Sweden
- Capital: Stockholm
- Largest City: Stockholm
- Area: 449,964 sq km
- Official
Language:Swedish
- Government: Constitutional Monarchy, Representative Democracy, Parliamentary System
- King - Carl XVI Gustaf
- Prime Minister - Fredrik Reinfeldt
- Nationality: Noun--Swedes; adjective--Swedish.
- Population (November 2006): 9,110,972.
- Annual population growth rate (2006): 0.16%.
- Ethnic groups: Indigenous Swedes, ethnic Finns, ethnic
Sami.
- Religions: Lutheran (87%), Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim.
- Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--99%.
- Health: Infant mortality rate--2.76/1,000. Life expectancy--men 78.29 years, women 82.87 years.
- Work force (4.49 million, 2005 est.): Services--70.7%; industry--28.2%; agriculture--1.1%. Unemployment (2006 est.)--4.3%.
- Public
holidays (2007): January 1 (New Year's Day); January 6 (Epiphany);
April 6 (Good Friday); April 8 (Easter); April 9 (Easter Monday); May 1
(May Day); May 17 (Ascension Day); May 27 (Whit Sunday); June 6
(National Day); June 23 (Midsummer Holiday); November 4 (All Saints'
Day); December 25 (Christmas); December 26 (St Stephen's Day).
- Sweden has one of the world's
highest life expectancies and one of the lowest birth rates. About
one-fifth of Sweden's population are immigrants or have at least one
foreign-born parent. The largest immigrant groups are from Finland,
Serbia and Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Norway, Denmark, and
Poland.
- Swedish is a Germanic language related to Danish and Norwegian. English is the
leading foreign language.
-
Sweden has an extensive child-care system that guarantees a place for
all young children from 2-6 years old in a public day-care facility.
From ages 7-16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school. After
completing the ninth grade, 90% attend upper secondary school for
either academic or technical education.
- Sweden has an extensive social welfare system, which provides
for childcare and maternity and paternity leave, a ceiling on health
care costs, old-age pensions, and sick leave among other benefits.
Parents are entitled to 12 months' paid leave between birth
and the child's eighth birthday.
