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Sweden, country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. The name Sweden was derived from the Svear, or Suiones, a people mentioned as early as 98 ce by the Roman author Tacitus. The country’s ancient name was Svithiod. Stockholm has been the permanent capital since 1523.
Sweden occupies the greater part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, which it shares with Norway. The land slopes gently from the high mountains along the Norwegian frontier eastward to the Baltic Sea. Geologically, it is one of the oldest and most stable parts of the Earth’s crust. Its surface formations and soils were altered by the receding glaciers of the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). Lakes dot the fairly flat landscape, and thousands of islands form archipelagoes along more than 1,300 miles (2,100 km) of jagged, rocky coastline. Like all of northwestern Europe, Sweden has a generally favourable climate relative to its northerly latitude owing to moderate southwesterly winds and the warm North Atlantic Current.
The country has a 1,000-year-long continuous history as a sovereign state, but its territorial expanse changed often until 1809. Today it is a constitutional monarchy with a well-established parliamentary democracy that dates from 1917. Swedish society is ethnically and religiously very homogeneous, although recent immigration has created some social diversity. Historically, Sweden rose from backwardness and poverty into a highly developed postindustrial society and advanced welfare state with a standard of living and life expectancy that rank among the highest in the world.
Sweden long ago disavowed the military aggressiveness that once involved its armies deeply in Europe’s centuries of dynastic warfare. It has chosen instead to play a balancing role among the world’s conflicting ideological and political systems. It is for this reason that Swedish statesmen have often been sought out to fill major positions in the United Nations. At peace since 1814, Sweden has followed the doctrine, enunciated in every document on foreign policy since World War II, of “nonalignment in peace aiming at neutrality in war.” Britannica QuizCountries of the World
Land
Sweden lies to the southwest of Finland. A long coastline forms the country’s eastern border, extending along the Gulf of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea; a narrow strait, known as The Sound (Öresund), separates Sweden from Denmark in the south. A shorter coastline along the Skagerrak and Kattegat straits forms Sweden’s border to the southwest, and Norway lies to the west. Sweden extends some 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the north and south and 310 miles (500 km) to the east and west.
The country is traditionally divided into three regions: to the north is Norrland, the vast mountain and forest region; in central Sweden is Svealand, an expanse of lowland in the east and highland in the west; and in the south is Götaland, which includes the Småland highlands and, at the southern extremity, the small but rich plains of Skåne. In the far north the region of Lappland overlaps Norrland and northern Finland.
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Relief
skiers in Sarek National Park, Sweden
Norrland is the largest and most sparsely populated of the regions, covering some three-fifths of the country. The region features an undulating surface of rounded hills and mountains, large lakes, and extensive river valleys. To the west lie the Kölen (Kjølen; Scandinavian) Mountains, through which runs the border demarcating Sweden and Norway. This range is characterized by numerous glaciers, the southernmost of which is on Helags Mountain (Helagsfjället), near the Norwegian border. At the region’s far northern edge, north of the Arctic Circle, are Sweden’s highest peaks: Mount Kebne (Kebnekaise), which is 6,926 feet (2,111 metres) in elevation, and Mount Sarek (Sarektjåkkå), which rises 6,854 feet (2,089 metres), in the magnificent Sarek National Park.
The interior of southern Sweden, Småland, is a wooded upland with elevations of 980 to 1,300 feet (300 to 400 metres). A region of poor and stony soils, Småland has been cultivated through the ages with some difficulty, as evidenced by the enormous mounds of stone cleared from the land. More recently the area has been characterized by flourishing small factories.
Except for a stretch of scenic “high coast,” the Bothnian coastal plain is low-lying and stretches from Norrland into Svealand. Most of the fairly level surface of eastern Svealand and northern Götaland was pressed below sea level by glaciers, leaving a landscape of fragmented bedrock, fertile clayey plains, numerous lakes, and sandy ridges. Today these are intermingled with mixed forests and farmland. Sweden’s landscape changes from the hills of Småland to the fertile plains of Skåne, which is physiographically and economically more similar to Denmark than to the rest of Sweden. This is Sweden’s oldest settled and most densely populated agricultural area.
The Swedish coastline is typically rocky, with hundreds of small, sometimes wooded islands. Ground by glacial ice in the same direction, they have a common rounded shape. This type of coast, known as skärgård, is found in both the east and the west, especially around Stockholm and Gothenburg. Off the southern coast in the Baltic, the large, flat islands of Öland and Gotland are outcropping layers of sandstone and limestone.
Drainage
Log pond on the Dal River, Sweden.
The country’s chief rivers originate in the mountains of Norrland, mostly flowing southeastward with many falls and rapids and emptying into the Gulf of Bothnia or the Baltic Sea. The longest, however, is the Klar-Göta River, which rises in Norway and flows 447 miles (719 km), reaching Lake Väner (Vänern) and continuing southward out of the lake’s southern end to the North Sea; along its southernmost course are the famous falls of Trollhättan. The Muonio and Torne rivers form the frontier with Finland, and in the south the Dal River marks the transition to Svealand. The rivers, except in the far north, where they are protected, are sources of hydroelectric power.
In Svealand are Sweden’s largest lakes, including Lakes Väner, 2,181 square miles (5,650 square km); Vätter (Vättern), 738 square miles (1,911 square km); and Mälar (Mälaren), 440 square miles (1,139 square km). The shores of Lakes Siljan and Storsjön and the river valleys support agriculture.
