With an area of 449,964 square kilometers, Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe. 64% of the country is covered by forests and the population density is low. Only the metropolitan area has a high population density, and 84% of the population lives in cities that only account for 1.3% of the country.
Sweden is a traditional exporter of iron, copper and timber, and is rich in water resources, but oil and coal mines are very scarce. With the development of transportation and communication, these natural resources can also be mined from various places on a larger scale, especially timber and iron ore. With the economic freedom and the popularization of education, Sweden experienced rapid industrialization, and began to develop its manufacturing industry in the 1970s and 1980s. Sweden formed a welfare state in the 20th century. Today, Sweden is regarded as a country with a tendency of social liberalism and a strong pursuit of equality, and usually ranks among the best in the human development index of the United Nations Development Programme.
1397, Sweden, Denmark and Norway formed the Kalmar Union (Finland was still a part of the Kingdom of Sweden at this time). Sweden left the Karma unification at the beginning of the16th century, and fought wars with neighboring countries for many years, especially with Russia and Denmark-Norway, which was still in a United States of America at that time. The latter never fully acknowledged that Sweden left the Karma unification. /kloc-in the 0/7th century, Sweden expanded its territory through war and became a powerful country, and its territory was twice as large as it is now. By 18 14, Sweden no longer had a strong position and lost Finland. Since then, there has been no war in Sweden, and it has adopted a non-aligned movement in peacetime and a neutral policy in wartime. Now it is a permanent neutral country.
=================
history
According to the research of archaeologists, with the gradual melting of inland snow during the ice age, the surrounding areas of Sweden have been inhabited since the Stone Age. They live near the Baltic Sea and mainly make a living by hunting, gathering and fishing. Traces of trade activities show that in the Bronze Age, the population of southern Sweden was quite dense.
In the 9th century and10th century, Viking culture developed in Sweden, and developed eastward through trade, aggression and colonization, affecting the Baltic Sea, Russia and the Black Sea.
In A.D. 1397, Norway, Denmark and Sweden were * * *, but each country still maintained its own national identity, which was called the Kalmar Union in history. Since the15th century, the Swedes have tried their best to resist Denmark's annexation attempt. 152 1 year, King Gustav Vasa of Sweden re-established his kingship, and Sweden became independent from the Union.
/kloc-In the 7th century, Sweden became a European power in the Thirty Years' War (16 18- 1648). 18th century (1700- 172 1 year) After the Great Northern War, Russia replaced Sweden's position in Europe, and Finland split from Sweden in 1809 and became the Russian Grand Duchy.
Alestenar, a province in southern Sweden, estimates that the modern history of Sweden, which was founded in 500 AD, was relatively calm. The most recent war was 18 14 with Norway. After the war, the two countries formed the Swedish-Norwegian alliance led by Sweden, which was dissolved in 1905. Sweden remained neutral in both world wars. During the cold war, we did not move closer to the two camps. Sweden is not a member of any military organization, but will participate in NATO military training. 1995 Abandon neutrality and join the European Union.
190 1 year, the first nobel prize awarding ceremony was held in Stockholm, Sweden. From 65438 to 0902, the Nobel Prize was awarded by the King of Sweden.
==================
geography
Lapp residential area is the largest unspoiled natural area in Europe. Sweden is located in the northern part of Europe, the eastern part of Scandinavia, and borders the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bosnia in the east, so it has a long coastline. To the west is the Scandinavian Mountains, which is also the dividing line with Norway.
Sweden has a total land area of 449,964 square kilometers (65,438+073,720 square miles), and the proportion of arable land is about 7.0%, ranking fifth in Europe and first in Northern Europe. Sweden has a long and narrow terrain, with a length of 1.574 km from north to south and a width of only 500 km from east to west. The terrain slopes from northwest to southeast. Geographically, it is divided into three regions, the Nordland Plateau in the north, the undulating Shan Lan and vast forests in the north. Svilan is located in the south-central, mostly plain or hilly, with about 90,000 lakes. At the southernmost tip is Yotland, which consists of the highlands of Smolan and the fertile Skone Plain. About 15% of Sweden is located in the northern Arctic Circle. Gotland and Erlan are the largest islands in Sweden; Lake Weiner and Lake Witten are the largest lakes in Sweden. The population density is the highest in the southern part of Earle and around Lake Meralen in the middle.
