The population of Sweden is about 10 million people.[11] Sweden's capitalcity is Stockholm, which is also Sweden's largest city, with almost one million people. Other large cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. These cities are all in the southern half of the country, where it is not as cold as in the north. Swedes drink filmjölk, it is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden. It is made by fermenting cow's milk. Glögg, is spiced mulled wine which people drink around Christmas. It normally contains red wine, sugar, orange peel, and spices. Swedes eat yellow pea soup with pork (or pork sausages) along with mustard.
Sweden became a member of the European Union (EU) on 1 January 1995. Unlike most countries in the European Union, Sweden is not a member of the Eurozone and has not begun to use the euro as currency. This is because the people have voted against using the euro. The currency remains the Swedish krona (Swedish crown).
History
Sweden has been a kingdom for a thousand years. In the Middle Ages, Sweden had the same king as Denmark and Norway. In the early 16th century Sweden got its own king, Gustav Vasa. During the 17th century Sweden was a great power. Sweden had taken Estonia, Latvia, and Finland and parts of Norway, Germany, and Russia. In the 18th century Sweden became weaker and lost these places. In the early 19th century, Sweden's king died without an heir and the Swedish parliament voted for Jean Baptiste Bernadotte as the new king. Bernadotte fought Denmark and made them allow Norway to enter a personal union with Sweden.
This was Sweden's last war, and Sweden has not been at war for 200 years. In 1905, the Swedish-Norwegian personal union was dissolved. In many wars, including World War I and the Cold War, the country did not take sides. During World War II, it traded with both the British and the Germans in order to protect its neutrality.
Region
Sweden has 25 historical provinces (landskap). They are found in three different regions: Norrland in the North, Svealand in the central region, and Götaland in the South.
County governments largely regulate regional public transportation and healthcare.
Municipalities
Sweden is further divided into 290 municipalities. The municipalities are responsible for many social issues, like schools, daycare centers, the care for older and disabled people and fire departments.
Religion
Sweden has been Christian for a thousand years. Sweden is traditionally a Protestant country, but it is now one of the least religious countries in the world. Statistical surveys say 46-85% of all people in Sweden are agnostics or atheists. This means that they doubt or they do not believe in the existence of a god.[12] About 6.4 million people in Sweden, which is 67% of all the people, are members of the Church of Sweden, but only 2% of members go to church often.[13]
Sweden is a country with many talented athletes, such as soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimović. Sweden (men and women's teams combined) has five bronze medals and two silver medals from the World Cup in football (soccer). The soccer league in Sweden is called Allsvenskan (men's) and Damallsvenskan (women's). Sweden has also performed well in ice hockey. The men's ice hockey top division in Sweden is called SHL and the women's SDHL. Sweden has also had several successful table tennis players, including Stellan Bengtsson and Jan-Ove Waldner, as well as alpine skiers including Ingemar Stenmark, Pernilla Wiberg, and Anja Pärson. Other champions include biathlete Magdalena Forsberg and tennis players Björn Borg, Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, and Jonas Björkman. Swimmer Sara Sjöström has several gold, silver and bronze medals from the Olympic Games and holds several world records.
↑Note that Swedish-speaking Finns or other Swedish-speakers born outside Sweden might identify as Swedish despite being born abroad. Moreover, people born in Sweden may not be ethnic Swedes. As the Swedish government does not base any statistics on ethnicity, there are no exact numbers on the ethnic background of migrants and their descendants in Sweden. This is not, however, to be confused with migrants' national backgrounds, which are recorded.
↑"Sweden website". Statistics Sweden website. 31 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2013.
↑Zuckerman, Phil (2007), Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns PDF i Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-60367-6
1. Transcontinental country/territory that is part of both Europe and Asia. 2. Territory or with territory geographically part of North America. 3. Partially recognized. 4. Not all dependent territories are listed. 5. Territory has some form of self-rule. 6. Territory or with territory geographically part of Africa.
![Location of Sweden (dark green) – on the European continent (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) — [Legend]](File:EU-Sweden.svg)
