The largest of the five Nordic countries, Sweden forms part of Scandinavia in northwestern Europe. It is long and narrow with a maximum north-south extent of 1,574 km (978 mi) and a maximum east-west extent of 499 km (310 mi). Sweden shares a long land frontier with Norway to the west. Finland is to the east and Denmark lies to the south across the narrow waters of the \TSkagerrak\t, Kattegat, and Oresund. The Baltic Sea islands of Gotland and Oland are integral parts of Sweden. Rich in iron ores and forest resources, Sweden is an advanced industrial nation with a high standard of living. Sweden's political unification was completed about AD 1000, and it expanded to control a large empire around the \TBaltic Sea\t region during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Swedish name for the country, Sverige, comes from Svea-rike, meaning the kingdom of the Svear; the English form of the name is probably derived from an old Germanic form, Svetheod, meaning the Swedish people. LAND AND RESOURCES Northwestern Sweden is crossed by an ancient mountain chain rising to Sweden's high point of 2,111 m (6,926 ft) in Kebnekaise (Mount Kebne). The remainder of the Norrland (north of about latitude 60 deg north) is a southeast-sloping plateau that rises to between 200 and 500 m (650 and 1,640 ft). South of the Norrland, forming the region of Svealand in central Sweden and Gotaland farther south, is a varied region of plains and rift valleys that rise to a high point of only 377 m (1,237 ft) in the Southern Swedish Highlands near Jonkoping. To the north of the highlands is the Central Swedish Depression, a down-faulted, lake-strewn lowland extending across the peninsula from near Goteborg to east of Stockholm and Uppsala. To the south is Skane, a low-lying, predominantly agricultural area. Soils The entire country was covered by ice during Quaternary glaciation, and both the thin moraines and bare rocks left by the ice underlie soils of poor-to-mediocre quality. More fertile podzols are found in the Central Swedish Depression and in the coastal areas of the south. The largest peat and marsh areas are found in Norrland. In Skane, moraine clays mixed with chalk and other materials provide excellent soils in lowland areas. Climate Because of its latitudinal extent, Sweden has a number of climate regimes. A cold, maritime west coast, or northern forest (boreal), type of climate similar to that found in New England dominates the country's west coast. The northern two-thirds of the country has a continental climate marked by severe winters. The south central areas experience the long, cold winters of the north, but they enjoy milder summers. The mountain regions remain cool in summer. In January temperatures decrease markedly from south to north, averaging -0.8 deg C (30.5 deg F) at Lund (in the south), -2.8 deg C (27 deg F) at Stockholm, and -13.7 deg C (7.5 deg F) at Jokkmokk (north of the Arctic Circle). In July, when many hours of sunshine are recorded in the north and nearly 24 hours of continuous daylight north of the Arctic Circle, the temperature variation is minimal. July temperatures thus show only a narrow range from an average of 15 deg C (59 deg F) at Jokkmokk, to 18 deg C (64 deg F) at Stockholm, and only 17 deg C (63 deg F) at Lund. Precipitation averages 610 mm (24 in) and ranges from more than 914 mm (36 in) in exposed western mountain areas to less than 457 mm (18 in) in the extreme eastern part of Sweden. Snow remains on the ground for 40 days in southernmost Sweden, 100 days in the Stockholm area, and 250 days in the northwest mountains. Drainage Sweden's principal rivers originate in the northwest mountain chain and flow generally southeastward into the Gulf of Bothnia. The three largest drainage basins are those of the Gota alv, Muonio-Torne, and Angerman river systems. Most rivers carry maximum water in spring and early summer when the snows melt. Lakes cover about 9% of all Sweden, a fourth of the total lake area being occupied by the four large lakes of the Central Swedish Depression--VANERN, \TVattern\t, Hjalmaren, and Malaren. Numerous elongated valley lakes occur along rivers in Norrland, and almost 100,000 smaller lakes occupy hollows in the uneven glacial moraines. Vegetation and Animal Life Forest now covers about 64% of the land area. It consists of a summer-green forest of beeches, oaks, and other deciduous trees in the south, a mixed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees in central Sweden, and a predominantly coniferous forest of mainly