Geography and Climate

Sweden has an area of 450.000 km2 (174,000 sq. nil.) -r- similar to California. Cameroon. Iraq. Spain or . Thailand. Half its land surface is covered wlthforest. Less than 10% is farmland. Nearly 100.000 lakes dot the countryside. which is relatively flat. A long mountain chain in the northwest reaches heights of up to 2. Ill m (6.926 ft). There are thousands of islands along the Jagged coast. The warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic gives Sweden a milder climate (han other areas equally far north. Stockholm. ■ the capital, is at almost the same latitude as southern Greenland but has an average temperature of about +18.C (64r) in July. The winter temperatures average slightly below freezing and snowfall is moderate. Far northern Sweden has long and cold winters and bright summers of moderate temperatures; in June and July daylight lasts around the clock.

The People

’ Sweden has a population of 8.8 million, with about 85 % living in the southern half of the country. Around 90% belong to the Church of Sweden, which is Lutheran. Swedish is a Germanic language.

Like other Industrialized countries. Sweden has a low birth rate which, however, has been slowly rising since the 1980s. Life expectancy is high-about 75.9 years for men and 80.9 for women. Since the 1940s. immigration — mostly from neighboring Scandinavian countries but also from elsewhere in the world — has accounted for over 40% of the population growth. Sweden has two minority groups of native inhabitants in the north: the Flnlshtspeaking people of the northeast and the Sami (Lapp) population.

Parliamentary Democracy

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary form of government. The King. CarUM Gustaf. today h«s only ' eremonial function* as Head of Stat/. Parliament consists of one Chamber, whose members are directly elected by proper tlonal representation for four-year terms as from January 1. 1995. Sweden has universal, suffrage and the voting age is' 18. Voter turnout is traditionally very high. 85-90%.

After the 1994 elections the Social Democratic Party was returned to power and formed a minority government with 162 of (he 349 seats In Parliament The Social Democratic Parly has held power alone or in coalitions during pie periods 1932 1976 and 1982-1991. while the nonsocialist parties were in government 1976 1982 and 1991 1994

There are 13 ministries and these are small units mainly concerned with preparing new government bills. Enforcement ol the laws Is handled by 100 or so relatively Independent central administrative agencies and the 24 county adininistra Hons Each county also has a popularly elected council ent I tied to levy an Income lax and Is responsible chitfly for health care in-Its area. Today Sweden has 288 municipalities covering the entire country (including rural areas), each with a popularly elected council which collocta an Income tax and operates such public services as schools, child and elder care, utilities, housing, and cultural and leisure actlvl ties. Immigrants resident for three years in Sweden have the right to vote and run for office in local elections

Ths Parliamentary Ombuds men investigate suspected abuses of authority by civil servants. Other ombudsmen protect the public by keeping a watchful eye on consumer rights, ethnic and sex discrimination, press ethics and the rights of children .and young people, and persons with disabilities. Most govern nient documents are open to inspection by the public and press at any time.

Foreign Policy and Defense

The end of the Cold War and of the political division of Europe has created new per spectives for Sweden s foreign and security policy, and new opportunities to participate in the process of European integration. A referendum which was held in November 1994 resulted in a vole for Swedish membership in the European Union and Sweden is a full member of the EU as from January 1995 Prior to mem bership. the EEA agreement already provided the legal framework for far-reaching economic integration between Sweden and the EU countries The free movement of goods, services, capital and persons had been achieved *i many re spects. As a full, member Sweden Participates in the EU decision making process and can more effectively Influence and contribute to the further development of European In

tegratibn.

Sweden’s policy of non-participation in military alliances remains unchanged. It will take up observer status in the defense organisation WEU, but not membership. After the dramatic changes in Central and Eastern Europe. Sweden has taken an active part in the task of securing democracy and new security structures for the continent as a whole, for example through the Conference on Security anil Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) process and In the Council of Europe.

Sweden's strategic location between the North Atlantic and Russia is one of the major factors determining. Swedish security policy. A strong and Independent national defense system is a fundamental element of Swedish security policy The armed forces are based on general male conscription. The defense budget totals 2.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Sweden is an active participant in international cooperation. Strong support for the United Nations is one cornerstone of its foreign policy. Other basic elements are promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. international disarmament and protection of the environment. Sweden appropriates almost 1 % of its Gross National Income (GNI) for international development aid. It is also a member of many other international organizations, sueh as the OECD. fiFTA and the World Bank. There is far-reaching cooperation between the Nordic countries in social welfare. cultural affairs and a joint labor market.

