Sweden

A military power during the 17th century, Sweden maintained a policy of military non-alignment until it applied to join NATO in 2022. Sweden has not participated in any war for two centuries. Stockholm preserved an armed neutrality in both World Wars. Since then, Sweden has pursued a successful economic formula consisting of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum. The share of Sweden’s population born abroad increased from 11.3% in 2000 to 20% in 2022.

 

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

62 00 N, 15 00 E

Europe

almost three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California

3,218 km

temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west

iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower

510 sq km (2016)

most of the population lives in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes, the largest of which, Vanern, is the third-largest in Europe

Swedish 79.6%, Syrian 1.9%, Iraqi 1.4%, Finnish 1.3%, other 15.8%

(2022 est.)

Church of Sweden (Lutheran) 53.9%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 8.9%, none or unspecified 37.2% (2021 est.)

0.51% (2025 est.)

10.56 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

9.63 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

4.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most of the population lives in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

1.700 million STOCKHOLM (capital) (2023)

29.7 years (2020 est.)

4 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.66 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.8 (2025 est.)

4.41 physicians/1,000 population (2021)

2 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)

20.6% (2016)

53.6% (2023 est.)

marine pollution (Baltic Sea and North Sea); acid rain damage to soil and lakes; air pollution; poor timber-harvesting practices

temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

6 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

174 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

parliamentary constitutional monarchy

21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarna, Gavleborg, Gotland, Halland, Jamtland, Jonkoping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Orebro, Ostergotland, Skane, Sodermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Varmland, Vasterbotten, Vasternorrland, Vastmanland, Vastra Gotaland

civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and customary law

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Center Party (Centerpartiet) or C 
Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna) or KD 
Green Party (Miljopartiet de Grona) or MP 
Left Party (Vansterpartiet) or V 
Moderate Party (Moderaterna) or M 
Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) or SD 
Swedish Social Democratic Party (Socialdemokraterna) or S/SAP 
The Liberals (Liberalerna) or L 

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EITI (implementing country), EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UN Security Council (temporary), UNSOM, UNTSO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king of Sweden, marking the abolishment of the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)

National Day, 6 June (1983)

description: blue with a golden yellow cross extending to the edges of the flag; the cross is shifted to the left side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

meaning: the colors come from the Swedish coat of arms

three crowns, lion

blue, yellow

$610.118 billion (2024 est.)

milk, wheat, sugar beets, barley, potatoes, oats, rapeseed, pork, chicken, beef (2023)

iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles

0.3% (2024 est.)

5.699 million (2024 est.)

16.1% (2022 est.)

27.6% (of GDP) (2022 est.)

Germany 10%, USA 10%, Denmark 8%, Norway 6%, Netherlands 5% (2023)

cars, refined petroleum, packaged medicine, paper, vehicle parts/accessories (2023)

Germany 17%, Netherlands 10%, Norway 9%, Denmark 6%, China 6% (2023)

cars, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, vehicle parts/accessories, garments (2023)

publicly owned TV broadcaster has 2 terrestrial networks plus regional stations; multiple privately owned TV broadcasters operating nationally, regionally, and locally; about 50 local TV stations; widespread access to pan-Nordic and international broadcasters through multi-channel cable and satellite TV; publicly owned radio broadcaster has 3 national stations and a network of 25 regional channels; roughly 100 privately owned local radio stations, with some consolidating into near-national networks; an estimated 900 community and neighborhood radio stations broadcast intermittently

.se

SE

206 (2025)

11 (2025)

Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten): Army, Navy, Air Force, Home Guard (202)

approximately 25,000 active military personnel; approximately 21,000 Home Guard  (2025)

the SAF's inventory is comprised of mostly domestically produced armaments alongside smaller amounts of imported Western systems; Sweden's defense industry produces a range of air, land, and naval systems, including armored vehicles, combat aircraft, and submarines; it also produces weapons systems jointly with other countries (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary and selective conscripted service for men and women; conscript service obligation typically 9-15 months depending on the branch of service and position, with a reserve commitment up to age 45 (2026)

approximately 600 Latvia (NATO) (2025)

the Swedish military is responsible for deterrence and the defense of the country and its territories against armed attack, supporting Sweden’s national security interests, providing societal support, such as humanitarian aid, and contributing to international peacekeeping and peacemaking operations; the military has a relatively small active duty force that is designed to be rapidly mobilized in a crisis with a trained reserve and a Home Guard

Sweden maintained a policy of military non-alignment for over 200 years before applying for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine; it became a NATO member in March 2024; prior to membership, Stockholm joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and contributed to NATO-led missions, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo; the military cooperates closely with the forces of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO; established 2009), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; Sweden is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and contributes to CSDP missions and operations, including EU battlegroups; it also participates in UN-led missions; Sweden has close bilateral security relations with some individual NATO member states, particularly Finland, Germany, Norway, the UK, and the US (2025)

Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA; established 1972; known until 2018 as the Swedish National Space Board) (2025)

Esrange Space Center (Kiruna) (2025)

aims to have one of Europe's leading space programs; produces and operates satellites; builds and launches sounding rockets; involved in the research, development, production, and operations of a variety of other space-related areas, including astronomy, atmospheric monitoring, geographic information systems, infrared imaging, meteorology, propulsion systems, remote sensing, satellite subsystems, spacecraft systems and structures, research, and telecommunications; member of the ESA and program is integrated into its framework; works extensively with foreign space agencies, in particular through the ESA and EU and their member states, as well as with the US; participates in programs such as Europe's Copernicus Earth observation and the Galileo global navigation satellite system, France's Pleiades project, and the Square Kilometer Array Project; has a large commercial space industry, including state-owned enterprises (2025)

1950s - space program initiated with the establishment of a space observatory and the Swedish Space Research Committee

1961 - launched first sounding rocket

1986 - first scientific satellite (Viking) launched on European rocket

1989 - first communications satellite (Tele-X) launched on European rocket

2006 - first astronaut into space on US Space Shuttle

2019 - established a space data lab for artificial intelligence-based analysis of imagery data

2024 - signed US-led Artemis Accords for space and lunar exploration; launched first military communications satellite (GNA-3); adopted its first defense and security space strategy

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)