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Sweden Facts

Sweden Facts
The country of Sweden's official name is the Kingdom of Sweden. Sweden is located in Northern Europe, bordered by Norway to its west and Finland to its east. A bridge tunnel connects Sweden to Denmark to its south. Prior to the Middle Ages Sweden's region was inhabited by Germanic tribes that became known as Vikings. In the 1600s Sweden expanded and formed the Swedish Empire, which became one of Europe's great powers in the 1600s and 1700s. Military struggles for control of the region ensued until 1814, when the last boundary issue was resolved. Since then Sweden has been a neutral nation.
Interesting Sweden Facts:
Sweden encompasses an area of 173,745 square miles.
Sweden covers the eastern region of the Scandinavian Peninsula.
Sweden is the fourth largest European country, and the third largest in the European Union, following France and Spain.
The capital city of Sweden is Stockholm. This is also Sweden's largest city.
The population of Sweden as of 2012 was approximately 9,500,000.
The monetary unit in Sweden is the krona.
The main language spoken in Sweden is Swedish, with small minorities speaking Sami and Finnish.
The government system in Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.
Although Sweden is a neutral country and has not been involved in any war since 1814, Swedish citizens have to complete 15 months of military service if they are over 19 years of age.
53% of Sweden is forested land.
11% of Sweden is made up of mountains.
There are approximately 100,000 lakes in Sweden.
Major exports from Sweden include machinery, telecommunications and electronics, paper, pharmaceuticals, food products, iron, steel, and petroleum products.
Sweden had won 588 winter and summer Olympic medals as of 2006.
Sweden has the largest number of working mothers (by percentage) of any developed country in the world. This means that 76% of the mothers in Sweden work. Mothers and fathers are given 480 days off work when they have a baby.
Sweden is the most generous country in the world when it comes to providing aid to poor and developing countries.
By 2012 Sweden had 30 Nobel prizes. 5 of these were Nobel Peace prizes.
It is believed that Sweden will be the first country to replace petrol with biofuel.
Sweden is home to the car companies Volvo and Saab.
The famous furniture company IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943, and has stores in many countries around the world.
There is a shopping mall in Gothenburg, Sweden called the Nordstan. It is the largest shopping mall in Europe.
The world's largest scale model of the Solar System is the Stockholm Globe Arena. It is also the largest hemispherical building in the world.
Famous musicians and bands that have emerged from Sweden include ABBA, Ace of Base, and The Cardigans. Sweden follows the United States and the United Kingdom, making it the third largest exporter of music in the world.
Many foods popular around the world originated in Sweden, including Swedish meatballs, which are usually served with gravy.
Sports that are popular in Sweden include ice hockey, soccer, handball, gymnastics, cross-country skiing and golf.


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