Soils
The dominant soil of Sweden is till, formed under glacial ice. Till that comes from the archaic bedrock of granites and gneisses forms a poor soil, and forestry and polluted (acid) rain add to its acidification. On the other hand, small areas of clayey till from younger sedimentary limestone, scattered mainly in southern Sweden, form brown earth, providing agricultural soils of high fertility. In addition, vast areas of central Sweden are covered by heavy and fertile sea-bottom clays raised out of the sea by postglacial land uplift. One-fifth of the country, especially in rainy southwestern Sweden and the cold far north, is covered by marshland and peat.
Climate of Sweden
Stockholm at dusk.
About 15 percent of the country lies within the Arctic Circle. From about late May until mid-July, sunlight lasts around the clock north of the Arctic Circle, but, even as far south as Stockholm, the nights during this period have only a few hours of semidarkness. In mid-December, on the other hand, Stockholm experiences only about 5.5 hours of daylight; in areas as far north as Lappland, there are nearly 20 hours of total darkness relieved by a mere 4 hours of twilight.
Considering its northerly geographic location (at the latitude of parts of Greenland and Siberia), Sweden enjoys a favourable climate. From the southwest, Atlantic low-pressure winds blow in air warmed by the North Atlantic Current and make the weather mild but changeable. Another type of influence comes from continental high pressures to the east. These create sunny weather, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. The interaction between the Atlantic and continental influences causes periodic shifts in climate.
The north-to-south extension of the country and the higher elevation of the northern part results in great regional differences in winter climate. The northern interior receives heavy snowfall for up to eight months of the year and has severe temperatures that drop as low as −22 to −40 °F (−30 to −40 °C). The average January temperature in Haparanda at the head of the Gulf of Bothnia is 10 °F (−12 °C). Sea ice covers the Gulf of Bothnia from November to May.
In southern Sweden winters vary more from year to year than in the north; snowfall is irregular, and average January temperatures range between 23 and 32 °F (−5 and 0 °C). Coastal waters seldom freeze.
Summer temperatures vary far less, although summer is much shorter in the north. In terms of average daily temperature, “spring” arrives in Skåne during February but not until late May in northernmost Norrland; then it may come virtually overnight. The mean July temperature in Haparanda is 59 °F (15 °C), and in Malmö 63 °F (17 °C).
Late summer and autumn are the rainiest seasons, but precipitation falls throughout the year. Annual precipitation averages about 24 inches (600 mm).
Plant and animal life
Lingonberry, or mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).
Most of Sweden is dominated by forests of fir, pine, and birch. Southern Sweden has more mixed forests, and in the far south deciduous trees such as beech, oak, linden, ash, elm, and maple are common. The forests are rich in berries, lingonberries and blueberries among them, and mushrooms. In Sweden anyone is entitled to hike through the forests and fields and pick berries and mushrooms.
In the high mountains coniferous trees give way to mountain birches, which extend up to the tree line at an elevation of 1,600 to 2,900 feet (480 to 880 metres). The treeless mountains with their heaths, marshes, and boulder fields have Alpine flora. Dwarf birch and willows are typical.
Owing to their limestone bedrock and mild climate, Gotland and Öland have a special flora that includes many orchids.
Moose (Alces alces) with fully developed antlers.
The impact of climate change on Sweden’s reindeer population
The effects of global warming on Sweden’s reindeer.See all videos for this article
Bears and lynx still inhabit the northern forests, while wolves are making a comeback, having become almost completely extinct in the 20th century. Throughout the country are large numbers of moose, roe deer, foxes, and hares. The moose is a great prize for hunters, but it also constitutes a traffic hazard. Hunting and fishing are closely regulated, and many species of animals are fully protected. Large herds of domesticated reindeer owned by Sami (Lapps) graze the northern mountains and forests.
Winter birdlife is dominated by a few species, but summer brings large numbers of migratory birds from southern Europe and Africa, as, for example, cranes and wild geese. Sweden has a rich variety of aquatic animal life, but environmental pollution has taken its toll. This applies significantly to the Baltic seal. Fish species include the cod and mackerel of the deep, salty Atlantic and the salmon and pike found in the far less saline Baltic and in lakes and rivers. Atlantic herring and its smaller relative, the Baltic herring, are traditional staple foods.
Conservation
Sweden has been in the vanguard of countries seeking to preserve the natural environment. It was the first European country to establish a national park (Sarek National Park was established in 1909), thereby preserving part of Europe’s last wilderness. The first Nature Conservancy Act was adopted in 1909, and in 1969 a modern environmental protection act was passed. Since then tens of thousands of square miles have been set aside as national parks and nature reserves. Serious environmental problems persist nevertheless. About one-fifth of the lakes in Sweden have been damaged by acidification, and groundwater too is threatened. A chief cause is sulfur fallout (i.e., contamination by what is commonly known as acid rain); most of the sulfur is discharged into the atmosphere by industrial facilities in nearby countries. Pollution in the Baltic Sea and the coastal waters of the Kattegat and Skagerrak also is considered severe.
People
Ethnic groups
Although different groups of immigrants have influenced Swedish culture through the centuries, the population historically has been unusually homogeneous in ethnic stock, language, and religion. It is only since World War II that notable change has occurred in the ethnic pattern. From 1970 to the early 1990s, net immigration accounted for about three-fourths of the population growth. By far, most of the immigrants came from the neighbouring Nordic countries, with which Sweden shares a common labour market.
In the 1980s Sweden began to receive an increasing number of asylum seekers from Asian and African countries such as Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Eritrea, and Somalia, as well as from Latin American countries that were suffering under repressive governments. Then from 2010 to 2014 the number of people seeking asylum in Sweden expanded dramatically, reaching more than 80,000 in 2014, and that number doubled to more than 160,000 in 2015. Many of these people were fleeing the Syrian Civil War. From the beginning of that conflict, Sweden had granted residency to any Syrian seeking asylum (some 70,000 in total). Thus, by 2016 one in six Swedish residents had been born outside the country, and Sweden, feeling the strain of the mass influx of migrants, enacted new and more stringent immigration restrictions.