pines and spruce in the Norrland. Mountain birch and dwarf birch grow in colder upland areas, and tundra covers the highest elevations. Treeless moors (peat moss and marshland) cover more than 14% of all Sweden and as much as 40% in western areas of the south and parts of Norrland. The first large animals to move into Sweden after the ice age were reindeer, then wolves. Carnivorous animals are now found only in isolated areas, and elk and deer are the common large animals found elsewhere. Resources The most important mineral is iron ore, with deposits estimated at 2.4 billion metric tons (2.64 billion U.S. tons) in the Gallivare-Malmberget and Kiruna fields north of the Arctic Circle. Other iron-ore deposits, with estimated reserves of 300 million metric tons (330.8 million U.S. tons), occur at Bergslagen, located in southern Sweden northwest of Lake Malaren. Copper, silver, lead, zinc, and arsenic occur near the Boliden area in Norrland, and some uranium deposits are found in southern Sweden. Only about 7% of the land area is suitable for farming. Water resources are abundant and are much used for hydroelectric power. PEOPLE Sweden has a relatively homogeneous population in ethnic stock, language, and religion. Because of the country's isolation relatively few non-Swedes have intermixed with the Swedes through the course of history; the major groups that have done so were Finns after 1580 and Walloons from present-day Belgium, who settled in the Bergslagen area in the 1620s. Groups that maintain their distinct ethnic identity today include a substantial Finnish minority, about 17,000 \TLapps\t, and recent immigrants from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (in 1944); Hungary (in 1956); and Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey (in the 1960s and '70s). Since 1980 the largest group of immigrants has consisted of Asian refugees. Language The Swedish language belongs to the east Scandinavian branch of \TGermanic languages\t. The Swedish of the Malar provinces has developed as the written and national language, and the use of other forms is declining. The Lapp and Finnish minorities speak their respective languages as well as Swedish. Special efforts have been made to teach Swedish to the recent immigrant groups. Religion More than 90% of the population are members of the State Evangelical Lutheran church, established in 1527 as the national religion. Religious freedom has been constitutionally guaranteed since 1809, and about 400,000 belong to nonconformist (free) Protestant churches, among whom the Pentacostalists (91,000) and Mission Covenant church (87,000) are the largest. Many recent immigrants from southern Europe are Roman Catholics; some are Eastern Orthodox. Formal religious worship in Sweden takes place in 2,575 parishes. Demography The Swedish population is estimated to have been 1,200,000 in 1650 and was 1,780,678 at the time of the first census in 1750. The urban population advanced from 21.5% of the total in 1900 to 87% in 1980, one of Europe's fastest rates of urbanization and one leaving much of the countryside depopulated. The three largest urban areas are \TStockholm\t, \TGoteborg\t, and \TMalmo\t. The birthrate is one of the lowest in the world and is still declining; the death rate is also low but is increasing slowly as more people enter the over-65 age bracket. Because of this slow rate of natural increase, the overall national growth rate is maintained at 0.4% annually, attributable mainly to immigration. Gotaland and Svealand, forming the southernmost third of Sweden, are the most densely populated regions, with more than four-fifths of the total population; Norrland, by contrast, has 59% of the total land area but less than one-fifth of the total population. Education and Health Education has been compulsory since 1842, and nearly all of the population is literate. All children at 7 years of age begin a 9-year basic school, followed by 2 to 4 years of gymnasium (secondary school), depending on their career objectives. The oldest and largest university is in \TUppsala\t and dates from 1477; other universities are in Lund, Stockholm, Goteborg, Umea, and Linkoping. Health-care expenses are covered by national health insurance and hospitalization plans and account for nearly half of all social-welfare costs. The number of hospital beds in proportion to population is very high, and the infant mortality rate, like the birthrate, is one of the world's lowest. Major causes of adult deaths are heart and circulatory diseases and