after they won the Eurovision Song Contest Sweden has a rich musical tradition, ranging from mediaeval folk ballads to hip hop music The music of the pre Christian Norse has been lost to history, although historical re creations have been attempted based on instruments found in Viking sites The instruments used were the lur a sort of trumpet , simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums It is possible that the Viking musical legacy lives on in some of the old Swedish folk music Sweden has a significant folk music scene, both in the traditional style as well as more modern interpretations which often mix in elements of rock and jazz Väsen is more of a traditionalist group, using a unique, traditional Swedish instrument called the nyckelharpa while Garmarna, Nordman and Hedningarna have more modern elements There is also Sami music, called the joik, which is actually a type of chant which is part of the traditional Saami animistic spirituality but has gained recognition in the international world of folk music Sweden's most classic and notable composers includes Carl Michael Bellman and Franz Berwald Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of Swedish folk songs In fact, out of a population of million, it is estimated that five to six hundred thousand people sing in choirs In , with over million dollars in revenue, Sweden was the third largest music exporter in the world and surpassed only by the US and the UK better source needed According to one source , Sweden produces the most chart hits per capita in the world, followed by the UK and the USA ABBA was one of the first internationally well known popular music bands from Sweden, and still ranks among the most prominent bands in the world, with about million records sold With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence The Gothenburg Opera House There have been many other internationally successful bands since, such as Roxette, Ace of Base, Europe, A teens, The Cardigans, Robyn, The Hives and Soundtrack of Our Lives, to name some of the biggest, and recently there has been a surge of Swedish Indie pop bands such as The Knife, Loney, Dear, The Tough Alliance, Shout Out Louds, The Radio Dept and Dungen, a group which incorporates many elements of Swedish traditional folk music in their sound One of the most popular rock bands domestically is Kent Sweden has also become known for a large number of heavy metal bands Swedish musicians are often credited for creating melodic death metal aka MDM, melodeath Some of the most popular metal bands not necessarily melodeath are In Flames, Amon Amarth, HammerFall, Pain of Salvation, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Meshuggah The renowned neo classical power metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen is also from Sweden Starting in the s, Denniz Pop's Cheiron Studios became an international hit factory, with his disciple Max Martin responsible for Britney Spears' breakthrough songs and for shaping the whole boy band boom at the turn of the millennium with global hits for groups like the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync In the mid s, Martin came back with a more rock tinged sound and produced major hits with artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Pink and Katy Perry Another producer worth mentioning is RedOne, a Moroccan Swede who is the creator of a slew of hits for Lady Gaga In the Eurovision Song Contest , Swedish songwriters and producers featured in out of the songs that qualified for the Contest In The Eurovision Song Contest the Swedish artist Loreen took a landslide victory with the song Euphoria Sweden has a rather lively jazz scene During the last sixty years or so it has attained a remarkably high artistic standard, stimulated by domestic as well as external influences and experiences The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research has published an overview of jazz in Sweden by Lars Westin The most recent development in the Swedish music industry has been the rise of the house techno genre, in which artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, Eric Prydz, a k a Pryda, and Basshunter have
gained worldknown reputation Architecture Main article Architecture of Sweden Djurgårdsbron Before the th century almost all buildings were made of timber, but a shift began towards stone Early Swedish stone buildings are the Romanesque churches on the country side As so happens, many of them were built in Scania and are in effect Danish churches This would include the Lund Cathedral from the th century and the somewhat younger church in Dalby, but also many early Gothic churches built through influences of the Hanseatic League, such as in Ystad, Malmö and Helsingborg Cathedrals in other parts of Sweden were also built as seats of Sweden's bishops The Skara Cathedral is of bricks from the th century, and the Uppsala Cathedral in the th In the foundations of the Linköping Cathedral were made, the material was there limestone, but the building took some years to finish Among older structures are also some significant fortresses and other historical buildings such as at Borgholm Castle, Halltorps Manor and Eketorp fortress on the island Öland, the Nyköping fortress and the Visby city wall Kalmar Cathedral Around Sweden was out of the Middle Ages and united under King Gustav Vasa, who immediately initiated grand mansions, castles and fortresses to be built Some of the more magnificent include the Kalmar fortress, the Gripsholm Castle and the one at Vadstena In the next two centuries, Sweden was designated by Baroque architecture and later the rococo Notable projects