Sweden

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
- Conservation
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
  - Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Earliest settlements
- The Viking Age
  - Trade
  - Christianization
- The 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries
  - Civil wars
  - Code of law
- The Kalmar Union
  - Political conflict
  - End of the union
- The early Vasa kings (1523–1611)
- The Age of Greatness
  - The reign of Gustav II Adolf
  - Warfare through the mid-17th century
  - Impact of continuous warfare
  - The reign of Charles XII
  - Social and economic conditions
- The 18th century
  - The Age of Freedom (1718–72)
  - The era of Gustav III
- The Napoleonic Wars and the 19th century
  - Royalist reaction
  - Bernadotte
- Society and politics (1815–1900)
  - Population and the economy
  - The conservative era (1815–40)
  - The liberal reform period
    - Principal reforms
    - Parliamentary reform
  - Political stagnation (1866–1900)
  - Foreign policy
    - Change in alliance policy
    - Pan-Scandinavianism
    - Neutrality and friendship with Germany
  - The Swedish-Norwegian union
- The 20th century
  - Political reform
  - Defense policy
  - Policy during World War I
  - The Liberal–Social Democratic coalition
  - Domestic policy (1918–45)
    - Party politics
    - The economic climate
  - Foreign policy (1918–45)
  - The welfare state
    - The period of social reform
    - New constitution
  - Foreign policy into the 1990s
  - Domestic affairs through the 1990s
- The 21st century

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map of Sweden showing its national boundaries, major cities, and political subdivisions, with neighboring countries Norway and Finland also labeled. The map includes a numbered key to Swedish regions and an inset locator map highlighting Sweden's position in northern Europe.

Aerial view of central Stockholm, Sweden, showing historic buildings on islands surrounded by water, with bridges connecting the city and a boat in the foreground.

Map highlighting Sweden in northern Europe, shaded in tan, with surrounding countries labeled, including Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Russia, as well as nearby bodies of water such as the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. The capital city, Stockholm, is marked within Sweden.

Physical map of Sweden highlighting major natural features such as mountain ranges, national parks, and lakes. The map shows Sweden bordered by Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, with surrounding bodies of water including the Norwegian Sea, Baltic Sea, and Gulf of Bothnia. An inset locator map in the upper left marks Sweden's position in northern Europe.

At a Glance

Sweden summary

Sweden: Media

country, Europe

Videos

The impact of climate change on Sweden's reindeer population

The effects of global warming on Sweden's reindeer.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Karin59/Dreamstime.com

Learn about salmon aquaculture from a Swedish salmon farmer explaining the importance of maintaining the fish's natural habitat

Learn about aquaculture in Sweden.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Study how iron ore is mined with explosives and crushed and concentrated with remote-controlled machines

Iron ore mining at Kiruna, Sweden.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Celebrate the summer solstice with the Swedes in the Scandinavian Midsommar holiday maypole tradition

Swedish midsummer festival.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Gotland, Sweden: The Vikings' treasure island

Overview of archaeologists' efforts to uncover Viking treasure on Gotland island,...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail W.carter; © Nejron/Dreamstime.com

Images

Sweden

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Stockholm

Stockholm.

Neil Beer/Getty Images

Stockholm, Sweden

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Physical features of Sweden

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

skiers in Sarek National Park, Sweden

Skiers in Sarek National Park, Sweden.

Bert Persson/Ostman Agency

log pond, Dal River, Sweden

Log pond on the Dal River, Sweden.

Bernard Wolf/DPI

Stockholm

Stockholm at dusk.

lingonberry

Lingonberry, or mountain cranberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea).

moose

Moose (Alces alces) with fully developed antlers.

Ryan Hagerty/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Sweden

Farmland stretches along the shore of Lake Vättern in the Götaland region of southern Sweden.

Steve Vidler/Leo de Wys Inc.

Göta Canal, Sweden

Göta Canal, in Sweden.

Picturepoint, London

surstromming

Overhead view of a wooden cask of surstromming, fermented herring.

ABBA

Swedish band ABBA performing on the television showThe Midnight Special,...

Victor Sjöstrom

Victor Sjöstrom in Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries (1957).

Courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art/Film Stills Archive, New York City

Björn Borg

Sweden's Björn Borg returning a shot at Wimbledon in 1976, the first of his five...

Leo Mason

Charles VIII

Charles VIII of Sweden, wood sculpture by Bernt Notke, c. 1480.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, Donated 1827 by Baron Carl Bonde (NMGrh 1812), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se/, photograph by Erik Cornelius.

Christian II

Christian II, portrait by Jan Gossart; in Frederiksborg Castle, Denmark.

