King: Carl XVI Gustaf Prime minister: Fredrik Reinfeldt
President: Giorgio Napolitano
Population
9,103,788
61,261,254
Life Expectancy
81.180 years
81.860 years
Capital City
Stockholm
Rome
Largest city
Stockholm (population: 1,253,310)
Rome (population: 2,563,240)
Human Development Index
0.958
0.945
GDP per capita
$40,900 US
$30,900 US
Literacy Rate
99%
98.4%
Corruption Perception Index
9.3
4.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
47%
20.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
Ingvar Kamprad & family ($22.0bn US)
Michele Ferrero & family ($9.5bn US)
Unemployment Rate
7.500%
8.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
constitutional monarchy
republic
Independence date
6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king)
17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
Religions
Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%
Roman Catholic 90% (approximately; about one-third practicing), other 10% (includes mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community)
Languages
Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Exports
machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals
engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals
External Debt
$1,016,000,000,000 $
$2,684,000,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Swedish kronor (SEK) per US dollar - 6.4074 (2008 est.), 6.7629 (2007), 7.3731 (2006), 7.4731 (2005), 7.3489 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6689 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
1.500%
1.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
5
28
Location
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia
Area
450,295 km sq
301,340 km sq
Coastline
3,218 km
7,600 km
Climate
temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south