Industry and the Economy

in the past 100 years Sweden has evolved from a largely agrarian country to one where less than 3 % of the labor force is employed iq agri-culture. Huge increases in farm productivity have nonetheless kept Sweden more than 80% self-sufficient iq food A new agricultural policy was enacted in 1990. which reduced state subsidies and adapted agricul tural production to the inter national market

During the second half of the 1980s. the economy experienced excessive domestic demand, leading to the need to tighten government economic policies Due to capacity restrictions the upswing in industrial output soon leveled off. and the growth rate re mained moderate compared to other Industrialized countries during the same period The overheating of the labor marked eroded the cost com iwtltlveness of Swedish Indus try and contributed to a deep recession between 1990 and 1093 Another major factor was overbuilding and a resultant drop In real estate values which severely affected the fl nanclal services sector After a de facto devaluation of the krona late In 1992 and a sub ■tantial policy reform, an ex port-led recovery has been initiated In 1994. The manu lacturlng sector peaked soipe time around I960 in terms of Its share ot GDP and total em ployment In recent decades Sweden, like other Industrial ized economies, has evolved ’ rapidly into a service ana knowledge oriented society Between 1960 and 1993 em ployment in the service sector rose from about 1.700.000 to 2.800,000 while manufacturing employment fell from around a million to less than 8.00.000. Th* trend toward a service economy mainly took the form of a growing public sector, since key welfare ori ented services such as health ■ are and education have been provided mainly itndci public auspices. Manufai luring still 1 plays a dominant role in exports. In 1993 nianulacturing । accounted for more (han 80% of total merchandise and ser vice exports. In 1993. 45 % of industrial output wap exported. ; compared with 8% of services. Meanwhile 40% of domesti rally used Industrial products were imports compared with 11% of service consumption. While most manufacturing has been exposed to mounting competition, this process has only recently begun in the service sector.

Of Sweden s traditional basic industries, forest products still play a major role in the economy. The engineering in dustry (ex-cluding shipyards) has expanded and to day accounts for nearly half of manu facturing. but the fastest-grow ing manufacturing sector is pharmaceuticals, whi/h re mains rather small In terms of output and employment.

. Sweden Is among the world's biggest spenders on industrial research and devel opment tn relation to national out put (3% of GDP in J 989) About 80% of RAD expend! tures are related to trans portatlon and telecommunica tlons equipment, pharmaceu-

ticals and machinery. A small number of industrial groups also account for most R&D spending, with ABB. Ericsson. Volvo. Saab-Scania, Astra and Kabi-Pharmacia among the leaders.

Natural Resources

Sweden has rich natural supplies of coniferous forest, water power. Iron ore, uranium and other minerals but lacks significant oil and coal deposits.

The only iron ore mines still in production are situated in the far north. Their production is mainly exported. There are also a number of mines with sulphide ores in central and northern Sweden

Sweden's vast forests of spruce, pine and other softwoods supply a highly developed sawmill. pulp, paper and finished wood product industry. Despite high domestic consumption. Sweden exports about 60% of its forest products.

Cheap hydro power was a major factor in Sweden's industrial development. Today around 15 % of the country's energy supply comes from its hydroelectric, plants, many of them on the main northern rivers. -Over 40% of energy consumed in Sweden comes from imported oil. 7% from imported coal and coke. Sweden's twelve nuclear reactors provide over 15% of total energy or almost 50% of'elec-trical energy. The rest of the energy supply comes from biofuels, peat, waste heat. etc. After an advisory referendum in 1980. Parliament decided that the use of nuclear power should be phased out by 2010. That does not appear to be the. -ud of the matter, however, for the subject is one which continues to give rise to debate.

Education

Nine years of schooling are , compulsory for fill children from the agt of 6 or 7. Over 90% go on to the upper secondary school, which offers both vocational and academic courses. Schools are run by , municipalities and provide free । instruction, books and lunches.

A separate municipal adult ed-uiatloii system enables adults with inadequate schooling to reach the same level of education as young people.

Altogether there are almost forty institutions of higher education in Sweden, operated by the State and providing free instruction. About half the students are women, and a large

number are people over 25 taking advantage of special admission rules lor those with

work experience. Almost one fourth of adult Swedes have a higher education. Private, gov-

ernment subsidized adult education associations arrange • study circles for 2.5 million epurse participants a year.