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 Sweden, officially the Kingdom
of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige), is a Nordic country on the
Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden is surrounded by Norway
(west), Finland (north-east), the Skagerrak, Kattegat and Öresund straits
(southwest) and the Baltic Sea (east). It has maritime borders with
Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and it
is also linked to Denmark (southwest) by the Öresund Bridge. Its capital
city is Stockholm.Sweden has a temperate
climate despite its northern latitude, mainly because of the Gulf Stream.
In the mountains of northern Sweden a sub-Arctic climate predominates.
North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer,
and in the winter, night is similarly unending. Typical temperatures in
the south vary from -1 °C in the winter to 25 °C in the summer. In
the north, the temperatures range from -16 °C to 15 °C.
The total population of Sweden is just below 10
million. About 12% are foreign-born and approximately 16% had at
least one parent born abroad or were themselves born abroad.
This reflects migration between the Nordic countries, earlier periods
of labour immigration, and later decades of refugee and family
immigration. Sweden has been transformed from a nation of emigration
ending after the First World War to a nation of immigration from World
War II onwards. Immigration to Sweden reached its highest level since
records began recently.
The 17th century saw the rise of Sweden as one
of the Great Powers in Europe. Following wars with its eastern
neighbours, it still attempted to invade Norway in 1716. Soundly
defeated in the war, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as
the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. With Sweden's lost influence,
Russia began to emerge as an empire, and become one of Europe's
dominant nations.
Sweden remained officially neutral during both World
Wars. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, after the collapse
of the Soviet Union.
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, in which
King Carl XVI Gustaf is head of state, but royal power has long been
limited to official and ceremonial functions. The nation's
modern legislative body is the Riksdag (Swedish Parliament), with 349
members, which chooses the Prime Minister. Parliamentary elections are
held every four years, on the third Sunday of September.
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