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Sweden, officially Konungariket Sverige (Kingdom of Sweden), constitutional monarchy in northern Europe, occupying the eastern portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is bounded on the north and west by Norway, on the north-east by Finland, on the east by the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea, and on the south-west by the Öresund (Øresund), the Kattegatt, and the Skagerrak. Sweden includes the islands of Gotland and Öland in the Baltic Sea. It is the fourth largest country in Europe. The total area of Sweden is 449,964 sq km (173,732 sq mi). Stockholm is the country's capital and largest city.

The extreme distance from north to south in Sweden is about 1,575 km (980 mi), and from east to west about 500 km (310 mi). The coastline totals about 7,565 km (4,700 mi) in length. Sweden may be divided into six topographical regions. In the north-western section are extensions of the Kjölen Mountains, which form part of the boundary with Norway. The highest point in the range, and the highest point in Sweden, is atop Mount Kebnekaise 2,111 m (6,926 ft). To the east of the mountains is a long plateau, which slopes east to a coastal plain bordering the Gulf of Bothnia. The mountains of northern Sweden are the source of many rivers, which flow south-east to the Gulf of Bothnia. These rivers, which often have elongated lakes and a number of falls and rapids, constitute a valuable source of hydropower. The principal rivers are the Ångermanälven, Dalälven, Klarälven, Ume älv, and Torne älv.

In south central Sweden is a lowland with many lakes, including the largest lakes in the country, Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern. An upland region, known as the Småland highlands, is located south of the lowland. The plains of Skåne occupy the south-eastern tip of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The lowest elevation point is sea level along the coast.

Sweden is part of the Fennoscandian Shield, which extends over part of northern Europe. The rocks, except those in the north-west, are primarily ancient Precambrian granites, schists, and gneisses. Younger metamorphic rocks are characteristic of the northern part of the country. Sedimentary rocks are found in the southern Skåne plains and in the islands of Gotland and Öland. The present topography of Sweden was formed largely during the Quaternary Ice Ages by a continental ice sheet, which receded about 8,000 years ago. The mountains, except for several of the highest peaks, were rounded by glaciation. The ice sheet scraped out deep valleys and created numerous glacial lakes. Ridges of rock, gravel, sand, and clay were deposited in many places by the retreating ice. Glacial seas left fertile marine clay soils in the south and in the central lake area. Some permanent glacier fields still remain in the high mountain regions.

The climate is comparatively moderate, considering that Sweden is located at a very northern latitude. The principal moderating influences are the Gulf Stream and the prevailing westerly winds, which blow in from the relatively warm North Atlantic Ocean. In winter these influences are offset by cold air masses that sweep in from the east. The climate of northern Sweden is considerably more severe than that of the south primarily because it has higher altitudes and because the mountains cut off the moderating marine influences. The average temperature in February, the coldest month, is below 0° C (32° F) throughout Sweden, with temperatures ranging from -3° C (27° F) in Stockholm to -1° C (30° F) in Göteborg and -11.7° C (11° F) in Haparanda in the northern part of the country. In July, the warmest month, the average temperatures are 17° C (63° F) in Göteborg, 18° C (64° F) in Stockholm, and 15° C (59° F) in Haparanda. The proportion of daylight hours increases in the summer and decreases in the winter as the latitude becomes more northerly. In the one-seventh of Sweden above the Arctic Circle, daylight is continuous for some two months in the summer and continuous darkness occurs for some two months in the winter.

The major natural resources of Sweden are fertile farmland, forests that cover more than 60 per cent of the country, large deposits of iron ore and other minerals, and abundant sources of water for the production of hydroelectricity.

Environmental concerns in Sweden have helped shape government policy. The 1988 Chernobyl' nuclear disaster in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics figured heavily in the decision to phase out nuclear power plants in Sweden by the early 21st century. This programme has been postponed by the country's economic recession. In addition, two 1988 ecological disasters attributed to pollution heightened ecological concerns. An increase in algae concentrations devastated Sweden's west coast marine environment and viral disease destroyed as much as 65 per cent of the seal population of the North and Baltic seas.

Sweden's population is principally composed of Scandinavians of Germanic descent, the majority of whom have fair complexions, blue eyes, and blond hair. About 17,000 Sami live mainly in Swedish Lapland, in the northern part of the country. The immigrant population is increasing rapidly, with approximately 500,000 aliens living in Sweden (1992). These include Finns, Yugoslavs, Iranians, Norwegians, Danes, Turks, Chileans, and others. Many come to Sweden as guest workers, others as refugees. Numbers of aliens have been swelled by refugees escaping the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Sweden ranks second only to Germany as a haven for refugees from that region.