Due to the influence of the North Atlantic warm current, the climate in most parts of Sweden is mild. The average temperature in June 5438+ 10 is-14℃ in the north and-1℃ in the south. In July, the average temperature in most areas was 15 ~ 17℃. The average annual precipitation is 500-750 mm. Broad-leaved forest is dominant in the southern region, and birch is the most common; The northern and central parts are coniferous forests, dominated by pine and spruce.
=======================
Sweden merged two provinces in 1997 and 1998, and now it is divided into 2 1 provinces (L? N) and 290 cities (kommun). The governor is appointed by the king; The provincial council is elected by voters. Swedish province and local counties and cities are relatively independent and have no direct affiliation.
The code name of the zoning map is provincial capital.
Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm
Uppsala l, Uppsala province? Uppsala Uppsala
South Manlan province? Demanlands l? Ni Xueping, new york? thump
East Jotland Province? sterg？ tlands l？ Lin Xueping Link? thump
F Yan xueping j province? nk？ pings l？ Yan xueping j? nk？ thump
Kronoberg, Kronoberg L? N, Vauxhall V? xj？
Kalma province? Kalma Kalma
I got the land? Weisby
Blacking, Blacking Province L? Karskron
Sk in m Skne province? ne l？ N Malmo Malmo?
Harlands l, Harlands province? halmstad
O west Jotland province v? Strack? Taranz Lake? N Gothenburg g? Taibao
Svilan province v? rmlands l？ Karlstad
Elberu province? rebro l？ \ n \ rebru？ Rebro
U simanland province v? stmanlands l？ Nwesteros V? ster？ s
Dalana l, western Dalana province? Fallon
In Xjevlburg province? vleborgs l？ gavle G？ Vapor-liquid equilibrium
Y northwest orchid province v? Sternolands Lake? N hennessy h? rn？ sand
Z jemchuan province j? mtlands l？ N Ostersund? Stesund
AC Xiboteng v? sterbottens l？ Mo Yu Ume?
BD Norrbottens l？ Louriau Lu Le?
====================
Human population
Map of Sweden Sweden is one of the countries with the lowest natural population growth rate, the longest life expectancy and the highest aging degree in the world. 90% of the country's population is concentrated in the southern and central regions, and Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malm? are the three most densely populated cities in Sweden.
As of April 2007, the population of Sweden was 9,3/kloc-0,425. In August 2004, the population of Sweden exceeded 9 million for the first time. At present, about 12%( 165438+ 10,000) of the population in this country was not born in Sweden, and16.7% (1530,000) of the population is immigrants or descendants of immigrants, which reflects the large population mobility, early labor migration and late refugee tide in northern Europe.
Most immigrants come from Finland, Turkey, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Iran, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia. According to the statistics of the Swedish Immigration Bureau, immigrants from Nordic countries still account for the majority. According to the statistics in 2005, there were 20,654,38+062 immigrants from Nordic countries, 65,438+06,739 immigrants from Asia, 5,625 immigrants from Africa and 2,655 immigrants from Latin America.
During World War II, a large number of people from Baltic countries (such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) came to Sweden, but most of them returned to their own countries after the war.
The increase in immigration has also led to an increase in the crime rate in Sweden. During the period from 1997 to 200 1, about 25% of the cases were related to immigrants, especially those from North Africa and West Asia.
=======================
language
The main language of Sweden is Swedish, which belongs to the North Germanic branch of Indo-European family, also known as Scandinavian branch [1]. Similar to Danish and Norwegian, but the pronunciation and writing are different. Swedish is undoubtedly the most commonly used language in Sweden, but the Swedish Parliament's proposal to make Swedish an official language in 2005 failed [15], so it has never been made an official language.
