Sweden - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Sweden. Strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes, the largest of which, Vanern, is the third largest in Europe. Mother's mean age at first birth is 29.7 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 5 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Geographical data of Sweden
Location Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Geographic coordinates 62 00 N, 15 00 E
Map references Europe
Tarrain mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
Natural Resources iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower
Natural Hazards ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic
Irrigated Land 519 sq km (2013)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 2,211 km
Border Countries Finland 545 km; Norway 1,666 km
Coastline 3,218 km
Climate temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
Area
Total Area
Land Area 410,335 sq km
Water Area 39,960 sq km
comparative Area almost three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)
Exclusive economic zone agreed boundaries or midlines
Continental shelf 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Elevations
Highest point Kebnekaise South 2,100 m
Lowest point reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m
Mean elevation 320 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 7.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 6.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 1.1% (2018 est.)
Forest 68.7% (2018 est.)
Other 23.8% (2018 est.)
Population Distribution

Most Swedes live in the south where the climate is milder and there is better connectivity to mainland Europe; population clusters are found all along the Baltic coast in the east; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated

People and Society

In Sweden, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have:

Swedish 79.6%, Syrian 1.9%, Iraqi 1.4%, Finnish 1.3%, other 15.8%

(2022 est.)

Population
Pop growth rate 0.51% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 10.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 9.6 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure 11.4% of GDP (2020)
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density 2.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)
Total fertility rate 1.67 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 0.8 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate 70.3% (2017)
Est married women (ages 15-49) 53.4% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures 7.2% of GDP (2020 est.)
Net Migration rate 4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Swedish | Swede(s)
Languages
Religions Church of Sweden (Lutheran) 53.9%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 8.9%, none or unspecified 37.2% (2021 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 17.1% (male 934,668/female 880,310)
15-64 years 62.1% (male 3,365,754/female 3,208,248)
65 years and over 20.8% (2024 est.) (male 1,032,279/female 1,168,576)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 60.8
Youth dependency ratio 28.5
Elderly dependency ratio 32.3
Potential support ratio 3.1 (2021 est.)
Median Age
Total 41.1 years (2024 est.)
Male 40.1 years
Female 42.1 years
Urbanization
Urban population 88.7% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 0.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 1.700 million STOCKHOLM (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.88 male(s)/female
Total population 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 2 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 82.9 years (2024 est.)
Male 81.2 years
Female 84.7 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 99.8% of population
Improved: rural rural: 99.7% of population
Improved: total total: 99.8% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0.2% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0.3% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0.2% of population (2020 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 100% of population
Improved: rural rural: 100% of population
Improved: total total: 100% of population
Unimproved: urban urban: 0% of population
Unimproved: rural rural: 0% of population
Unimproved: total total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 7.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 2.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 3.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 24% (2020 est.)
Male 29.8% (2020 est.)
Female 18.2% (2020 est.)
Demographic profile

Sweden, the largest Nordic country in terms of size and population, is also Europe’s most sparsely populated.  Most Swedish men and women agree that both partners should contribute to household income. Swedish society is very gender equal, which is reflected in the country’s public policies.  A generous leave policy and high-quality subsidized childcare allows mothers and fathers to balance work and family life. Sweden’s income-replacement-based parental leave policy encourages women to establish themselves in the workforce before having children.  In fact, Swedish women have one of the highest labor participation rates in Europe and one of its highest total fertility rates (TFR), the number of children women have in their lifetime.  Postponement of parenthood has increased steadily.  Since the late 1960s, marriage and divorce rates have declined, while non-marital cohabitation and births out of wedlock have increased rapidly. Sweden’s TFR has hovered for decades around 2, which is close to replacement level and among Europe’s highest.

Sweden experienced “the great emigration” between 1850 and the 1930s when, faced with famines, approximately 1.5 million Swedes sought a better life in the Americas and Australia.  However, since World War II, Sweden has been a country of immigration. During World War II, thousands of refugees from neighboring countries worked in Swedish factories, agriculture, and forestry, replacing Swedish men who were called up for military service.  During the 1950s and 1960s, Sweden joined the Geneva Convention and granted permanent residence to refugees from the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. During this period, Sweden also welcomed labor migrants, mainly from Finland and other Nordic countries, who bolstered the tax base needed to fund the country’s welfare programs.

Until 1971, labor migrants, particularly from Finland, southern Europe (including then Yugoslavia, Italy, and Greece) the Baltics, and Turkey, came to Sweden as its industries flourished.  Companies recruited many of the workers, but others came on their own. Sweden’s labor demand eventually decreased, and the job market became saturated. The government restricted the flow of labor migrants, putting an end to labor migration from non-Nordic countries in 1972. From then until the 1990s, inflows consisted largely of asylum seekers from the Middle East, the Balkans, and South America, as well as persons looking to reunite with family members already in Sweden.  The country began a new era of labor immigration in 2008, as companies were encouraged to hire non-EU workers.  Among the largest source countries have been India, Thailand, and China. As of 2020, over a quarter of Sweden’s population had a migrant background.

All Important Facts about Sweden

Want to know more about Sweden? Check all different factbooks for Sweden below.

Sweden is found in Northern Europe