cancer. The Arts Leading cultural institutions are the Swedish Royal Opera; the Royal Dramatic Theater; the National Touring Theater; and the Swedish Academy, which awards the \TNobel Prize\t for Literature. Important Swedish painters, sculptors, and architects are discussed in the article \TScandinavian art and architecture\t, major literary figures in \TSwedish literature\t, and composers and singers in \TScandinavian music\t. Sweden has made notable contributions to the art of cinema. Major Swedish directors of the silent era included Victor Sjostrom (1879-1960), known in the United States as Victor Seastrom; and Mauritz Stiller (1883-1928). Later, Ingmar \TBergman\t gained worldwide recognition as one of the outstanding filmmakers in the second half of the twentieth century. Swedish film stars Greta \TGarbo\t and Ingrid \TBergman\t won international fame in Hollywood. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Poor in agricultural resources, Sweden began trading with Russia and southeastern Europe under the Vikings (9th-11th centuries). In the Middle Ages trade expanded with other parts of Europe, and Visby (on Gotland) became the center of the Hanseatic League's thriving Baltic Sea trade in fish, timber, and metals. Copper mining was important at Falun in the 13th century. In the 15th century the iron ores at Bergslagen were being smelted with charcoal from the surrounding forest, and by the 17th and 18th centuries Sweden was Europe's foremost producer of high-quality steels. Lumbering developed on a large scale in the early 19th century, followed by furniture and pulp and paper industries. The Industrial Revolution reached Sweden between 1850 and 1870. Lacking coal deposits, Sweden industrialized slowly at first and accelerated after hydroelectric power was developed in the early 20th century. Its late start helped avoid the ugly urban communities associated with early industrialization in Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. Mining Less than 1% of the total labor force is employed in mining; although iron ore production has dropped sharply in recent years, iron mining is still an important industry. The most important mining areas are located at Kiruna and Gallivare in the north, where the ores have an iron content of 60-65%. Lower grade but more desirable nonphosphoric iron ores occur at Bergslagen. The largest mine is Grangesberg. The copper deposits at Falun are now exhausted, but Sweden continues to produce copper, lead, silver, and arsenic from the Skelleftea field. Manufacturing Approximately one-quarter of the total labor force is employed in manufacturing, about half of whom are in Sweden's metalworking establishments. Eskilstuna is known for its high-quality steels, and Sweden is a well-known exporter of such precision items as Volvo and Saab automobiles, SKF ball bearings, \TASEA\t high-voltage cable and other electrical equipment, L. M. Eriksson electrical and telephone equipment, and Electrolux electrical appliances. International competition and inflated prices needed to cover labor agreements have depressed the Swedish shipbuilding industry. Chemicals and petrochemicals are growing in importance throughout the country. Other industrial workers are employed in the production of wood pulp and lumber, in food processing, and in the declining textile industry centered near Goteborg. Energy Nearly half of Sweden's energy needs are supplied by nuclear power. In a major policy reversal following the 1986 \TChernobyl\t nuclear plant accident in the Soviet Union, the Swedish parliament approved (1988) a plan to phase out nuclear power by the year 2010. Most of the remainder of the country's energy comes from hydroelectricity, generated mainly by rivers in the north. High-voltage transmission lines carry the power to consuming centers in the south and central regions of the country. Agriculture Farmers now make up less than 5% of the total labor force, and agriculture is highly mechanized. Three-fourths of all farm income is derived from livestock and dairy products. Most cultivated crops are grown primarily for fodder; the most important of these are barley, oats, wheat, and hay. Rye, sugar beets, and potatoes are also cultivated. Forestry and Fishing Sweden is one of the world's leading producers of timber, wood pulp, and newsprint--the annual tree cut almost equaling the yearly regrowth of the vast forests. Log driving on the rivers has largely given way to truck transportation, a change that has been to the advantage of the industry in southern