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Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige
Motto: (Royal) "För Sverige i tiden"[a]  "For Sweden – With the Times"
Anthem: Du gamla, Du fria[b] Thou ancient, thou free Royal anthem: Kungssången The Song of the King
Capital (and largest city)		Stockholm 59°21′N 18°4′E / 59.35°N 18.067°E / 59.35; 18.067
Official language(s)		Swedish[c]
Ethnic groups		81.9% Swedes[1][d] ~5% Finns[2] ~13% other (2009)[3][4]
Demonym		Swedish or Swedes
Government		Unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
-	Monarch	Carl XVI Gustaf
-	Prime Minister	Fredrik Reinfeldt (M)
-	Speaker of the Riksdag	Per Westerberg (M)
Legislature		Riksdag
Consolidation
-	Eric the Victorious first king to rule over both the Swedes and the Goths	970
-	Personal union w. Denmark and Norway	17 June 1397
-	de facto independent kingdom	6 June 1523
-	end of Scandinavian union ratified	1524
-	Swedish-Norwegian Union begins	4 November 1814
-	Swedish-Norwegian Union ends	13 August 1905
EU accession		1 January 1995
Area
-	Total	449,964 km2 (57th) 173,745 sq mi
-	Water (%)	8.7
Population
-	2009 census	9,354,462[5]
-	Density	20.6/km2 (192nd) 53.3/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$337.893 billion[6]
-	Per capita	$36,502[6]
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$443.718 billion[6]
-	Per capita	$47,934[6]
Gini (2005)		23 (very low) (1st)
HDI (2010)		0.885[7] (very high) (9th)
Currency		Swedish krona (SEK)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Date formats		yyyy-mm-dd
Drives on the		right[e]
Internet TLD		.se[f]
Calling code		46
a. ^ Swedish: För Sverige i tiden has been adopted by Carl XVI Gustaf as his personal motto. b. ^ Du gamla, Du fria has never been officially adopted as national anthem, but is so by convention. c. ^ Since 1 July 2009.[8][9] Five other languages are officially recognized as minority languages.[10] They are: Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani, Sami and Yiddish. The Swedish Sign Language also has a special status. d. ^ As of 2008, 18% of the population had foreign origins (13% if excluding Finns and 9% if also excluding other Scandinavians), with 14% foreign-born and another 4% born in Sweden of two foreign-born parents.[11] e. ^ Since 3 September 1967. f. ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. The .nu domain is another commonly used top-level domain ("nu" means "now" in Swedish).

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Its capital city is Stockholm.

At 449,964 km² (173,720 square miles), Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe. Sweden has a low population density except in its metropolitan areas; 84% of the population lives in urban areas, which take up only 1.3% of the total land area. The citizens enjoy a high standard of living and the country is generally perceived as modern and liberal, with an organizational and corporate culture that is non-hierarchical and collectivist compared to its Anglo-Saxon counterparts. Nature conservation, environmental protection and energy efficiency are generally prioritized in policy making and embraced by the general public in Sweden.

Sweden has a long tradition as a major exporter of iron, copper and timber. Improved transportation and communication allowed more remote natural assets to be utilized on a larger scale, most notably timber and iron ore. In the 1890s, universal schooling and industrialization enabled the country to develop a successful manufacturing industry and by the twentieth century, Sweden emerged as a welfare state, consistently achieving a high position among the top-ranking countries in the UN Human Development Index (HDI). Sweden has a rich supply of water power, but lacks significant oil and coal deposits.

Modern Sweden emerged out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century. In the early 19th century Finland and the remaining territories outside the Scandinavian peninsula were lost. After its last war in 1814, Sweden entered into a personal union with Norway which lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a non-aligned foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.

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