Page last updated on January 31, 2014

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

Area:
total: 450,295 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 56
land: 410,335 sq km
water: 39,960 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California

Land boundaries:
total: 2,233 km
border countries: Finland 614 km, Norway 1,619 km
[see also: Land boundaries country ranks ]

Coastline:
3,218 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

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

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

Terrain:
mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m
[see also: Elevation extremes - lowest point country ranks ]
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources:
iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 5.8%
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 94.18% (2011)

Irrigated land:
1,597 sq km (2007)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Total renewable water resources:
174 cu km (2011)
[see also: Total renewable water resources country ranks ]

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 2.62 cu km/yr (37%/59%/4%)
[see also: Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) - total country ranks ]
per capita: 285.6 cu m/yr (2007)

Natural hazards:
ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

Environment - current issues:
acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas