Sweden

Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige
Flag Greater coat of arms
Motto: (royal) "För Sverige – i tiden" "For Sweden – With the Times"
Anthem: Du gamla, Du fria Thou ancient, thou free Royal anthem: Kungssången Song of the King March: Yor de love
Location of  Sweden  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Stockholm 59°21′N 18°4′E
Official languages	Swedish
Official minority languages	Finnish Meänkieli Sami dialects Romani Yiddish
Demonym(s)	Swedish Swede
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Carl XVI Gustaf
• Speaker	Urban Ahlin
• Prime Minister	Stefan Löfven
Legislature	Riksdag
History
• A unified Swedish kingdom established	By the early 12th century
• Part of Kalmar Union	1397–1523
• Part of Swedish-Norwegian Union	4 November 1814 – August 1905
• Joined the European Union	1 January 1995
Area
• Total	450,295 km2 (173,860 sq mi) (55th)
• Water (%)	8.7
Population
• 31 July 2017 census	10,065,389 (89th)
• Density	22.0/km2 (57.0/sq mi) (196th)
GDP (PPP)	2016 estimate
• Total	$498.130 billion (34th)
• Per capita	$49,678 (17th)
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$517.440 billion (21st)
• Per capita	$51,603 (11th)
Gini (2015)	25.4 low
HDI (2015)	0.913 very high · 14th
Currency	Swedish krona (SEK)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format	yyyy-mm-dd
Driving side	right
Calling code	+46
ISO 3166 code	SE
Internet TLD	.se
^ "För Sverige - i tiden" has been adopted by Carl XVI Gustaf as his personal motto. ^ Du gamla, Du fria has never been officially adopted as national anthem, but is so by convention. ^ Since 1 July 2009. Five other languages are officially recognised as minority languages: Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani, Sami, and Yiddish. The Swedish Sign Language also has a special status. ^ On 31 December 2012, approximately 27% of the population had a full or partial foreign background. ^ Since 3 September 1967. ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Sweden (Swedish: Sverige) is a Nordic country in the part of Europe called Scandinavia. Its neighbors are Finland and Norway. Sweden is also connected to Denmark in the south by a bridge. It is a developed country. It is famous for its welfare state. People who live in Sweden are called Swedes.

• The word Sweden comes from the Svenonians, as Sverige or Svearike means "the realm of the Svenonians". The English form of the name is probably derived from an old Germanic form, Svetheod, meaning the Swedish people. By the 7th century, the Svear and Goth populations dominated the areas of what is now Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

The population of Sweden is about 10 million people. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also Sweden's largest city, with almost one million people. Other large cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. These cities are all in the southern half of the country, where it is not as cold as in the north. Swedes drink filmjölk, it is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden. It is made by fermenting cow's milk. Glogg, is spiced mulled wine. It normally contains red wine, sugar, orange peel, and spices. Swedes eat yellow pea soup with pork (or pork sausages) along with mustard.

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy because it has a king, Carl XVI Gustaf, but he does not have any real power. Sweden is a parliamentary state meaning that the government is elected by the parliament which is appointed by the people. The country is democratically ruled by a government headed by an elected prime minister. Stefan Löfven was elected Prime Minister in September 2014. He took office in October 2014.

Sweden has an official majority language, Swedish (the Swedish word for the language is svenska). Sweden has five official minority languages: Finnish, Yiddish, Sami, Meänkieli, and Romani.

Sweden became a member of the European Union (EU) on 1 January 1995. Unlike most countries in the European Union, Sweden is not a member of the Eurozone and has not begun to use the euro as currency. This is because the people have voted against using the euro. The currency remains the Swedish krona (Swedish crown).

History

Sweden has been a country for a thousand years. In the Middle Ages, Sweden had the same king as Denmark and Norway. In the early 16th century Sweden got its own king, Gustav Vasa. During the 17th century Sweden was a great power. Sweden had taken Estonia, Latvia, and Finland and parts of Norway, Germany, and Russia. In the 18th century Sweden became weaker and lost these places. In the early 19th century, Sweden's king died without an heir and the Swedish parliament voted for Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as the new king. Bernadotte fought Denmark and made them allow Norway to enter a personal union with Sweden.

This was Sweden's last war, and Sweden has not been at war for 200 years. In 1905, the Swedish-Norwegian personal union was dissolved. In many wars, including World War I and the Cold War, the country was neutral, meaning it did not take sides. During World War II, it traded with both the British and the Germans in order to protect its neutrality.

Region

Sweden has 25 historical provinces (landskap). They are found in three different regions: Norrland in the North, Svealand in the central region, and Götaland in the South.

Counties

Sweden is divided into 21 counties. They are Stockholm, Uppsala, Södermanland, Östergötland, Jönköping, Kronoberg, Kalmar, Gotland, Blekinge, Skåne, Halland, Västra Götaland, Värmland, Örebro, Västmanland, Dalarna, Gävleborg, Västernorrland, Jämtland, Västerbotten, and Norrbotten.

County governments largely regulate regional public transportation and healthcare.

Municipalities

Sweden is further divided into 290 municipalities. The municipalities are responsible for many social issues, like schools, daycare centers, the care for older and disabled people and fire departments.

Religion

Sweden has been Christian for a thousand years. Sweden is traditionally a Protestant country, but it is now one of the least religious countries in the world. Statistical surveys say 46-85% of all people in Sweden are agnostics or atheists. This means that they doubt or they do not believe in the existence of a god. About 6.4 million people in Sweden, which is 67% of all the people, are members of the Church of Sweden, but only 2% of members go to church often.

Music

In popular music, ABBA, Roxette, The Cardigans, Europe, Entombed, At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Hypocrisy, Grave, Dissection, Avicii, Tove Lo, Laleh, Watain, and Ace of Base have had several hits throughout the years.

Sports

See also: Sweden at the Olympics and Sweden national football team

Sweden is a country with many talented athletes, such as soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović. Sweden (men and women's teams combined) has five bronze medals and two silver medals from the World Cup in football (soccer). The soccer league in Sweden is called Allsvenskan (men's) and Damallsvenskan (women's). Sweden has also performed well in ice hockey. The men's ice hockey top division in Sweden is called SHL and the women's SDHL. Sweden has also had several successful table tennis players, including Stellan Bengtsson and Jan-Ove Waldner, as well as alpine skiers including Ingemar Stenmark, Pernilla Wiberg, and Anja Pärson. Other champions include biathlete Magdalena Forsberg and tennis players Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, and Jonas Björkman. Swimmer Sara Sjöström has several gold, silver and bronze medals from the Olympic Games and holds several world records.

Sweden also succeeds in cross-country skiing, having won several medals in the Olympic Games.

Gallery

• Sweden - Sverige
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  Stockholm

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  Stockholm

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  Stockholm

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  Drottningholm

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  Kalmar

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  Lund

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  Malmö

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  Gamla Uppsala

Other websites

Media related to Sweden at Wikimedia Commons Sweden travel guide from Wikivoyage