Sweden has two minority groups of indigenous inhabitants: the Finnish-speaking people of the northeast along the Finnish border, and the Sami (Lapp) population of about 15,000 scattered throughout the northern Swedish interior. Once a hunting and fishing people, the latter group developed a reindeer-herding system that they still operate. Most of the Sami in Sweden have other occupations as well.
Languages
Swedish, the national language of Sweden and the mother tongue of approximately nine-tenths of the population, is a Nordic language. It belongs to the North Germanic (Scandinavian) subgroup of the Germanic languages and is closely related to the Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faeroese languages. It has been influenced at times by German, but it has also borrowed some words and syntax from French, English, and Finnish. A common standard language (rikssvenska) has been in use more than 100 years. The traditionally varying dialects of the provinces, although homogenized rapidly through the influences of education and the mass media, are still widely spoken. Swedish is also spoken by about 300,000 Finland-Swedes. Swedish law recognizes Sami and Finnish (both of which belong to the Uralic language group), as well as Meänkieli (the Finnish of the Torne Valley), Romani, and Yiddish as national minority languages, along with sign language. About 200 languages are now spoken in Sweden, owing to immigrants and refugees.
Religion of Sweden
Prehistoric archaeological artifacts and sites—including graves and rock carvings—give an indication of the ancient system of religious beliefs practiced in Sweden during the pre-Christian era. The sun and seasons figured largely, in tandem with fertility rites meant to ensure good harvests. These practices were informed by a highly developed mythic cycle, describing a distinctive cosmology and the deeds of the Old Norse gods, giants, and demons. Important gods included Odin, Thor, Freyr, and Freyja. Great sacrificial rites, thought to have taken place every eight years at Old Uppsala, were described by the author Adam of Bremen in the 11th century.
Sweden adopted Christianity in the 11th century, and for nearly 500 years Roman Catholicism was the preeminent religion. Sweden was the home to St. Bridget, founder of the Brigittine convent at Vadstena. As the first waves of the Protestant Reformation swept Europe in the mid-1500s, Lutheranism took hold in Sweden and remained dominant. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden was the official state church until 2000, and between three-fifths and two-thirds of the population remains members of this church. Since the late 1800s a number of independent churches have emerged; however, their members can also belong to the Church of Sweden. Immigration has brought a steady increase to the membership of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Islamic religions. Judaism is the country’s oldest global non-Christian religion, practiced in Sweden since 1776. After Christianity, Islam is the largest religion in Sweden, with about 100,000 active practitioners at the turn of the 21st century, although the number of Swedes of Muslim heritage was nearly three times that number.
Settlement patterns
The majority of Sweden’s population, small in relation to its land area, lives in the southern third of the country, and most of these people live in towns.
Götaland and Svealand, the two southernmost of Sweden’s traditional regions, take their names from small prehistoric clans who inhabited central Sweden. The Svear and the Götar (believed by some scholars to be the original Goths) were united into one state about 1000 ce. The Götar lived in Östergötland, Västergötland, and Småland, and the Svear around Lake Mälar. Certain differences remain in the dialects spoken in these two regions. Skåne and the surrounding regions were taken from the Danish crown in the 17th century, and Skåne is still looked upon as a special region in both language and customs, noted for its rich food and hospitality. The vast Norrland was colonized later by Swedes. It is far less populated than the southern and central regions. Britannica QuizWhich Country Is Larger By Area? Quiz
Rural settlement
Through the course of the 19th century, land reforms gradually dissolved village communities, consolidated farmland, divided commons, and dispersed farms. The reforms favoured modernization of agriculture. Nucleated villages were preserved in Dalarna and on the island of Öland, and a few surviving traditional farm buildings serve as representations of the rural heritage. Settlements grew up along seacoasts and lakeshores, and inland towns arose as markets in old agricultural and mining areas. In the country and in suburban communities, houses are often painted a traditional red with paint made from material produced since the 1700s at the copper mine in Falun. Norrland is thinly populated, with approximately three inhabitants per square kilometre, as compared with about 250 in Stockholm.
Numerous vacation homes dot the coasts and mountains, and castles and manors from the 16th–18th century are located mostly in the far south and around Lake Mälar.
Urban settlement
Urban growth in Sweden has followed industrialization. Location of new urban sites was strongly influenced by the development of the railway network and by the exploitation of the natural resources of northern Sweden. At present nearly nine-tenths of the population lives in urban centres; until 1870 no more than 10 percent of the population was urban. The vast majority of the people live in the Stockholm–Gothenburg–Malmö triangle and along the coast north of Stockholm. In Sweden the average living space is relatively large.
Demographic trends
The period of rapid economic growth after World War II caused dramatic migration from the countryside and smaller towns throughout Sweden to the large urban centres. Numerous communities suffered depopulation as young and educated people left to improve their lives. This trend brought countermeasures from the state, including subsidies for enterprises in northern and southeastern Sweden and a transfer of state agencies from Stockholm to outlying centres.
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Economy of Sweden
Sweden’s per capita gross national product (GNP) is among the highest in the world, but so are its taxes. Most enterprises are privately owned and market-oriented, but when transfer payments—such as pensions, sick pay, and child allowances—are included, roughly three-fifths of gross domestic product (GDP) passes through the public sector. Education, health care, and child care costs are primarily met by taxation. Government involvement in the distribution of national income, however, diminished over the last two decades of the 20th century.