from that time include the city Karlskrona, which has now also been declared a World Heritage Site and the Drottningholm Palace was the year of the great Stockholm exhibition, which marked the breakthrough of Functionalism, or funkis as it became known The style came to dominate in the following decades Some notable projects of this kind were the Million Programme, offering affordable living in large apartment complexes Media Main article Media in Sweden Headquarters of Sveriges Television in Stockholm Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter liberal , Göteborgs Posten liberal , Svenska Dagbladet liberal conservative and Sydsvenska Dagbladet liberal The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet social democratic and Expressen liberal The ad financed, free international morning paper, Metro International, was originally founded in Stockholm, Sweden The country's news is reported in English by, among others, The Local liberal The public broadcasting companies held a monopoly on radio and television for a long time in Sweden Licence funded radio broadcasts started in A second radio network was started in and a third opened in response to pirate radio stations Non profit community radio was allowed in and in commercial local radio started The licence funded television service was officially launched in A second channel, TV , was launched in These two channels operated by Sveriges Television since the late s held a monopoly until the s when cable and satellite television became available The first Swedish language satellite service was TV which started broadcasting from London in It was followed by Kanal in then known as Nordic Channel and TV in In the government announced it would begin taking applications from private television companies wishing to broadcast on the terrestrial network TV , which had previously been broadcasting via satellite, was granted a permit and began its terrestrial broadcasts in , becoming the first private channel to broadcast television content from within the country Around half the population are connected to cable television Digital terrestrial television in Sweden started in and the last analogue terrestrial broadcasts were terminated in Literature Main article Swedish literature The writer and playwright August Strindberg The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök Runestone, carved during the Viking Age c AD With the conversion of the land to Christianity around AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin Therefore, there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period Swedish literature only flourished when the Swedish language was standardised in the th century, a standardisation largely due to the full translation of the Bible into Swedish in This translation is the so called Gustav Vasa Bible With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation, the th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm th century , who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish Johan Henric Kellgren th century , the first to write fluent Swedish prose Carl Michael Bellman late th century , the first writer of burlesque ballads and August Strindberg late th century , a socio realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame The early th century continued to produce notable authors, such as Selma Lagerlöf, Nobel laureate , Verner von Heidenstam Nobel laureate and Pär Lagerkvist Nobel laureate In recent decades, a handful of Swedish writers have established themselves internationally, including the detective novelist Henning Mankell and the writer of spy fiction Jan Guillou The Swedish writer to have made the most lasting impression on world literature is the children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, and her books about Pippi Longstocking, Emil, and others In , the second best selling fiction author in the world was Stieg Larsson, whose Millennium series of crime novels is being published posthumously to critical acclaim Larsson drew heavily on the work of Lindgren by basing his central character, Lisbeth Salander, on Longstocking Holidays Main article Public holidays in Sweden Walpurgis Night bonfire in Sweden Apart from traditional Protestant Christian holidays, Sweden also celebrates some unique holidays, some of a pre Christian tradition They include Midsummer celebrating the summer solstice Walpurgis Night Valborgsmässoafton on April lighting bonfires and Labour Day or Mayday on May is dedicated to socialist demonstrations The day of giver of light Saint Lucia, December, is widely acknowledged in elaborate celebrations which betoken its Italian origin and commence the month long Christmas season June is the National Day of Sweden and has since been a public holiday Furthermore, there are official flag day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar In August many Swedes have kräftskivor crayfish dinner parties Martin of Tours Eve is celebrated in Scania in November with Mårten Gås parties, where roast goose and svartsoppa 'black soup', made of goose stock, fruit, spices, spirits and goose blood are served The Sami, one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on February and Scania celebrate their Scanian Flag day on the third Sunday in July Cuisine Swedish saffron buns Main article Swedish cuisine Swedish knäckebröd crisp bread Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Scandinavian countries Denmark, Norway and Finland , was traditionally simple Fish particularly herring , meat, potatoes and dairy products played prominent roles Spices were sparse Famous preparations include Swedish