Sweden is divided into 24 counties: Älvsborg, Blekinge, Gävleborg, Göteborg och Bohus, Gotland, Halland, Jämtland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Kopparberg, Kristianstad, Kronoberg, Malmöhus, Norrbotten, Örebro, Östergötland, Skaraborg, Södermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Värmland, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, and Västmanland. Each county has a governor, appointed by the central government, and a popularly elected council.

The principal cities of Sweden include Stockholm, the capital and largest city, with a population of 693,103 (1993 estimate); Göteborg (437,549), an industrial centre and seaport; and Malmö (237,531), a commercial centre and seaport. Other major cities include Uppsala, Linköping, Örebro, Norrköping, and Västerås.

Lutheranism is the religion of nearly 88 per cent of the Swedish people. The Evangelical Lutheran Church has been the state church of Sweden since 1593, but legislation in 1995 began the separation of Church and State. Children no longer acquire membership in the church at birth. Sweden is divided into 13 Lutheran dioceses; each one is headed by a bishop. Other Protestant denominations in Sweden are the Baptists, the Methodists, the Mission Covenant Church of Sweden, the Pentecostal Movement, and the Salvation Army. A small number of people are adherents of the Roman Catholic church, Islam, and Judaism.

See Swedish Language; Swedish Literature.

In 1842 education in Sweden was made free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 14 years. The school system consisted of infant schools (7 to 9 years old) and elementary schools (9 to 14 years old). Children who did not attend public schools were required to provide evidence of private education. The Education Act of 1950 basically changed Swedish education by abandoning the traditional two-track (university preparation and vocational education) school system of Europe and instituting the comprehensive, unitary system typical of the United States. The goal of this law was to "bridge the old gaps between social classes" and to enable each individual to develop all potentialities. The success of this educational reform inspired similar reforms in other countries.

However, possibly the country's best-known contribution to world arts and sciences in the 20th century was made posthumously, by the Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist, Alfred Nobel. Four of the five prizes which bear his name and which are financed by a fund established under his will are awarded by Swedish institutions. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prizes for physics and chemistry, the Karolinska Institute the prize for physiology or medicine, and the Swedish Academy the prize for literature; the fifth Nobel Prize, for peace, is awarded by the Norway. In 1968 a sixth prize, for economic science, was founded by the Bank of Sweden; it is also awarded by the Academy of Sciences.

Swedish art originated in the Bronze Age (1500-500 BC). Ornaments dating from this period reveal an independent artistic style. Sculpture in stone began on the island of Gotland about AD 500. The arts, especially sculpture, flourished in connection with the construction of churches from about 1100-1350. Since the Middle Ages, Swedish art has often been profoundly influenced by European developments. Prominent Swedish artists of the 18th century are the painters Carl Gustav Pilo and Alexander Roslin, and the sculptor Johan Tobias von Sergel. Significant artists of the 19th century include Carl Fredrik Hill and Ernst Josephson. Internationally recognized artists of the 20th century are the painter Anders Leonhard Zorn and the sculptor Carl Milles.

Although Sweden developed the medieval log cabin, which was introduced in the United States in the 17th century, major architectural advances were not made until the late 19th century. Since then, internationally noted architects have included Ragnar Östberg, Erik Gunnar Asplund, and Sven Gottfrid Markelius.

In the field of cinema, Swedish directors have won international recognition. Prominent directors include Ingmar Bergman, Arne Edvard Sucksdorff, and Arne Mattsson.

The greatest Swedish contribution to music has been in the field of song. Famous Swedish singers have included Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson, Jussi Björling, and Birgit Nilsson. Swedish folk music reflects the natural surroundings and the remoteness of the country through the ages. In the 18th century, a period of great cultural activity, King Gustav III founded the Academy of Music, the Stockholm Opera, and the Royal Ballet. A Swedish composer who achieved international fame was the symphonist Franz Berwald. Modern composers include Hugo Alfvén, whose music is based on Swedish folk songs, Hilding Rosenberg, and Karl-Birger Blomdahl. In the field of popular music the group Abba achieved worldwide success, paving the way for other Scandinavian performers.

