Sweden (Swedish: Sverige), officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund, a strait at the Swedish-Danish border. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest country in Northern Europe, the third-largest country in the European Union and the fifth largest country in Europe by area. Sweden has a total population of 10.2 million of which 2.4 million has a foreign background. It has a low population density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre (57/sq mi). The highest concentration is in the southern half of the country.

Demonym	Swedish, Swede
Capital	Stockholm
Anthem	"Du gamla, Du fria" (Thou ancient, thou free)
Official Motto	"För Sverige - i tiden" (For Sweden - With the Times)
Official Flag
Official Language(s)	Swedish
Approximate Size	Total: 173,860 sq mi (450,295 km2) % Water: 8.7
Population	9,981,799 (2016)
Currency	Swedish Krona (SEK)
Nickname	Land of the Midnight Sun
Drives	On the Right
International Dialing Code	+46
Sports	Sweden is a country with a high interest in sport. It is estimated that about half the population is active in some sport. The most popular sports that Swedes play are handball, football, golf, athletics and gymnastics. Other common games played or competed in are tennis, ice hockey, basketball, table tennis and bandy. Recreational sports tend to be walking, cycling, running, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, hiking, dancing, fishing and hunting. In this Scandinavian country, there are numerous companies that subsidise the employee’s gym memberships or sporting activities. This reflects how important physical activity is in Swedish culture. Some of the extreme sports are kayaking or canoeing in turbulent rivers, diving in known parts of surrounding sea where there are ship wrecks, air ballooning and hiking high large mountains and glaciers. Other sports that are enjoyed are weight lifting, boxing, speed skating, electronic sports and golf. Football and ice hockey are popular televised sports. There is a nationwide interest in soccer/football. Thomas Ravelli, a Swede, has been voted the second best goalkeeper in the world. Sweden has a number of soccer teams and players that even play for international top teams. The most successful team of the country of late has been IFK Göteborg, this Swedish team has won the UEFA Cup (United European Football Associations) twice. Note that football in Sweden is soccer. American football is different. Every year in the month of February, all schools close for a week’s sports holiday. This enables families to have time to travel further up north in Sweden to ski in the winter months.
Area Facts	What has Sweden invented? Swedes have invented many things, among them: The adjustable wrench . The Celsius temperature scale The sun-controlled gas-vent, originally used in light-houses The safety-match The first wholly included pacemaker The centrifugal separator The dynamite This is only a short list. What are Swedens exports? Some of Sweden's exports are machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products and chemicals. The main export partner is Germany.

Posted By Gremelin Posted on December 17th, 2018

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