With the value of exports amounting to about one-third of its GDP, Sweden is highly dependent on free international trade to maintain its living standard. In 1991 Sweden attached its currency, the krona, to the ecu (European currency unit, replaced in 1999 by the euro), but in 1992 Sweden abandoned its peg to the ecu and allowed the krona valuation to float. Sweden’s currency remained independent even after the country became a full member of the European Union (EU) in 1995. In 1999 an executive board of Sweden’s Riksbank was established to set monetary policy and sustain price stability. Sweden also has to cope with problems of competitiveness that have caused industry to invest much more abroad than at home. Most of Sweden’s large industrial companies are transnational, and some employ more people abroad than in Sweden, where production costs are high.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Farmland stretches along the shore of Lake Vättern in the Götaland region of southern Sweden.
The growing season in Sweden ranges from about 240 days in the south to 120 days in the north. Less than one-tenth of Sweden’s land area is under cultivation. Most arable land is found in southern Sweden, but there are arable parcels up to the Arctic Circle. Wheat, barley, sugar beets, oilseeds, potatoes, and staple vegetables dominate in the south, while in the north hay and potatoes are the main crops. In Sweden as a whole, animal agriculture is more significant than cereal farming. Dairy cows are important in all parts of the country, while pig and poultry raising are concentrated in the extreme south. The yields of Swedish farms are among the highest in the world. Environmental problems, however, have made it necessary to reduce the use of fertilizers.
About half of Swedish forestland is privately owned, about one-fourth company-owned, and about one-fourth publicly owned. Forest work used to be complementary winter employment for small farmers using their horses; today forestry is carried on year-round by a small workforce and large, modern machinery. Nearly three-fourths of all Swedish farms have timberland. The average regrowth and harvest time for spruce and pine is about 50 years in the south and roughly 140 years in the north. Since the late 19th century, forestry in Sweden has been conducted on a sustained-yield basis, which establishes a ratio between cutting and new growth that is strictly enforced. Modern large-scale forestry methods have been subject to severe criticism, and major reforms were implemented in the 1990s. A thorough mapping and inventory of key woodland habitats was undertaken in the mid-1990s to identify areas with high biodiversity values.
Learn about salmon aquaculture from a Swedish salmon farmer explaining the importance of maintaining the fish’s natural habitat
Learn about aquaculture in Sweden.See all videos for this article
Fishing occupies a small sector of the Swedish economy. Through international agreements, Sweden has lost some of its traditional fishing areas in the North Sea. Herring, cod, plaice, mackerel, and salmon are fished, as well as shrimp and lobster. Gothenburg is the leading fishing harbour and fish market.
Resources and power
Wood, metallic ores, and waterpower constitute the historical basis for Sweden’s industrial economy. The country is lacking in fossil fuels and must rely on imports for its needs. Hydroelectric power is used to a high degree but provides only about half of the electric energy needed; most of the rest is derived from nuclear power.
Study how iron ore is mined with explosives and crushed and concentrated with remote-controlled machines
Iron ore mining at Kiruna, Sweden.See all videos for this article
Sweden is well endowed with mineral resources. The huge state-owned iron ore deposits at Kiruna in Lappland were opened to export at the end of the 19th century. In the Boliden area of Norrland a wide range of metals, including gold, copper, lead, and zinc, are mined. The copper, silver, and iron ore deposits of central Sweden either have been largely exhausted or are unprofitable to extract.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is export-oriented and produces the bulk of Sweden’s export income. Nevertheless, the number of workers employed in private industry is smaller than the number of public employees.
Sweden is a major world exporter of forest products. Timber is transported via a dense road and rail network. Sawmills and pulp and paper factories process the forest products. Swedish manufacturers produce a variety of wood products, including paper, boards, and prefabricated houses and furniture. The pulp and paper industry developed originally at the mouths of rivers along the Gulf of Bothnia and Lake Väner. More recently, plants have been located on the coasts of southern Sweden.
Sweden’s metal industry still follows a pattern established during the days when waterpower and forestland (yielding charcoal fuel) determined the location of iron mills. The iron and steel industry is thus still largely found in the Bergslagen region of central Sweden. The iron and steel mills built in the 20th century, at Oxelösund and Luleå, are located on the coast.
Privately owned firms currently produce about nine-tenths of industrial output. Engineering, including the automotive industry, is by far the largest manufacturing industry, producing about half of industrial value added. The automotive and aerospace industries have their main plants in south-central Sweden. Swedish automakers Volvo and Saab enjoyed strong international reputations into the early 21st century (in 2011 Saab declared bankruptcy, but most of its assets were purchased by the start-up company National Electric Vehicle Sweden [NEVS]).
The electric and electronics industry is concentrated in Stockholm and Västerås. Stockholm is a leading centre for the production of communications equipment. The small metal- and plastic-processing industries, with centres in the forested areas of southern Sweden, have, like the glassware industry, maintained their vitality through flexibility and continued creativity. Stenungsund on the west coast is a centre for the petrochemical industry. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are rapidly expanding fields, located near leading medical research centres. The construction sector and the food-processing industry also play increasingly important roles. Sweden also has an advanced war matériel industry.
Finance
The Swedish banking system is dominated by a small number of major commercial banks. The bank of issue is the Swedish Central Bank, and the country’s currency is the Swedish krona. There also are savings banks, niche banks, and foreign banks active in Sweden.
Trade of Sweden
Exports account for about one-third of Sweden’s GDP. The emphasis has shifted from export of raw materials and semimanufactured products (pulp, steel, sawn wood) to finished goods, dominated by engineering products (cars, telecommunications equipment, hydroelectric power plant equipment) and, increasingly, high technology and chemical- and biotechnology. Together, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland, and Denmark account for about two-fifths of Sweden’s export market.