Swedish farms vary in size from large estates to small family holdings. In recent years, many small farms have been combined into larger units. Most agricultural production is for domestic consumption. About 3 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. After World War II dairying, traditionally important in Swedish agriculture, declined somewhat in relation to the production of grains and vegetables. The leading farm commodities remain livestock and livestock products, especially dairy items. The major crops (1992 figures) are wheat (1,406,000 metric tonnes), barley (1,261,000 tonnes), sugar beet (2,136,000), potatoes (1,253,000), oats (807,500), and rape-seed (284,000). The livestock population (1992 figures) includes approximately 1.8 million cattle, 2.1 million pigs, 447,000 sheep, and 6.7 million poultry.

Mineral production is important to the Swedish economy. Extensive high-grade iron-ore deposits are located in central and northern Sweden, notably around Kiruna and Malmberget. Annual mineral production includes about 12.4 million metric tons of iron ore (metal content), 207,000 tons of lead and silver ore, and 74,000 tons of copper ore concentrates (1990 figures). Zinc, gold, crude petroleum, uranium, and iron pyrites are also produced; Sweden has an estimated 15 per cent of the world's known uranium reserves.

In the early 1990s about 26 per cent of the work force was employed in manufacturing which contributes one-fifth of the gross domestic product. Most manufacturing plants are privately owned, and the majority are small. Sweden is noted for producing high-quality steel; the annual output of crude steel was 4.5 million metric tons in 1990. Additional major manufactures are aluminium, lead, copper, motor vehicles, machinery, electric and electronic equipment, lumber, paper, cement, furniture, glass and glassware, chemicals, refined petroleum, textiles and clothing, aircraft, ships, and food processing. Leading manufacturing centres include Stockholm, Göteborg, Linköping, Malmö, and Trollhättan.

Foreign trade is very important, and Sweden is a member of the European Free Trade Association. In addition, substantial trade is conducted with members of the European Union. The major trading partners of Sweden include Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark, the United States, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In the early 1990s annual exports earned about $44 billion and imports cost about $40 billion. However, both the current account of the balance of payments and overall balance of payments have been in deficit since the early 1990s. Sweden's principal exports include forest products, machinery, motor vehicles, iron and steel, chemicals, and ships. Major imports include machinery, petroleum, transport equipment, chemicals, clothing and textiles, food, and iron and steel.

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy; the present monarch is King Carl XVI Gustaf (succeeded 1973). It is governed under the constitution of 1975, which superseded the Constitutional Act of 1809 and the Parliament Act of 1866, as amended. The 1975 constitution eliminated the last vestiges of monarchical power in governing the country. The monarch remains head of state, an exclusively ceremonial post, but is no longer supreme commander of the armed forces. Under the 1975 constitution the monarch also ceased to preside over cabinet meetings. All power is defined as emanating from the people. The constitution includes a lengthy bill of rights. Succession to the throne was opened to females in 1980; the present heir is Crown Princess Victoria (born 1977).

The armed forces of Sweden are headed by a supreme commander and a defence staff that coordinates the activities of the army, navy, and air force. Up to 15 months' military service is compulsory for men between 18 and 47 years of age. An important component of the country's defences is the 125,000-member home guard, a volunteer service organized during World War II. In 1993 the armed forces included an army of 43,500, a navy of 9,800, and an air force of 11,500. In response to the instability within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and especially in Russia, Sweden's government has announced plans to increase defence spending up to 1996. Strongly defensive of its traditional neutrality during the cold war era, Sweden since 1989 has also shown willingness to cooperate with other European nations on security matters.

During Roman times the eastern half of the Scandinavian Peninsula was inhabited by two tribes of the Germanic Peoples: the Suiones, or Swedes, in northern Svealand; and the Gothones, or Goths, in southern Gothia. These tribes, although united in religious beliefs, were generally at war with each other. Before the 10th century, details of Swedish history are obscure. In the first half of the 9th century Frankish missionaries began teaching Christianity, which slowly became established in the country. Olaf Skötkonung was the first Swedish king to become a Christian. From about AD 800, Swedish Vikings established colonies in other countries, especially Russia and Eastern Europe, and established trade routes. During the reign of Eric IX, from 1150 to 1160, Swedish power was strengthened. Eric invaded Finland and forced Christianity on those he conquered; during the subsequent two centuries Finland was completely subjugated by the Swedes. Eric was allegedly slain by a Danish claimant of his throne while he was attending mass, and he later became the patron saint of Sweden.

