Sweden in brief

Sweden in brief

Sweden in brief provides capsule introductions to Sweden by subject area and a collection of key facts and figures.

Facts about Sweden

• Area: 174,000 sq mi (450,000 km²), the third largest country in Western Europe
  Forests: 53%
  Mountains: 11%
  Cultivated land: 8%
  Lakes and rivers: 9%
  Longest north-south distance: 978 mi (1,574 km)
  Longest east-west distance: 310 mi (499 km)
• Capital: Stockholm
• Population: 9.3 million inhabitants
• Languages: Swedish; recognized minority languages: Sami (Lapp), Finnish, Meänkieli (Tornedalen Finnish), Yiddish, Romani Chib
• Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
• Parliament: The Riksdag, with 349 members in one chamber
• Religion: In practice, Sweden is very secularized. The Church of Sweden is Evangelical Lutheran; co-exists with many other beliefs
• Life expectancy: Men 79 years, women 83 years
• Most important export goods: Machinery, electronics and telecommunication, paper, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, iron and steel, and foodstuffs
• Most important imported goods: Electronics and telecommunication, machinery, foodstuffs, crude oil, textiles and footwear, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and petroleum products

Average temperatures

	JANUARY	JULY
Malmö	+31.6°F (-0.2°C)	62.2°F (+16.8°C)
Stockholm	+27.0°F (-2.8°C)	63.0°F (+17.2°C)
Kiruna	+3.2°F (-16.0°C)	55.0°F (+12.8°C)

Daylight

	JANUARY 1	JULY 1
Malmö	7 hours	17 hours
Stockholm	6 hours	18 hours
Kiruna	0 hours	24 hours