Imports are more diversified than exports. Before the 1980s petroleum was the single most important import, accounting for more than one-fourth of the total value. In 1990 petroleum accounted for less than 5 percent of the total. Almost half comes from the import of engineering products (including motor vehicles, business machines, and computer equipment). Among the imported foodstuffs are coffee, tea, fruit, and fish. Chemicals and textiles are other groups of imported goods. Germany is the main supplier of Sweden’s imports, followed by the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Finland.
Services
More than one-third of actively employed Swedes work in the service sector. Moreover, in the early 21st century, the export of services—including business services and technology consultancy services—was significantly greater than the export of goods. The tourist industry also plays an important role in the Swedish economy.
Labour and taxation
Employment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing has declined since the mid-20th century. Employment in industry reached a peak in 1960, but the tertiary sector (including services and administration) has become the main growth area, with the expanding public sector one of its major components. However, an economic downturn in the 1990s resulted in the elimination of many of these jobs. About one-tenth of county and municipal jobs were lost in 1990–97; however, this trend has reversed somewhat in the early years of the 21st century, when more than one-fourth of the Swedish workforce was employed in the public sector. Private-sector production growth during the 1990s and early 2000s was largely due to increased employee hours worked and higher production per employee.
In order to address the problem of unemployment, the government made large investments in education and entrepreneurship. The public sector has played an important role in increasing productivity and participation in the workforce. Since the early 1990s there has been a push to encourage the full workforce participation of parents of preschoolers, by publicly funding preschool and child care resources. Working hours have increased, especially by women, and by the mid-2000s parents of young children had the same number of hours worked per week as other employees.
In Sweden three-fourths of working-age women participate in the workforce, a rate that is among the highest in the world. Sweden has among the lowest wage differentials in the world: women earn on average more than nine-tenths of full-time pay for men. However, only about two-thirds of working women have full-time jobs, while more than nine-tenths of working men do. Only a very small percentage of Swedish women are full-time homemakers.
Sweden is noted for its liberal employee benefit plans. The normal statutory workweek is 40 hours, but 37 hours per week is the de facto norm. The minimum amount of annual paid vacation is five weeks. In addition, there are other legal grounds for paid absence. Sweden is well known for its maternity and parental leave schemes that allow up to 13 months’ leave at about four-fifths of their pay. Employers pay additional fees of more than two-fifths of gross wages for statutory social benefits, including pensions. As of 1999, a new general pension system was introduced, which allowed individuals to invest a portion of their contribution while linking payments to general economic growth and cohort life-expectancy.
Sweden is highly unionized, with about four-fifths of all workers belonging to trade unions. Workers are organized into three main groups: the Swedish Trade Union Confederation, the Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees, and the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations. Most private-sector employers belong to the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, which was formed in 2001 after the merger of the Swedish Employers Confederation and the Federation of Swedish Industries.
Taxes make up the overwhelming majority of state revenues, which are used to maintain a high level of social services that have virtually eliminated structural poverty in the country. Sweden has a relatively high rate of personal income tax (ranging from about 30 to 60 percent), but taxes for businesses are quite moderate. Since the late 1990s there has been a shift away from tax on personal income and capital gains and toward taxing goods and services and social security contributions. These shifts grew out of policy changes first implemented in the 1990s to stimulate work and savings by cutting the marginal tax rates on earned income. Social insurance policies have been changed to encourage greater participation in the workforce, and pension reforms have been introduced that clearly link the amount paid into the pension system and the amount disbursed with the overall health of the economy.
Transportation and telecommunications
Sweden has an extensive network of overland and air transport routes. In earlier centuries sea transport was dominant, land transport being carried on chiefly in winter, over snow and ice. Gothenburg and Stockholm are among the most important of some 20 ports handling foreign trade. The forest industry adjacent to the Norrland coast has its own harbours, which in winter are dependent on icebreaker services. The Swedish merchant fleet has been drastically reduced by competition from foreign ships charging lower rates. Ferry traffic between Sweden and its neighbours has grown tremendously and increasingly employs larger and more luxurious ferryboats.
Göta Canal, in Sweden.
In the first half of the 19th century a number of inland waterways, among them the Göta canal, were constructed. They soon became obsolete, however, as the state began in the 1850s to build the national railway network. Sweden soon ranked among the foremost countries in per capita mileage of railroads. Railroads in their turn met competition from the automobile, and since the 1950s many secondary rail lines have been closed. The centuries-old road network was rapidly expanded in the 20th century, and ever-better roads were built. Highways ran between Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö and connected the capital to the northern coastal region. Most households own at least one car. Local public bus transportation is well developed, but only Stockholm has a subway as the backbone of its local transportation system. Gothenburg has developed a tram system.
Air services are dominated by the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which is owned chiefly by the states of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The interests of SAS are concentrated on international aviation, but, directly and indirectly, it also dominates domestic service. The most important airports are in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö.
The interests of the state in transportation and communications are wide. The railways are owned and run by the state, which also maintains bus traffic on a large scale.
As the telecommunications industry has grown in Sweden, so too have telecommunications improved, and the country is among the world’s leaders in Internet penetration, with a great majority of Swedes having online access.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. The constitution, dating from 1809 and revised in 1975, is based on the following four fundamental laws: the Instrument of Government, the Act of Succession, the Freedom of the Press Act, and the Riksdag (Parliament) Act. All the laws have been subject to amendment. The constitution is based on the principles of popular sovereignty, representative democracy, and parliamentarism.
The reigning monarch is the head of state but exerts no political power; the responsibilities of the monarch are ceremonial only. Succession is accorded to the firstborn child regardless of sex. The prime minister is nominated by the speaker of the Riksdag after consultations with party leaders and must be approved for office through a vote of the Riksdag. The prime minister appoints the other cabinet members. The cabinet is responsible for all government decisions.
