Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Sweden
conventional short form:
Sweden
local long form:
Konungariket Sverige
local short form:
Sverige
Government type:
constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name: Stockholm
geographic coordinates:
59 20 N, 18 03 E
time difference:
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
21 counties (lan, singular and plural); Blekinge, Dalarna, Gavleborg, Gotland, Halland, Jamtland, Jonkoping, Kalmar, Kronoberg, Norrbotten, Orebro, Ostergotland, Skane, Sodermanland, Stockholm, Uppsala, Varmland, Vasterbotten, Vasternorrland, Vastmanland, Vastra Gotaland
Independence:
6 June 1523 (Gustav VASA elected king)
National holiday:
National Day, 6 June (1983); note - from 1916 to 1982 this date was celebrated as Swedish Flag Day
Constitution:
several previous; latest adopted 1 January 1975; amended several times, last in 2011 (2011)
Legal system:
civil law system influenced by Roman-Germanic law and customary law
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977)
head of government:
Prime Minister Fredrik REINFELDT (since 5 October 2006); Deputy Prime Minister Jan BJORKLUND (since 5 October 2010)
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections:
the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Riksdag (349 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held on 19 September 2010 (next to be held in September 2014)
election results:
percent of vote by party - SAP 30.7%, Moderate Party 30.1%, Green Party 7.3%, FP 7.1%, C 6.6%, SD 5.7%, KD 5.6%, V 5.6%, others 1.3%; seats by party - SAP 112, Moderate Party 107, Green Party 25, FP 24, C 23, SD 20, KD 19, V 19
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Sweden (consists of 16 justices including the court chairman; Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 18 justices including the court president)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court justices nominated by the Board of Judges, a 9-member nominating body consisting of high-level judges, prosecutors, and members of Parliament; justices appointed by the Government; following a probationary period, justices' appointments are permanent
subordinate courts:
first instance and appellate general and administrative courts; specialized courts that handle cases such as land and environment, immigration, labor, markets, and patents
Political parties and leaders:
Center Party (Centerpartiet) or C [Annie LOOF]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Children's Rights in Society
other: environmental groups; media
International organization participation:
ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EITI (implementing country), ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Bjorn O. LYRVALL (since 12 Semptember 2013)
chancery:
The House of Sweden, 2900 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone:
[1] (202) 467-2600
FAX:
[1] (202) 467-2699
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark Francis BRZEZINSKI (since 14 November 2011)
embassy:
Dag Hammarskjolds Vag 31, SE-11589 Stockholm
mailing address:
American Embassy Stockholm, US Department of State, 5750 Stockholm Place, Washington, DC 20521-5750
telephone:
[46] (08) 783 53 00
FAX:
[46] (08) 661 19 64
Flag description:
blue with a golden yellow cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag); the colors reflect those of the Swedish coat of arms - three gold crowns on a blue field
National symbol(s):
three crowns; lion
National anthem:
name: "Du Gamla, Du Fria" (Thou Ancient, Thou Free)
lyrics/music: Richard DYBECK/traditional
note: in use since 1844; the anthem, also known as "Sang till Norden" (Song of the North), is based on a Swedish folk tune; it has never been officially adopted by the government; "Kungssangen" (The King's Song) serves as the royal anthem and is played in the presence of the royal family and during certain state ceremonies
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Sweden on this page is re-published from the 2014 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sweden Government 2014 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sweden Government 2014 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 06-Nov-14