meatballs, traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam pancakes lutfisk and the smörgåsbord, or lavish buffet Akvavit is a popular alcoholic distilled beverage, and the drinking of snaps is of cultural importance The traditional flat and dry crisp bread has developed into several contemporary variants Regionally important foods are the surströmming a fermented fish in northern Sweden and eel in Scania in southern Sweden Swedish traditional dishes, some of which are many hundreds of years old, others perhaps a century or less, are still a very important part of Swedish everyday meals, in spite of the fact that modern day Swedish cuisine adopts many international dishes In August, at the traditional feast known as crayfish party, kräftskiva, Swedes eat large amounts of boiled crayfish with boiled potato and dill Cinema Main article Cinema of Sweden Swedes have been fairly prominent in the film area through the years A number of Swedish people have found success in Hollywood, including Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo and Max von Sydow Amongst several directors who have made internationally successful films can be mentioned Ingmar Bergman, Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström Fashion Interest in fashion is big in Sweden and the country is headquartering famous brands like Hennes & Mauritz operating as H&M , J Lindeberg operating as JL , Acne, Lindex, Odd Molly, Cheap Monday, Gant, WESC, Filippa K, and Nakkna within its borders These companies, however, are composed largely of buyers who import fashionable goods from throughout Europe and America, continuing the trend of Swedish business toward multinational economic dependency like many of its neighbours Sports Main article Sport in Sweden Outline of Sweden From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Flag of Sweden The Greater state arms of Sweden The location of Sweden An enlargeable relief map of the Kingdom of Sweden The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Sweden Sweden – Scandinavian country in Northern Europe, situated between Norway and Finland Sweden has maintained a policy of neutrality in armed conflicts since the early th century It is a member of the European Union, but retains its own currency the krona Swedish icons include Sweden's quality of life, its neutrality, public health care, cars Volvo, Saab , furniture IKEA , blonds and pop music performers ABBA, Roxette, etc Contents hide General reference Geography of Sweden Government and politics of Sweden History of Sweden Culture of Sweden Economy and infrastructure of Sweden Education in Sweden See also References External links General reference edit An enlargeable basic map of Sweden Pronunciation in English Listeni 'swi?d?n Common English country name Sweden Official English country name The Kingdom of Sweden Common endonym s Sverige Official endonym s Konungariket Sverige Adjectival s Swedish Demonym s Swedish, Swedes Etymology Name of Sweden International rankings of Sweden ISO country codes SE, SWE, ISO region codes See ISO SE Internet country code top level domain se Geography of Sweden edit Main article Geography of Sweden Sweden is a Nordic country Location The regions that Sweden is located in are Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere Eurasia Europe Northern Europe Scandinavia Scandinavian Peninsula Time zone Central European Time UTC+ , Central European Summer Time UTC+ Extreme points of Sweden High Kebnekaise , m , ft Low Kristianstad - m - ft Land boundaries , km Norway , km Finland km Coastline , km Population of Sweden , , September , th most populous country Area of Sweden , km Atlas of Sweden Environment of Sweden edit An enlargeable satellite image of Sweden Climate of Sweden Climate change in Sweden Renewable energy in Sweden Geology of Sweden Protected areas of Sweden Biosphere reserves in Sweden National parks of Sweden Wildlife of Sweden Fauna of Sweden Amphibians and reptiles of Sweden Birds of Sweden Fish in Sweden Insects of Sweden Ants of Sweden Butterflies of Sweden Moths of Sweden Mammals of Sweden Molluscs of Sweden Flora of Sweden List of lichens of Sweden Natural geographic features of Sweden edit Forests of Sweden Islands of Sweden Lakes of Sweden Mountains of Sweden Glaciers of Sweden Rivers of Sweden World Heritage Sites in Sweden List of sweden's death rates Regions of Sweden edit Main article Regions of Sweden Ecoregions of Sweden edit Main articles List of ecoregions in Sweden and Ecoregions in Sweden Administrative divisions of Sweden edit Main article Administrative divisions of Sweden Counties of Sweden – first level administrative and political subdivisions of Sweden, of which there are Municipalities of Sweden – Sweden's lower level local government entities Districts of Sweden – municipalities in Sweden are in some rare cases divided into smaller districts Provinces of Sweden – historical, geographical or cultural regions that have no administrative function, but remain historical legacies and the means of cultural identification Counties of Sweden edit Main article Counties of Sweden Stockholm County Västerbotten County Norrbotten County Uppsala County Södermanland County Östergötland County Jönköping County Kronoberg County Kalmar County Gotland County Blekinge County Skåne County Halland County Västra Götaland County Värmland County Örebro County Västmanland County Dalarna County Gävleborg County Västernorrland County Jämtland County Municipalities of Sweden edit Main article Municipalities of Sweden Capital of Sweden Stockholm Cities of Sweden Ale Municipality Alingsås Municipality Alvesta Municipality Aneby Municipality Arboga Municipality Arjeplog