The ministries are small, and they are not concerned with details of administration or implementation of legislation. This is handled by central administrative agencies, whose senior officials are appointed by the cabinet.
In the preparation of important measures to be considered by the government, the responsible minister normally calls upon a commission of inquiry to appraise the measure. The commission may often include politicians from opposition parties, representatives of labour, and scientists and civil servants. They produce a printed report that is sent to various agencies and organizations for official comments before it is presented as background material to government legislation.
The Riksdag, a unicameral parliament elected by the people for four-year terms, is the foundation for the democratic exercise of power through the cabinet. The Riksdag appoints its speaker, deputy speakers, and standing committees, in which parties are represented in proportion to their strength. All bills are referred to committees; the results of their deliberations are reported in printed form to the Riksdag in plenary session.
The Riksdag may call for a consultative (nonbinding) referendum on various issues; decisive (binding) referenda may be held on amendments to the constitution if demanded by one-third of the Riksdag.
Local government
Local government is allocated to the kommuner (municipalities), each with an elected assembly and the right to levy income taxes and to charge fees for various services. Municipalities have a strong independent position. Streets, sewerage, water supply, schools, public assistance, child welfare, housing, and care for elderly people are among their responsibilities. Elections coincide with parliamentary elections.
Between the national and municipal government is a regional tier of 21 län (counties) headed by a county governor, appointed by the national government. Each county also has an elected council that has the right to levy income tax and that administers health care, certain educational and vocational training, and regional transport.
Justice
The National Law Code of 1734 is still in force, although almost none of its original text remains. In modern times, moreover, a mass of special legislation has grown outside the code to cover new needs. Roman law has had less influence in Sweden than in most European countries. Since the end of the 19th century, much civil law has been prepared in collaboration with the other Nordic countries.
Primary responsibility for the enforcement of law devolves upon the courts and the administrative authorities. Sweden has a three-tiered hierarchy of courts: the district courts (tingsrätter), the intermediate courts of appeal (hovrätter), and the Supreme Court (högsta domstolen). District courts play the dominant role. A peculiar feature of these courts is a panel of lay assessors (nämndemän), who take part in the main hearings, primarily on more serious criminal and family cases. In such cases, the bench consists of a legally trained judge as chairman and three lay assessors. These panels are not to be confused with an Anglo-American or continental type of jury.
In the six courts of appeal (the oldest one established in 1614), cases are decided by three or four judges. Appeals against their decisions can be carried to the Supreme Court only if the case is deemed important to the interpretation of law. In the Supreme Court the bench consists of five justices (justitieråd).
Legal aid is provided for anyone who wants it. The general penalties for convictions are fines and imprisonment. Fines are set in proportion to the person’s daily income. Offenders under 18 years of age are sentenced to prison only in exceptional cases.
The decisions of administrative authorities, which cannot be appealed to an ordinary court of justice, can be appealed to higher administrative authorities and ultimately to the government or to administrative courts, such as county administrative courts (länsrätter) in matters of taxation. Higher administrative courts of appeal are called kammarrätter. The highest administrative tribunal is the Supreme Administrative Court (regeringsrätten), which tries cases involving such issues as taxation, insanity, alcoholism, and juvenile delinquency.
The Labour Court (Arbetsdomstolen) is a special body that deals with controversies in the interpretation and application of collective bargaining agreements. Of its seven members, two represent labour and two represent management.
The Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman (Justitieombudsman) is an original Swedish institution, established in 1809; it has become a model for similar offices in other countries. The ombudsman’s chief duty is to see that the courts and civil service enforce the laws properly, especially those laws that safeguard the freedom, security, and property of citizens. They have the power to institute prosecutions in court and, in particular, to act against officials who abuse their powers or act illegally. Other ombudsmen are not appointed by the Riksdag but have similar duties of surveillance in other areas. Thus, there are an antitrust ombudsman, a consumer ombudsman, an equal-opportunities ombudsman, and an ethnic-discrimination ombudsman.
The chancellor of justice (justitiekansler) is a government appointee who supervises courts and administrative organs with particular concern for safeguarding the state’s interests.
Political process
All citizens of Sweden who are 18 years of age or older may vote in elections. Members of the parliament must be Swedish citizens and of voting age. Representation by party is in strict proportion to the national vote. A quota rule excludes parties with less than 4 percent of the national vote or 12 percent of the votes in at least one electoral district. Only in 1919, after decades of work by Elin Wägner and other dedicated suffragettes, were women in Sweden first able to vote in general elections, and not until 1921 could women vote in all elections. Five women entered the Swedish parliament as a result of that election; at the beginning of the 21st century, nearly half of the members of the parliament were women.
Historically, the political party system in Sweden has been relatively stable. Prominent parties include four nonsocialist parties—the Moderate Party (formerly the Conservative Party), the Centre Party, the Liberal Party, and the Green Party—and two socialist parties—the Swedish Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SAP; commonly called the Social Democratic Labour Party) and the Left Party (former Communist Party). The SAP is closely allied with the trade unions and was in power for a considerable part of the 20th century (1932–76 [except briefly in 1936] and 1982–91). At the end of the century and into the 21st century, power alternated between the Social Democrats and the Moderates. The traditional political order was dramatically altered in the 2010s by the growing influence of the Sweden Democrats, a right-wing anti-immigration party that was founded in 1988 but did not pass the threshold for representation in the Riksdag until 2010, when it took 5.7 percent of the vote. The party increased its share of the national vote to about 13 percent in the 2014 election and to about 18 percent in the 2018 election.