With the globalization of trade, English has become the most common second language in Sweden, especially for people born after World War II. English has been a compulsory course in senior high schools since 1849, and it became a compulsory course for all Swedish students in the late 1940s. Most Swedes also master one or even several other languages, such as Spanish, German, French and Italian.
========================
politics
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy country, and Carl XVI Gustaf is the current king of Sweden. He only performs representative or ceremonial duties and does not interfere in the work of parliament and government. [ 16]
Sweden has a cabinet system, and the head of government is the Prime Minister, who is elected by the Parliament. The legislature of modern Sweden is the Swedish Parliament, which consists of 349 members and elects the Prime Minister. Parliamentary elections are held every four years on the third Sunday in September. Its main functions include making laws, determining the use of taxes and public funds, and supervising government actions and state administration. The cabinet is entrusted by the parliament to manage the country and is responsible to the parliament. Courts are divided into two court systems: ordinary courts and administrative courts. The administrative court and the parliamentary supervision system * * * supervise government administration, which is the characteristic of Swedish political system. [ 16]
=====================
military affairs
Swedish army (f? Rsvarsmakten's main task is to maintain peace and defend the country. The Swedish army is divided into army, air force and navy. As a government agency, it is responsible to the Swedish Ministry of Defence. [17] Admiral Hakan Syrah is the supreme commander of the three armed forces and the highest official except the king. [ 18]
The Swedish army is based on the conscription system. In recent years, the number of male soldiers has gradually decreased, while the number of female soldiers has increased slightly. The condition of recruiting new recruits is to see who is more willing to join the army, not who is more suitable for the needs of the army. All soldiers volunteered to join the army. 1975, the number of conscripts was 45,000; in 2003, it dropped to15,000. According to the national defense proposal in 2004, the number of soldiers trained each year will be reduced to between 5000 and 10000. At present, the total number of all soldiers is 279,000, while before the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the total number of Swedish soldiers was 800,000.
Sweden has participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Lebanon and Afghanistan. [ 19]
=======================
economy
Since19th century, with the growth of capitalist economy and its political neutrality, the economic development of Sweden has gradually accelerated. By the middle of the 20th century, it developed rapidly and became an industrialized capitalist country. Since 1970s, Sweden has implemented a new industrial adjustment strategy, further increased scientific research and investment, actively developed modern high-tech industries, and become a modern welfare society.
In the past century, the position of agriculture in Sweden's national economy has been declining. Sweden's agricultural labor force accounts for only about 3% of the national employment population [10], with 3 million hectares of cultivated land, and the self-sufficiency rate of agricultural products exceeds 80%. All kinds of food produced can be exported in addition to meeting the needs of the country. [7]
Sweden is rich in forest resources, and forestry plays an important role in the national economy. In addition to the export of wood raw materials, a large number of supporting deep processing industries such as pulp, paper, furniture and forest products chemicals have been established, and the output and export volume are among the highest in the world. Among them, the export of coniferous products ranks second in the world, pulp ranks third in the world and paper ranks fourth in the world. [20] At the same time, the government pays attention to environmental protection, and the annual logging volume does not exceed the natural growth, which makes the forest coverage rate in Sweden stable for a long time.
While retaining traditional characteristics, Sweden's advantageous departments have turned to high-tech machinery, chemical industry and other industries, and vigorously developed emerging industries such as information, communication, biology, medicine and environmental protection. At present, Sweden has its own aviation industry, nuclear industry, automobile manufacturing industry, advanced military industry, and world-leading telecommunications industry and medical research capabilities. Sweden is also a world leader in software development, microelectronics, telecommunications and photonics.
