Sweden History, Geography, Economy and Important Events

Germanic people have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times. In the early 12th century it became an independent Swedish country, after the Black Death in the mid-14th century about a third of the Scandinavian population died, and in the year 1397 the Scandinavian Kalmar Union was formed but left Sweden in the year 1523. When Sweden joined the Thirty Years' War on the reformist side, its territories began to expand and eventually the Swedish Empire was formed. It became one of the great powers of Europe by the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian peninsula were gradually lost during the 189s and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was forced into a personal union, which in 1905 I was disturbed by peace.

Situated in northern Europe, Sweden lies west of the Baltic Sea and in the Gulf of Bothonia. On the west side of the country is the Scandinavian mountain range (Scanderna), a category that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its northeast. It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. It is also connected to Denmark (southwest) by Bridgeresund Bridge. Its border with Norway (1,619 km long) is the longest uninterrupted border within Europe. Sweden has a total area of ​​449,964 km2 (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world, the 4th largest in Europe as a whole, and the largest in Northern Europe.

Sweden is the seventh richest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita, and its citizens experience high living standards. Sweden has an export-oriented mixed economy. Wood, hydropower and iron ore are the major resources received. Sweden accounts for 50% of production and exports in the engineering sector, while telecommunications, automotive industry and pharmaceutical industries are also important sectors. Sweden is the ninth largest arms exporter in the world. Agriculture accounts for 2% of GDP and employment.

The official language of Sweden is Swedish, a Northern Germanic language, which is related and similar to Danish and Norwegian, but differs in pronunciation and orthography. Along with Finnish, four other minority languages have also been recognized: Michenkili, Sami, Romani, and Yiddish. Swedish became the official language of Sweden on 1 July 2009.

Denmark [M] , Estonia [M] , Finland [LM] , Germany [M] , Latvia [M] , Lithuania [M] , Norway [LM] , Poland [M] , Russia [M] ,
Definition of international border: L = Land Border | M = Maritime Border