In the 13th and 14th centuries feudalism became a controlling influence in Sweden, and a wealthy aristocracy replaced the waning power of the throne. In 1389 the Swedish nobles forced Albert of Mecklenburg to renounce the throne, which was given to Margaret I, Queen of Denmark and Norway. In 1397 Margaret effected the Union of Kalmar, by which the three Scandinavian kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were united under a single sovereign.

The union, which endured for more than a century, was characterized by constant dissension and wars between the Danes and Swedes. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark and Norway successfully invaded Sweden to enforce his authority. Following his coronation, he had hundreds of his opponents executed. The mass executions aroused a rebellion in 1521, which deposed Christian. Denmark, however, retained possession of the southern part of the peninsula. The leader of the rebellion, Gustav Vasa, became administrator before being crowned king as Gustav I Vasa in 1523. Under Gustav, Sweden became a hereditary monarchy in which the power of the nobles was circumscribed and that of the clergy subordinated to the state. Lutheranism was established as the state religion in the 1520s.

During the 16th century Sweden entered a period of expansion. The Reval district of Estonia placed itself voluntarily under Swedish protection in 1561 and, as a result of the Livonia War of 1557 to 1582, Sweden acquired all of Estonia from Poland, including the district of Narva. Gradually the kingdom became a power in the Baltic area, and its expansionist policies were furthered by Gustav II Adolph, considered the greatest Swedish king, who succeeded to the throne in 1611.

At the beginning of his reign, Sweden was at war with Russia, but in 1617 Gustav ended the conflict with a treaty by which Sweden obtained eastern Karelia and Ingria. A war with Poland (1621-1629) gave Sweden all Livonia, which was, however, not formally renounced by Poland until 1660. In 1630 Gustav, as the champion of Protestantism, entered the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). The king died in 1632, but his policies were continued and brilliantly fulfilled by his chancellor, Count Axel Oxenstierna, who directed the Swedish government during the minority of the monarch's daughter, Christina. Christina came of age and was crowned in 1644.

By the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, Sweden acquired a large part of Pomerania, the island of Rügen, Wismar, the sees of Bremen and Verden, and other German territory, which entitled the Swedish sovereign to three votes in the diet of the Holy Roman Empire. Sweden thereby became the greatest power in the Baltic area.

In 1654 Queen Christina abdicated, naming her cousin Charles X Gustav as her successor; she lived the rest of her life in Rome. Pursuing his predecessor's policy of military aggression, Charles, who ruled until 1660, declared war on Poland (the First Northern War, 1655-1660). By the Peace of Oliva in April 1660, Poland formally ceded Livonia to Sweden. In 1658 Charles X invaded Denmark twice and wrested from it the provinces in southern Sweden that Denmark had retained in the 16th century.

Charles's son and successor, Charles XI, allied himself with King Louis XIV of France, in the French wars of the late 17th century. Sweden, however, still a comparatively small and not overly wealthy country, did not have the resources to sustain such militarism despite its Baltic conquests. In 1675 the Swedes, as French allies, were severely defeated by Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, at Fehrbellin. At the same time, Charles struck at fundamental Swedish liberties in a reorganization of the Swedish government, weakening the council of state and the Riksdag, and making himself an absolute monarch. In 1680 he confiscated all large estates. Sweden again became an efficient military state, but only temporarily.

Charles XII, son and successor to Charles XI, was a military genius. Not long after his accession, at the age of 15, he successfully engaged an aggressive coalition of Russia, Poland, and Denmark in the beginning of the Great Northern War (1700-1721). During the first years of this conflict, Sweden brilliantly asserted its position as the greatest military power of the Baltic. In 1700 Charles successfully invaded north-western Russia, and by 1706 he had defeated the Poles.

While Charles was engaging Poland, however, Peter the Great of Russia was establishing his dominion on the Baltic coasts. In 1709 the Swedish army was routed by Russian forces at the Battle of Poltava, marking the collapse of Sweden and its replacement by Russia as the Baltic's dominant power. By the treaties of Stockholm and Nystadt in 1721, Sweden lost much of its German territory and ceded Livonia, Estonia, Ingria, part of Karelia, and several important Baltic islands to Russia.

In 1771 Gustav III came to the throne and, taking advantage of general dissatisfaction with the high-handed policies of the aristocracy, managed to take over the government. He promulgated a new constitution and restored absolute monarchy. At first his policies were liberal, but after 1789, with the start of the French Revolution, his rule became despotic; he was assassinated in 1792.

