Sweden is the biggest country among the five Nordic countries, both to its area which makes it the fifth biggest country in Europe, and to its population of 9.1 million people.

Big cities

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. It is located on the east coast and has a population of 1.3 million inhabitants. The second largest city is Göteborg, which is located on the west coast and the third largest city is Malmö on the south cost.

The northern part of the country is less populated then the central and the south due to the colder climate. The largest city in the north is Umeå with its 100.000 inhabitants.

Climate

Even though Sweden is located far up in the north, it has a mild temperate climate due to the Gulf Stream. The northern part of Sweden however has a sub arctic climate meaning that the winters are longer and colder. In the part north of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets during a part of the summer and never rises during a part of the winter.

Temperatures

Sweden has four seasons. The temperatures in January vary from around -2°C in the south to around -7°C in the middle and in the north around -16°C.

Summer have from 18-25°C in the south, 16-22°C in the middle and around 15°C in the north. During the autumn the north is often under +5°C and the middle and south lies slightly below +10°C.

Cultural society

Of Sweden’s 9.1 million inhabitants the Swedes makes up 87% of the population. The biggest minorities come from Finland and the other Nordic countries but also from the Middle East, Turkey and former Yugoslavia.

Religious Views

The Swedish church which is protestant has about 75% of the Swedes as members. Islam has a number of around 500.000 followers of tradition due to immigration. Roman Catholics and eastern orthodox Christians make up to around 200.000 persons together.

Swedish society is generally known for being secular and non-religious.

Languages in practice

Sweden doesn’t have an official language but Swedish is seen as its primary language.

It is similar to Norwegian and Danish but with different pronunciation and orthography.

English is a compulsory subject in schools and, depending on local authorities, is taught between 2nd grade and 9th grade. Most people continue to secondary school and continue for at least one more year with English. Most students also learn a 3rd additional language starting in 7th grade. The most common ones are German, French and Spanish.

Political system

Sweden has more or less always been a kingdom since 10th century. Today it is a constitutional monarchy and head of state is King Carl XVI Gustav, but his powers are limited to official and ceremonial functions. The Swedish parliament (Riksdag) is chosen every four years and has 349 members who choose the Prime Minister.

Since 1917 the Social Democratic party of Sweden has played a leading role in the parliament and the cabinet has been dominated by them. Only four elections (1976, 1979, 1991 and 2006) have given the power to the centre-right coalition to form a government.

Currency

Sweden has its own currency, Krona (Crown/SEK) which was introduced in 1873.

Even though Sweden is a member of European Union, the introduction of the Euro as a currency was voted down by a referendum in 2003.