President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
King: Carl XVI Gustaf Prime minister: Fredrik Reinfeldt
Population
65,630,692
9,103,788
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
81.180 years
Capital City
Paris
Stockholm
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Stockholm (population: 1,253,310)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.958
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$40,900 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
9.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
47%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
Ingvar Kamprad & family ($22.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
7.500%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
republic
constitutional monarchy
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$1,016,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Swedish kronor (SEK) per US dollar - 6.4074 (2008 est.), 6.7629 (2007), 7.3731 (2006), 7.4731 (2005), 7.3489 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
1.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
5
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Area
643,801 km sq
450,295 km sq
Coastline
0 km
3,218 km
Climate
temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