Courtesy of the Nationalhistoriske Museum paa Frederiksborg, Denmark

Gustav I Vasa

Gustav I Vasa, portrait attributed to David Frumerie, after Jakob Binck, c. 1666.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, (NMGrh 566), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se.

Erik XIV

Erik XIV, portrait by Steven van der Meulen, 1561.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, Ständish Collection, Marwell Hall, Winchester; donated 1932 by wholesaler David Nasiell, Stockholm (NMGrh 2039), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se/, photograph by Cecilia Heisser.

Sigismund III Vasa

Sigismund III Vasa, detail of a painting, school of Rubens; in the Bavarian State...

Courtesy of the Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen, Munich

Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Oxenstierna, detail of an oil painting by David Beck; in the Nationalmuseum,...

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (NMGrh 977)

Gustav Adolphus

Gustav Adolphus (Gustav II Adolf), portrait by Matthaeus Merian the Elder, 1632;...

Statens Historiska Museer (State Historical Museums), Skoklosters slott (Skokloster Castle), Stockholm, Sweden 614_SHOES), shm.se.

Historical map of northern Europe in 1660 showing the Swedish Empire at its greatest extent. Swedish-controlled territories are shaded in green, covering present-day Sweden, Finland, parts of modern-day Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and northern Germany. Areas shaded in orange indicate land lost by Sweden in 1660, including parts of Norway and Denmark. Major cities and bodies of water are labeled for geographic context.

Swedish empire in 1660

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Charles X Gustav

Charles X Gustav, portrait by Sebastian Bourdon; in the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, Transferred 1927 from the Gripsholm Collection (NM 2642), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se.

Hendrik Münnichhofen: portrait of Magnus De la Gardie

Magnus De la Gardie, detail from an oil painting by Hendrik Münnichhofen after a...

Courtesy of the Svenska Portrattarkivet, Stockholm

Martin van Mytens: portrait of Ulrika Eleonora

Ulrika Eleonora, detail from a portrait by Martin van Mytens, c. 1730; in Gripsholm...

Courtesy of the Svenska Portrattarkivet, Stockholm

Gustav III

Gustav III, portrait by Lorens Pasch the Younger.

Statens Historiska Museer (State Historical Museums), Livrustkammaren (Royal Armory), Stockholm, Sweden (2805_LRK), shm.se.

Gustav IV Adolf

Gustav IV Adolf, portrait by Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder; in the Nationalmuseum,...

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm (NMGrh 3334), collection.nationalmuseum.se.

Fredric Westin: portrait of Charles XIV John

Charles XIV John, painting by Fredric Westin.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, Donated according to the will of 1872 by Karl XV (NMGrh 1705), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se.

Oscar I

Oscar I, oil painting by Sophie Adlersparre, 1846.

Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, Sweden, Donated 1951 by Tor Lagerheim (NMGrh 2366), https://collection.nationalmuseum.se/.

Charles XV

Charles XV of Sweden and Norway, oil painting by Carl Kiörboe; in the Livrustkammaren,...

Statens Historiska Museer (State Historical Museums), Livrustkammaren (The Armory), Stockholm, Sweden (20176_LRK), shm.se.

Gustav V

Gustav V.

UPI—Bettmann/Corbis

Per Albin Hansson

Per Albin Hansson, c. 1935.

Olof Palme

Olof Palme, 1985.

Peter Jordan/Alamy

Göran Persson

Göran Persson, prime minister of Sweden (1996–2006), in 2005.

Poland's President Lech Kaczynski stands at the front holding an open signed document, with Donald Tusk, Fredrik Reinfeldt, Jose Manuel Barroso, and another official behind him. European and Polish flags are in the background.

Lech Kaczyński with Donald Tusk, Fredrik Reinfeldt, José Manuel Barroso, and Jerzy Buzek

Polish Pres. Lech Kaczyński (front) showing a signed document of the EU's Lisbon...

Wojtek Radwanski—AFP/Getty Images

Stefan Löfven

Stefan Löfven.

Martina Huber/Government Offices of Sweden

Ulf Kristersson

Ulf Kristersson, 2023.

European Union

Map of Europe with European Union member states.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map highlighting the Nordic countries and their territories in northern Europe and the North Atlantic. Denmark, including Greenland and the Faroe Islands, is marked in green and light blue; Iceland in dark blue; Norway in orange, including Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Sweden in yellow; and Finland in purple, including the Aland Islands. Country and territory names are labeled clearly.

Nordic countries and their territories or dependent areas

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Historical Flag: Swedish

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

national anthem of Sweden

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Sweden.

Interactives

Sweden: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sweden: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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