Municipality Arvidsjaur Municipality Arvika Municipality Askersund Municipality Avesta Municipality Bengtsfors Municipality Berg Municipality Bjurholm Municipality Bjuv Municipality Boden Municipality Bollebygd Municipality Bollnäs Municipality Borgholm Municipality Borlänge Municipality Borås Municipality Botkyrka Municipality Boxholm Municipality Bromölla Municipality Bräcke Municipality Burlöv Municipality Båstad Municipality Dals Ed Municipality Danderyd Municipality Degerfors Municipality Dorotea Municipality Eda Municipality Ekerö Municipality Eksjö Municipality Emmaboda Municipality Enköping Municipality Eskilstuna Municipality Eslöv Municipality Essunga Municipality Fagersta Municipality Falkenberg Municipality Falköping Municipality Falun Municipality Filipstad Municipality Finspång Municipality Flen Municipality Forshaga Municipality Färgelanda Municipality Gagnef Municipality Gislaved Municipality Gnesta Municipality Gnosjö Municipality Gotland Municipality Grums Municipality Grästorp Municipality Gullspång Municipality Gällivare Municipality Gävle Municipality Göteborg Municipality Götene Municipality Habo Municipality Hagfors Municipality Hallsberg Municipality Hallstahammar Municipality Halmstad Municipality Hammarö Municipality Haninge Municipality Haparanda Municipality Heby Municipality Hedemora Municipality Helsingborg Municipality Herrljunga Municipality Hjo Municipality Hofors Municipality Huddinge Municipality Hudiksvall Municipality Hultsfred Municipality Hylte Municipality Håbo Municipality Hällefors Municipality Härjedalen Municipality Härnösand Municipality Härryda Municipality Hässleholm Municipality Höganäs Municipality Högsby Municipality Hörby Municipality Höör Municipality Jokkmokk Municipality Järfälla Municipality Jönköping Municipality Kalix Municipality Kalmar Municipality Karlsborg Municipality Karlshamn Municipality Karlskoga Municipality Karlskrona Municipality Karlstad Municipality Katrineholm Municipality Kil Municipality Kinda Municipality Kiruna Municipality Klippan Municipality Knivsta Municipality Kramfors Municipality Kristianstad Municipality Kristinehamn Municipality Krokom Municipality Kumla Municipality Kungsbacka Municipality Kungsör Municipality Kungälv Municipality Kävlinge Municipality Köping Municipality Laholm Municipality Landskrona Municipality Laxå Municipality Lekeberg Municipality Leksand Municipality Lerum Municipality Lessebo Municipality Lidingö Municipality Lidköping Municipality Lilla Edet Municipality Lindesberg Municipality Linköping Municipality Ljungby Municipality Ljusdal Municipality Ljusnarsberg Municipality Lomma Municipality Ludvika Municipality Luleå Municipality Lund Municipality Lycksele Municipality Lysekil Municipality Malmö Municipality Malung Sälen Municipality Malå Municipality Mariestad Municipality Mark Municipality Markaryd Municipality Mellerud Municipality Mjölby Municipality Mora Municipality Motala Municipality Mullsjö Municipality Munkedal Municipality Munkfors Municipality Mölndal Municipality Mönsterås Municipality Mörbylånga Municipality Nacka Municipality Nora Municipality Norberg Municipality Nordanstig Municipality Nordmaling Municipality Norrköping Municipality Norrtälje Municipality Norsjö Municipality Nybro Municipality Nykvarn Municipality Nyköping Municipality Nynäshamn Municipality Nässjö Municipality Ockelbo Municipality Olofström Municipality Orsa Municipality Orust Municipality Osby Municipality Oskarshamn Municipality Ovanåker Municipality Oxelösund Municipality Pajala Municipality Partille Municipality Perstorp Municipality Piteå Municipality Ragunda Municipality Robertsfors Municipality Ronneby Municipality Rättvik Municipality Sala Municipality Salem Municipality Sandviken Municipality Sigtuna Municipality Simrishamn Municipality Sjöbo Municipality Skara Municipality Skellefteå Municipality Skinnskatteberg Municipality Skurup Municipality Skövde Municipality Smedjebacken Municipality Sollefteå Municipality Sollentuna Municipality Solna Municipality Sorsele Municipality Sotenäs Municipality Staffanstorp Municipality Stenungsund Municipality Stockholm Municipality Storfors Municipality Storuman Municipality Strängnäs Municipality Strömstad Municipality Strömsund Municipality Sundbyberg Municipality Sundsvall Municipality Sunne Municipality Surahammar Municipality Svalöv Municipality Svedala Municipality Svenljunga Municipality Säffle Municipality Säter Municipality Sävsjö Municipality Söderhamn Municipality Söderköping Municipality Södertälje Municipality Sölvesborg Municipality Tanum Municipality Tibro Municipality Tidaholm Municipality Tierp Municipality Timrå Municipality Tingsryd Municipality Tjörn Municipality Tomelilla Municipality Torsby Municipality Torsås Municipality Tranemo Municipality Tranås Municipality Trelleborg Municipality Trollhättan Municipality Trosa Municipality Tyresö Municipality Täby Municipality Töreboda Municipality Uddevalla Municipality Ulricehamn Municipality Umeå Municipality Upplands Bro Municipality Upplands Väsby Municipality Uppsala Municipality Uppvidinge Municipality Vadstena Municipality Vaggeryd Municipality Valdemarsvik Municipality Vallentuna Municipality Vansbro Municipality Vara Municipality Varberg Municipality Vaxholm Municipality Vellinge Municipality Vetlanda Municipality Vilhelmina Municipality Vimmerby Municipality Vindeln Municipality Vingåker Municipality Vårgårda Municipality Vänersborg Municipality Vännäs Municipality Värmdö Municipality Värnamo Municipality Västervik Municipality Västerås Municipality Växjö Municipality Ydre Municipality Ystad Municipality Åmål Municipality Ånge Municipality Åre Municipality Årjäng Municipality Åsele