With a population of only 9 million, Sweden has always supported the liberalization of world trade and its economy is highly export-oriented. Its dependence on foreign trade is about 80%, and its export profit accounts for about 45% of GDP. [2 1] Many internationally renowned Swedish H& brands, such as Volvo Cars, Scania Commercial Vehicles, Saab Cars and Weapons, Ericsson, Electrolux, ABB, Tetra Pak, Hasselblad Camera, IKEA Furniture and H & M Clothing, AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical, SKF Bearing Company, Alfa Laval Group and Atlas Copco Industrial Group. According to the proportion of population, Sweden has the largest number of multinational companies in the world. In 2006, six Swedish companies entered the Fortune Global 500 list. [22]
======================
traffic
There are 250 airports (in 2007), with 52 runways/kloc-0, of which 3 runways are over 3047m * *, 2,438m to 3,047m * * 12 runways range from1.524m to 2,424m.. There are 98 runways not built, including 6 runways with a length of 9 14m to 1.523m and 38 runways with a length shorter than 9 14m. The total length of the railway is11.528km (in 2006), all of which are standard rails (gauge1.435m), with electrification of 7527km.. The total mileage of highways is 424,947 km (in 2004), with 12965 1 km completed, including expressway 159 1 km, and 295,296 km under construction. Sweden has 2052 kilometers of canals (2005). There are also 798 kilometers of gas pipelines (2007). [23]
===========
welfare
Sweden is one of the few countries that did not participate in the Second World War. After the war, Sweden concentrated on economic development, implemented a wide range of social welfare policies and established a relatively complete social welfare system. Social welfare projects, from paid long-term maternity leave for parents to sick leave allowance for medical insurance, from unemployment insurance and pension to compulsory education, are called "protection from cradle to grave". [24]
Sweden is a fund for welfare protection through high personal income tax rate and high taxes. There are many taxes in Sweden. For individuals, in addition to personal income tax, there are interest tax and inheritance tax. And the income from other business activities such as stock trading funds and buying and selling houses. When you buy goods, you must pay VAT. Companies must pay employer tax. Every year from April to June, Swedes should take the initiative to declare all their income last year to the tax bureau. [25]
Some scholars believe that this Scandinavian welfare model is a model between socialism and capitalism and a mixed economy. Due to the economic recession in Europe, Sweden's welfare system is also facing difficulties. The population is aging and young people lack enthusiasm for employment. These are common problems in high welfare countries. Sweden is carrying out a series of reforms to enhance economic vitality and improve the system.
=================
education
As a part of high welfare, Sweden is one of the few countries in the world that implements all free education, and schools at all levels, from primary school to university graduation, are free of tuition. /kloc-children aged 0/-5 are sent to public kindergartens. Children aged 6- 16 enter a comprehensive school, which is divided into three stages and nine grades. After graduation, 90% of the students enter high school for further study, and then pass the qualification examination to enter the university for further study. Some Swedes work directly after graduating from high school. [26]
New immigrants can attend free Swedish courses and training courses provided by the Immigration Bureau to help them master Swedish as soon as possible in order to integrate into Swedish society.
=========
religion
1 1 century ago, Swedes believed in Norwegian polytheism and assas, and Uppsala Temple was the religious center of Sweden. With the Christianization of 1 1 century, the laws of this country were revised accordingly, and other religions were banned until the end of19th century. After the Reformation in A.D. 1530, Sweden stopped believing in Roman Catholicism and replaced it with Lutheranism. /kloc-In the late 8th century, followers of other sects such as Judaism and Catholicism began to be allowed to live and work in Sweden. 195 1 year, Sweden wrote religious freedom into law.
At present, about 75% of Swedes belong to Swedish Lutheran Church, but this number is decreasing every year, and few people go to church regularly. [27] According to statistics, about 275,000 Swedes belong to the free church, about 92,000 immigrants living in Sweden believe in Catholicism, 65,438+000,000 believe in Orthodox Church, and 500,000 are Muslims [28].
According to a poll conducted by the European Union polling agency in 2005, 23% of Swedes believe in God, 53% believe in some form of spirit or vitality, and 23% do not believe in any god, spirit or vitality.