Security
Sweden has not been under military occupation since the 16th century or been at war since 1814. Until joining the European Union (EU) in 1995, Sweden actively avoided all military alliances through a policy of detachment or neutrality. As a member of the EU, Sweden fully participates in the organization’s foreign and security policy.
To safeguard its neutrality and to protect its territory, Sweden maintains a strong military consisting of an army, a navy, and an air force. In 2010 the country ended conscription, but it was reinstituted in 2017, effective the next year, with both men and women eligible this time.
Sweden actively supports international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and takes an energetic role in resolving security issues through this organ. Together with the other Nordic countries, Sweden has worked to develop and reinforce UN peacekeeping operations. Since multilateral disarmament negotiations began in Switzerland in 1962, Sweden also has been key player in international efforts to control and restrict transfers of conventional arms, to enforce the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons, and missile technology, and to achieve a total ban on antipersonnel mines.
Sweden’s national police service is responsible to the Ministry of Justice and includes the National Police Board, the National Security Service, the National Criminal Investigation Department, the National Laboratory of Forensic Science, and the county police authorities. Women make up one-third of all police employees and about one-fifth of police officers.
Health and welfare
In return for high taxes, Swedes are provided with a broad spectrum of public services and social welfare benefits that guarantee a minimum living standard, provide aid in emergencies, and narrow the gap between income groups. All residents are covered by national health insurance administered by the counties.
Health conditions in Sweden are among the best in the world. Infant mortality is low, and the average life expectancy at birth is high. Sweden has one of the world’s oldest populations, with a significant slice of the population age 65 or over. The ratio of doctors to population is also relatively high. Primary health care centres are available in every community. For highly specialized health care, Sweden has several major hospitals, which generally have affiliated medical schools. The county councils (and the local authority in the case of Gotland) are responsibility for providing health services.
Extremely liberal benefits are available to parents. They are entitled to 13 months of paid family leave from work, which can be shared between them before a child is age 8. They also receive tax-free child allowances, equal for everyone, until a child’s 16th birthday. Students who continue their education are entitled to study allowances. At the university level the majority of student funding consists of repayable loans. Municipalities provide an increasing number of day-care and youth activities.
National accident insurance pays all medical costs for on-the-job injuries. Many working people in Sweden have unemployment insurance through their trade unions, while the unemployed without such coverage can receive a smaller cash benefit from the state. There are extensive government programs for job retraining and sheltered employment (jobs reserved for disabled workers), as well as relocation grants to help the unemployed find work. A basic old-age pension is available to everyone starting at age 65. The state also pays an income-related supplementary pension financed through a payroll plan.
Housing
Today, Swedish cities are generally noted for their efficient planning and lack of slums. Up until the 1930s, however, Sweden’s housing standards were low compared with those of other European countries. Many dwellings lacked basic sanitation and were overcrowded. In the 1940s the central government addressed these concerns through housing policy by subsidizing rents and instituting rent control. In the post-World War II period, the Swedish government oversaw a new focus on the general improvement of housing standards. Housing subsidies were introduced for the poor and elderly pensioners. From the late 1940s through the 1950s, most municipalities founded their own housing companies. Low-interest loans and interest subsides were provided by the state to these nonprofit companies.
In the 1950s and ’60s, as the baby boom began, the “Million Home Program” was instituted to provide a higher standard of housing throughout the country. The goal was to build one million new dwellings, to be occupied by no more than two people per room, not counting the kitchen and living room. This began a policy of state responsibility for the legislation and funding of housing construction, with the municipalities charged with planning and implementation. In the 1970s the construction of single-family houses increased and rent control ended. The housing improvement schemes of the 1980s modernized much of the housing stock, and new projects mushroomed through 1990, a year in which nearly 70,000 units were built.
The economic crisis of the 1990s and the systematic dismantling of many of the iconic features of the welfare state led to a dramatic change in Sweden’s housing policy. Construction dwindled at this time as subsidized housing schemes were eliminated in favour of housing allowances or supplements. As the effects of the 1990s depression subsided, the government attempted to address housing problems in the first decade of the 21st century by investing in projects meant to stimulate the construction of new housing, particularly that of smaller apartments. The government also worked with private builders and municipal housing authorities to ensure a sustainable stock of high-quality housing that was both environmentally sensitive and affordable.
In the early 21st century, more than half of Swedish households lived in apartments, while the remainder lived in houses. At the turn of the century, the average Swedish household spent about one-fourth of its disposable income on rent. Housing stock is not evenly distributed throughout the country. In some regions, such as the greater Stockholm area, housing is at a premium, while in other smaller and medium-sized communities, there is a surplus of housing stock.
On average, just over two Swedes live in each dwelling. Approximately two-fifths of the housing stock is owner-occupied; nearly half is rental; and the remainder is owned by cooperative tenant owners. Sweden is the only country where the predominant colour of houses is red.
Education of Sweden
The education system is, with few exceptions, public and open to all without fees. Primary schools are run by the municipalities, as are the secondary schools. Universities and colleges are administered by the state, but they have been given far-reaching autonomy in the use of resources. Academic freedom is carefully guarded by faculty and students alike.
All municipalities must provide preschool classes. Parents may choose whether or not to send their children, and the great majority does participate. Parents and pupils have the choice of free municipal schools as well as independent schools, which may charge tuition. Only a very small percentage of all Swedish children attend private or independent schools. The comprehensive school (grundskola) is compulsory for nine years. Children are required to attend school between the ages of 7 and 16. Compulsory education is free, and no charge is made for school lunches, transportation, or educational materials. The comprehensive school is divided into three-year stages: lower, middle, and upper. Each school may decide when English and other foreign languages are introduced, but all must meet the same standards by grade 5. About one-third of all schools begin English instruction in grade 1. From the seventh year the curriculum is divided into different lines chosen by the pupils themselves. Special education is given to all pupils suffering from physical or mental handicaps.
