Total area: 449 994 km²
Population: 9 million
Capital: Stockholm (703 627)
Time zone: Winter: GMT +1 Summer: GMT +2
Official Language: Swedish (English widely spoken)
Currency: Swedisk Krona (SEK), krona = 100 öre
Ethnic composition: Swedish 89,3%; Finn & Sami (Lapp) 3%; Yugoslav 0,8%; Iranian 0,6%; other 6,3%
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran 94%; Roman Catholic 2%; Pentecostal 1%; other 3%
Government: Constitutional monarchy, in which King Carl XVI Gustaf is head of state, but royal power, has long been limited to official and ceremonial functions. The nation's legislature is the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag), with 349 members. Parliamentary elections are held every four years.
Member of: European Union
Climate: Cool continental. Sweden experiences extreme contrasts between its long summer days and equally long winter nights. In the summer, the sun stays in the sky around the clock in the parts of Sweden north of the Arctic Circle, but even as far south as Stockholm (59°N) the June nights have only a few hours of semi-darkness.
Highest point: Kebnekaise 2111 m
Lowest point: sea level
The biggest island: Gotland 2994 km2
International Dialing Code: +46
Useful Numbers: 112 - All emergencies, Fire, Police and Ambulance
Agricultural products: cereals, cattle, sugar beets, potatoes, timber
Industrial products: engineering, electrical goods, vehicles, paper, wood pulp, steel, precision equipment, processed foods
Flag: The flag of Sweden is blue with a yellow Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag. The design and colors of the Swedish flag are believed to have been inspired by the present Coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold, and modeled on the Danish flag. Blue and yellow have been used as Swedish colors at least since king Magnus Birgersson's royal coat of arms of 1275.
National anthem: The text of the Swedish National Anthem, "Du gamla, Du fria," was written by folklorist and ballad writer Richard Dybeck (1811-77) and set to a folk tune from the province of Västmanland in the middle of the 19th century. By the end of the century, the song was so popular that it became the Swedish national anthem.
Coat of arms: The triple crown device has been used as the emblem of Sweden at least since 1336, when it had long been a familiar symbol of the “Three Wise Kings”.