Data at glance of Sweden - average on period

History

A military power during the 17th century, Sweden maintained a policy of military non-alignment until it applied to join NATO in 2022. Sweden has not participated in any war for two centuries. Stockholm preserved an armed neutrality in both World Wars. Since then, Sweden has pursued a successful economic formula consisting of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum. The share of Sweden’s population born abroad increased from 11.3% in 2000 to 20% in 2022.  

Environment

Area: 450,295 km2

Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

Natural resources: iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: None

Languages: Swedish (official)major-language sample(s): The World Factbook, den obestridliga källan för grundläggande information. (Swedish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.note: Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish, and Meankieli are official minority languages

Religions: Church of Sweden (Lutheran) 53.9%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 8.9%, none or unspecified 37.2% (2021 est.)note: estimates reflect registered members of faith communities eligible for state funding (not all religions are state-funded and not all people who identify with a particular religion are registered members) and the Church of Sweden

Government

Capital: Stockholm

Government type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy

Executive branch

Chief of state: King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 15 September 1973)

Head of government: Prime Minister Ulf KRISTERSSON (since 18 October 2022)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime ministerelection/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Parliament (Riksdagen)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 349 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 9/11/2022parties elected and seats per party: Social Democratic Party (SAP) (107); Sweden Democrats (SD) (73); Moderate Party (M) (68); Left Party (VP) (24); Centre Party (CP) (24); Christian Democrats (KD) (19); Green Party (Mpg) (18); Other (16)percentage of women in chamber: 45%expected date of next election: September 2026