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| Sweden
General Info |
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Area
449,964 square kilometres (173,732 square miles)
Population
8,975,670 (the 2003 official estimate)
Population
Density
19.9 people per square kilometre
Capital
Stockholm.
Geography
Some key geographical facts:
Sweden is bordered by Finland to the northeast
and Norway to the west.
A
long Baltic coast borders the south and east parts
of Sweden.
Approximately
half of Sweden is forested.
There
are many thousands of lakes, most of these are located in the southern
central area.
The
largest lake is Vänern, with an area of 5,540
square kilometres (which is 2140 square miles).
To
the north of Swedish Lapland the land is mountainous, and extends
into the Arctic Circle.
Government
Sweden has a Constitutional monarchy. The country
gained independence from Denmark in 1523.
The Head of State is King Carl XVI since 1973.
The Head of Government is Prime Minister Göran Persson
since 1996.
Language
The main language spoken is Swedish, however Lapp
is spoken by the Sámi population in the north.
There are also Finnish speaking minorities and English is taught
as the 1st foreign language from the age of 9.
Religion
Around 86% of the population belong to the Church of Sweden
(which is Evangelical Lutheran), separated from the state in January
2000.
Other Protestant minorities make up the majority of the remainder.
Time Zone
Greenich Mean Time (GMT) + 1 (Greenich Mean Time + 2 from the last
Sunday in March to the Saturday before the last Sunday in October).
Electricity
230 volts, 3 phase AC, 50Hz.
2 pin continental plugs are used. |
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