Nearly all of the pupils continue from comprehensive school to the upper secondary school. The curriculum in this school (gymnasieskola) is divided between several theoretical programs, which are university-oriented, and a variety of vocationally oriented programs. Certain core subjects are common to all programs.
Marks, or grades, are given in comprehensive school starting in the eighth year. In the upper secondary school grades are given each term. About half of all young people in Sweden go on to higher studies within five years of completing upper secondary school.
Sweden has about a dozen major universities and some 20 university-colleges. The oldest is the Uppsala University, founded in 1477. Other universities are located in Lund, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Umeå, Linköping, Karlstad and Växjö. Sweden is also home to other world-renowned institutions, including the Karolinska Institute (medicine) in Stockholm and the Chalmers University of Technology. Education is free of charge; students pay no tuition. Courses are typically taught in Swedish, but course literature is often in English. An increasing number of courses are also offered in English.
Continuing and adult education are important features of the Swedish education system. Adult education outside the public school system is offered at the many Folk High Schools, a uniquely Scandinavian educational institution. Also characteristic are the nationwide voluntary education associations. About half of Sweden’s adult population pursues studies in one form or another. Since 1968 municipalities have offered courses for adults covering the three upper grades of comprehensive school and upper secondary school. University courses also are open to all age groups. Distance learning—including radio and television courses, as well as Internet and correspondence courses—is popular and especially useful for persons who reside far from educational centres.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
Sweden’s cultural heritage is an interweaving of a uniquely Swedish sensibility with ideas and impulses taken from other, larger cultures. As a result, Swedish culture has long been characterized by a push and pull. Swedish art, poetry, literature, music, textiles, dance, and design are deeply infused with a primal relationship with the Nordic landscape and climate, but Swedes also have long been attracted to the greatness of the cultures of such countries as France and Germany, and influences from these and other European cultures have contributed to the development of Swedish literature, fashion, and cultural debate, as well as to the Swedish language itself.
As Swedish political influence grew, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, so did a desire among prominent Swedes for their country to take a place at centre stage with other important European cultures. This refusal to be classified as a cultural backwater remains a strong force today. At the same time, simplicity is a hallmark of Swedish culture, as is openness to new thoughts and trends. There is also a sense of wit and playfulness combined with candor and sincerity that is apparent not only in the works of Swedish cultural icons such as Selma Lagerlöf, August Strindberg, Ingmar Bergman, Astrid Lindgren, and Carl Larsson but also in Swedish folk music and folk art.
War-weary and largely nonaligned since the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, Sweden embraced a neutrality and peacefulness that permitted the state in the 20th century to broadly support arts and culture politically, educationally, and economically. During the last half of the 20th century, Sweden welcomed immigrants and refugees who brought with them their own cultural traditions, which have informed the broader Swedish culture. The effects of American popular culture have also been widely felt in Sweden. A rebirth of contemporary Swedish creativity has attracted worldwide attention both in those art forms in which Swedes have traditionally thrived—literature and film—and in design, popular music, photography, fashion, gastronomy, and textiles.
Daily life and social customs
Celebrate the summer solstice with the Swedes in the Scandinavian Midsommar holiday maypole tradition
Swedish midsummer festival.See all videos for this article
Genuine rural folk traditions are disappearing in urban areas as a result of increasing settlement; however, since the 1990s there has been a resurgence of interest in those traditions among many Swedes who live in towns and cities. Still vital in Gotland, Dalarna, and various other areas are special national costumes, dances, folk music, and the like. Spring is celebrated on the last night of April with bonfires and song across the country. This is a great students’ festival in university towns such as Uppsala and Lund. The bright Midsummer Eve is celebrated around June 21, about the time of the year’s longest day (see solstice). In the ceremony a large pole, decorated with flowers and leaves, is placed into the ground and danced around. Some celebrations have a religious association: Advent, St. Lucia’s Day, Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide. Pagan elements are still sometimes evident in these holiday ceremonies. The Lucia candlelights are a relatively recent but very popular custom performed for St. Lucia’s Day on the morning of December 13, at almost the darkest time of year; the ceremony features a “Light Queen,” who, wearing a white gown and a crown of lighted candles, represents the returning sun.
Overhead view of a wooden cask of surstromming, fermented herring.
Immigration, travels abroad, and imports have changed and internationalized the Swedish cuisine. However, the original Swedish buffet of appetizers known as a smörgåsbord remains a national favourite. The typical Swedish kitchen reflects the harsh northern climate, with fresh food available only during the short but intense summer season. In the words of the mother of Swedish cuisine, 18th-century cook Cajsa Warg, “You take what you get.” Swedish culinary traditions reflect the importance of being able to preserve and store food for the winter. Lutefisk (dried cod soaked in water and lye so it swells), pickled herring, lingonberries (which keep well without preservatives), knäckebröd (crispbread), and fermented or preserved dairy products such as the yogurtlike fil, the stringy långfil, and cheeses all reflect this need for foods that will keep through the colder parts of the year. The “premiere day” of surströmming—when the new catch of fermented herring known as one of the stinkiest foods in the world is first available for purchase each year—is celebrated on the third Thursday in August, often with outdoor parties and community festivals. Twisted saffron-scented buns called lussekatter and heart-shaped gingersnaps are served along with coffee in the early morning. Christmas is celebrated on December 24 with the traditional Julskinka ham. Glogg, a mulled, spiced wine, is also enjoyed during this season.
All information come from Encyclopedia Britannica