rather than northern Sweden in recent years. Fishing is small scale by comparison, and a considerable portion of the fish supply is imported. A 1988 agreement with the Soviet Union defined Soviet and Swedish fishing rights in the Baltic Sea. Transportation Sweden's road system is well developed, even in the north. More than half of all roads are paved, and automobile and truck traffic has greatly increased since World War II. Rail traffic, on the other hand, has declined, and rail lines have been reduced. Sweden's international airports are Arlanda (Stockholm), Landvetter (Goteborg), and Sturup (Malmo). Stockholm, Goteborg, and Malmo are also the principal seaports. Trade More than half of Sweden's trade is with members of the \TEuropean Community\t (EC), and Sweden applied for EC membership in 1991. The major imports are machinery and automobiles, petroleum, textile fibers, and foodstuffs. The leading exports are machinery and automobiles, wood pulp, paper and wood, and iron ore. GOVERNMENT Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The present constitution was adopted in 1975, replacing that of 1809. The monarchy occupies a ceremonial and symbolic position; \TCharles XVI Gustav\t has occupied the throne since the death of King \TGustav VI Adolf\t in 1973. Legislative authority rests in the unicameral Riksdag (parliament), composed of 349 members elected to 3-year terms under a system of proportional representation. The prime minister and cabinet form the government and hold office only as long as they retain the support of a majority in the Riksdag. The principal political parties are the Social Democratic party (led by Ingvar \TCarlsson\t); the Center party; the Liberal party; the Christian Democratic party; New Democracy; and the Left (formerly the Communist) party. Beginning in the 1930s, the Social Democrats were the dominant party, their position secured by economic prosperity and a broad program of social welfare. In the 1970s and 1980s, however, dissatisfaction grew among the voters over high taxes and a lagging economy. A conservative coalition governed from 1976 to 1982, and another one under Carl Bildt took office in 1991. For local government purposes, Sweden is divided into 24 counties (lan) and 279 municipalities (kommunes). HISTORY Sweden was first populated by Paleolithic hunters during the end of the last Ice Age, c.10,000-c.8000 BC. During the Bronze Age (c.1500-500 BC), when the inhabitants spoke an Indo-European language from which Swedish was later to develop, lively trade links existed with the rest of Europe. From c.100 BC extensive trade was shared with Rome, and in the 4th century AD Baltic trade was centered on Gotland. At this time small kingdoms were formed by tribes, the most important of which, the Suiones (Svearna) in the Lake Malaren region, was mentioned by Tacitus in AD 98. Other tribes, the \TGoths\t (Gotarna) in the south and the Halsings and Lapps in the north, appear in sources from the 6th century AD. Christianity came to Sweden in the 9th century, and in 1164 the archbishopric in Uppsala was instituted. By 1000 the Goths had been conquered by the Suiones, and the first unified Swedish state founded. The \TViking\t period, from the 9th century to c.1050, was prosperous. Swedish Vikings traveled as fur and slave traders to Russia and down to the Arab caliphate at Baghdad. In the 13th century parts of Finland and Karelia were occupied by Swedes. Slavery ended in 1335, and the first Swedish national law was compiled around 1350. In 1397, after three centuries of internal struggles in Sweden, the Danish queen \TMargaret I\t united Denmark, Sweden, and Norway in the Kalmar Union. The Period of Union lasted to 1523 when, as opposition to the continuing aggression of Denmark and the \THanseatic League\t mounted in Sweden, Gustav Vasa used the murder of Swedish leaders in the so-called Bloodbath of Stockholm (1520) to lead a revolt against Denmark. Ruling as \TGustav I\t Vasa (1523-60), he achieved independence for Sweden and introduced Lutheranism as Sweden's national religion. Sweden's expansion continued during the 16th and 17th centuries. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were occupied between 1561 and 1629. Under \TGustav II Adolf\t (r. 1611-32), Sweden entered the \TThirty Years' War\t on the side of the Protestants and gained lands in northern Germany (see \TWestphalia, Peace of\t). Sweden's period as an empire (1611-1718) reached its apex under \TCharles X\t Gustav (r. 1654-60) but came to an end in the 18th century with the rise of Russia as a unified empire under Emperor Peter I. In the Great \TNorthern War\t (1700-21), Sweden lost its Baltic and several of its north German provinces on the death of \TCharles XII\t (r. 1697-1718). After the war a new constitution was drawn up by the Riksdag and an early form of parliamentarism initiated with reduced powers for the monarchy and increased powers for the Riksdag and bourgeoisie. Known as the Age of Freedom, this era ended abruptly in 1772 following a coup d'etat by \TGustav III\t (r. 1772-92) and the reestablishment of a strong monarchy. During the \TNapoleonic Wars\t, Sweden joined (1805) the Third Coalition against France. In 1809, Russia, then an ally of France, seized Finland. After this defeat \TGustav IV Adolf\t was forced to abdicate (1809) in favor of Charles XIII. In 1810, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, one of Napoleon's marshals and the founder of the present Swedish royal house, was chosen by the Riksdag as crown prince. He ruled as \TCharles XIV John\t from 1818 to 1844. Finland remained in Russian hands, and Denmark was forced to cede Norway to Sweden in compensation in 1814. Norway remained in union with Sweden until it became independent peacefully in 1905. Impoverished at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden initiated a policy of nonalignment that kept it out of World Wars I and II and began a steady and undramatic social and economic revolution within its new borders. Many Swedes emigrated to North America during the latter half of the 19th century, about 1 million between 1850 and 1890, but emigration slowed as conditions improved after 1900, and by the 1950s Sweden was one of the world's richest and most socially progressive nations. In more recent times, however, many Swedes have expressed dissatisfaction with the high rates of taxation necessary to maintain their generous social welfare system. On Feb. 28, 1986, the nation was stunned when prime minister Olof Palme, who had dominated Swedish politics during the 1970s and 1980s, was assassinated by an unknown assailant as he walked down a Stockholm street. Palme, the political heir of Tage \TErlander\t (prime minister from 1946 to 1969), had an international reputation as an outspoken advocate of disarmament. He was the first European head of state to be killed in office since the assassination of Romanian prime minister Armand Calinescu in 1939 and the first Swedish leader killed since the shooting of King Gustav III in 1792. He was followed as prime minister by Ingvar Carlsson, and Carl Bildt assumed office in 1991. Karl Erik Bergsten Bibliography: \TGeneral\t: Childs, Marquis, Sweden: The Middle Way on Trial (1984); Imber, Walter, and Tieze, Wolf, Sweden (1979); Mead, W. R., and Hall, Wendy, Scandinavia (1972); Scobbie, Irene, Sweden (1972). \Tsocial\t \Lcondition\ls: Erikson, Robert, and Aberg, Rune, eds., Welfare in Transition: A Survey of Living Conditions in Sweden (1987); Milner, Henry, Sweden: Social Democracy in Practice (1990); Scase, Richard, ed., Readings in the Swedish Class Structure (1976); Tomasson, Richard F., Sweden: Prototype of Modern Society (1970). \Teconomics\t: Bosworth, Barry, and Rivlin, Alice, eds., The Swedish Economy (1987); Gustavson, Carl G., The Small Giant: Sweden Enters the Industrial Era (1986); Koblik, Steven, ed., Sweden's Development from Poverty to Affluence, 1750-1970, trans. by Joanne Johnson and Steven Koblik (1975); Lindbeck, Assar, Swedish Economic Policy (1974); Ruden, Bengt, and Bergstrom, Villy, eds., Sweden: Choices for Economic and Social Policy in the 1980s (1982). \Tgovernment\t AND \LPolitic\ls: Board, Joseph B., The Government and Politics of Sweden (1970); Hardenius, Axel, A Crisis of the Welfare State? Opinions about Taxes and Public Expenditures in Sweden (1986); Metcalf, Michael, ed., The Riksdag: A History of the Swedish Parliament (1988); Sudelius, Bengt, ed., Committed Neutral: Swedish Foreign Policy (1989); Tilton, Tim, The Political Theory of Swedish Social Democracy (1990). \Thistory\t: Andersson, Ingvar, A History of Sweden, trans. by Carolyn Hannay (1968; repr. 1975); Carlgren, Carl W. M., Swedish Foreign Policy During the Second World War, trans. by Arthur Spencer (1977); Elstob, Eric, Sweden: A Political and Cultural History (1979); Moberg, Vilhelm, A History of the Swedish People, 2 vols., trans. by Paul Austin (1972 and 1974); Samuelsson, Kurt, From Great Power to Welfare State (1968); Scott, Franklin D., Sweden: The Nation's History, enlarged ed. (1988).