Sweden

    - Facts and Statistics - 

• Offical Name: 

Kingdom of Sweden. 

• Location: 

Between Finland & Norway in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak.

• Capital: 

Stockholm.

• Climate: 

temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north.

• Currency: 

Swedish krona

• Population: 

9,031,088 (July 2007 est.).

• Ethnic Make-up: 

indigenous population: Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks.

• Religions:

Lutheran 87%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 13%.

• culture: 

From Abba to Ingmar Bergman to Avicii, Sweden is a major exporter of culture, and the world’s biggest exporter of pop music in relation to GDP. Another global Swedish hit in recent years has been the so-called Nordic noir literary genre, led by Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson. Look backwards in time and you have cultural heavyweights like Bergman – widely regarded as one of the leading directors in the history of film – and August Strindberg, the respected and highly influential dramatist.

There are countless opportunities to get involved in Sweden’s cultural life through the concerts, plays, gigs and exhibitions held the length and breadth of the country, year-round.