=============
culture
A midsummer night by Anders Zuo En 65438+ Since the middle of the 8th century, Sweden has made many contributions to western civilization and science.
Sweden has many inventions and discoveries that promote global development. Famous figures include Alfred Nobel, Anders Centigrade, Karl Linnaeus, Balzavon platon, Karlwilhelm Scheler, Yanshi Bettley Uus, John Eriksson, Anders ?ngstr?m, Rasmagnus Eriksson, Arrhenius, Arvid Carlsson and Hawken Lance.
Sweden has a large number of world-famous writers, such as Henning Mankel, Emmanuel Swedenburg, August Strindberg, Selma Lagoff, Harry Marthinsen and Astrid Lindegren. The most famous artists include painters Karl Larson, Anders Zuo En, Alexander Roslin and sculptors tobias Shujil and Karl Miller.
Since the 20th century, the Swedish film industry has also performed well. Moritz Stiehler and Victor Sjstrom are the main representatives of Swedish classical film school. Since the 1920s, directors Ingmar Bergman and Bo Weidberg have both won the Academy Awards. Actors greta garbo, ingrid bergman, Anne Margaret, lena olin, max von sydow and Duff Langer are especially loved by audiences all over the world.
===============
festival
Besides the traditional Christmas, there are many special festivals in Sweden. Such as midsummer festival, to celebrate the arrival of the summer solstice; On April 30th, the night before May Day, people lit torches to celebrate the arrival of spring. May 1 Labor Day stands for social democracy; 12 13 is a festival in Saint Lucia, expecting the night to pass and the light to come. June 6th is the national day of Sweden, but it was not an official holiday before, and it didn't become an official holiday until 2005.
Naming Day is a unique traditional custom in Sweden. There are one or two traditional Swedish names every day, which are fixed every year and usually printed on the calendar. If the name of a day is the same as your name, this day is your "naming day". On that day, people usually get congratulations from relatives and friends, and there is another festival for children to celebrate. [30]
sensitive
====================
Like other Scandinavian countries, the diet in Sweden is very simple. Fish, meat and potatoes are the most common foods on the table, and they are rarely spicy. Famous foods include Swedish meatballs (K? Ttbullar), pancakes (pl? Ttar), lutfisk, etc.
==============
sports
The two most popular sports in Sweden are football and ice hockey. Football stars include Fredrik Ljungberg, henrik larsson, Olov mellberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Equestrian sports is the event with the largest number of participants except football, especially women. Golf, track and field, handball, gateball, basketball and hockey also have many fans. Baseball, an American sport, is not popular in Sweden.
Sweden once produced many tennis stars, such as bjorn borg, mats wilander and Stefan Edberg, ranking first in the singles world, while jonas bjorkman ranked first in the doubles world. Skiing is also a traditional strength of Sweden. Ingmar Steinmark, Penella Wiberg and Anjia palsson have won the alpine skiing world championships many times. Sikastin Jarnberg, Gude Swan, Togni Morgan, Pei El Offsong and Thomas Wassberg are Olympic gold medal winners in cross-country skiing. Jane bocks invented V-shaped ski jumping.
Sweden is also full of track and field talents. It has been even more successful in recent years. The high jumpers include European record holder Patrick Schoenberg, Kajsa Bergqvist and 2004 Olympic champion Stephen Holm. Heptathlete Croft Karolina and triple jumper Christian Olsson also won the Olympic champion.
Other famous athletes in Sweden include heavyweight boxing champion Ingmar Johansson, golfers Jespe Panivik, Henrik Statham, Annika Sorenstein, five-time world table tennis champion Waldner, world motorcycle champion Tony Richardson, and Magnus Weislander, who won the best handball player of the century.
Sweden once hosted 19 12 Summer Olympic Games and 1958 World Cup. Other important competitions include 1992 European Football Championship, 1995 Women's World Cup, and world-class competitions such as ice hockey, track and field and skiing.
The most popular sport is orienteering, which is very popular in Sweden and northern Europe.