Gustav's son and successor, Gustav IV Adolph, was bitterly opposed to Napoleon of France, and in 1805 joined the Third Coalition against him, composed of Great Britain, Sweden, Russia, and Austria. Russia deserted the coalition for an alliance with Napoleon in 1807 and a year later invaded Finland, menacing Sweden. Gustav was deposed by an army revolt in 1809. The Riksdag then formulated a new constitution, which remained in force until 1975, and in 1809 elected as king the ex-king's uncle, Charles XIII. Sweden concluded two treaties, one with Russia in 1809, ceding most of Finland and the Åland Islands, and another with France in 1810, by which a pro-Napoleonic policy was adopted. Charles XIII was childless, and the Riksdag chose Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Prince of Pontecorvo and one of Napoleon's generals, as crown prince, in an effort to conciliate Napoleon. The marshal accepted, and an Act of Settlement, fixing the succession in the Bernadotte dynasty, was enacted in 1810. Bernadotte almost immediately became the dominant influence in Swedish policy. Withdrawing his allegiance from France, he fought with the Coalition against Napoleon in 1813-1814. In the latter year Denmark was forced to yield Norway to Sweden, receiving in exchange the Swedish possessions in Pomerania. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, Sweden no longer possessed territory in Germany. The Congress of Vienna, in 1815, recognized the union of Norway with Sweden.

In 1818 Bernadotte succeeded to the throne as Charles XIV John. As a foreigner, he was not popular, and his reign (1818-1844) was characterized by a stuggle for control between the throne and the Riksdag. However, Bernadotte was an able administrator, and the united kingdoms of Norway and Sweden made considerable progress, materially, politically, and culturally. His successors, Oscar I, Charles XV, and Oscar II, were accepted as Swedes. Between 1864 and 1866 the constitution was revised, giving the Riksdag, then bicameral, a form close to its present one.

In 1907 Gustav V succeeded to the throne, and two years later constitutional amendments extended the voting franchise and inaugurated proportional representation.

In 1914, at the beginning of World War I, Sweden declared its neutrality and subsequently entered an agreement with Norway and Denmark to defend the neutrality and protect the common economic interests of the Scandinavian countries. Sweden joined the League of Nations in 1920. Led by the great Swedish statesman Karl Hjalmar Branting, the Social Democratic Labour party became the leading force in Swedish politics. Socialist governments remained in power until 1928, enacting social reforms that made Sweden prominent in this regard. The Conservative party was brought into office in 1928, but the coming of a worldwide economic and industrial depression shortly afterwards restored the Social Democrats to office in 1932.

In July 1945, after the close of hostilities in Europe, the wartime coalition cabinet resigned and the Social Democrats, under Prime Minister Per Albin Hansson, resumed full control of the government. Tage Erlander, formerly minister of education and church affairs, succeeded to the premiership in October 1946, after the death of Hansson. The following month Sweden became the 54th member of the United Nations.

Sweden maintained a neutral attitude in the ensuing Cold War. In 1948 it joined the United States-sponsored European Recovery Programme, along with the other west European nations, but refused to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, formed in 1949. Failing in efforts to form a Scandinavian defence bloc without ties to the East or West, Sweden began systematically to strengthen its defences.

Important domestic events in Sweden were the death in 1950 of Gustav V, the accession of his oldest son as Gustav VI Adolph, the creation of a Social Democratic-Agrarian coalition government in 1951, and the development of strong inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy from 1951 to 1952. In the elections held in September 1956, the Social Democrat-Agrarian coalition remained in power despite a joint loss of 11 seats in the lower house of the Riksdag.

In April 1958 the United States agreed to help fund Sweden's construction of a nuclear reactor. In the same month the Erlander government fell because of intraparty disagreement on the pension plan, but elections in June returned him to power. Parliamentary approval of the pension plan was obtained on May 14, 1959. Later that year Sweden became a founding member of the European Free Trade Association. Elections in 1960 resulted in another Social Democratic victory, and Erlander remained prime minister. When he retired from his post in 1969, Olof Palme, former education minister, was named to succeed him. A constitutional revision effective in 1971 reorganized the legislature into a unicameral body and implemented a new electoral system. In 1973 Gustav VI Adolph died and was succeeded by his grandson, Carl XVI Gustaf. On January 1, 1975, a new constitution, dissolving the remaining power of the king, came into force.

In May 1994 the European Parliament recommended Sweden for membership of the European Union (EU). A referendum to approve membership was held on November 13, 1994. Swedes voted by 52.2 per cent to 46.9 per cent in an 83 per cent turnout poll to join the EU in 1995. Sweden became an official member state in January 1995.

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