Sweden

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Its capital city is Stockholm. It is surrounded by Norway (west), Finland (northeast), the Skagerrak, Kattegat and Oresund straits (southwest) and the Baltic Sea (east). It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and it is also linked to Denmark (southwest) by the Öresund Bridge. It has been a member of the European Union since 1995.

At 449,964 km² (173,720 square miles), Sweden is the third largest country in Western Europe. Sweden has a low population density except in its metropolitan areas; 84 percent of the population lives in urban areas, which take up only 1.3 percent of the total land area.

The citizens enjoy a high standard of living and the country is generally perceived as modern and liberal, with an organizational and corporate culture that is non-hierarchical and collectivistic compared to its Anglo-Saxon counterparts. Nature conservation, environmental protection and energy efficiency are generally prioritized in policy making and embraced by the general public in Sweden.

Sweden has a long tradition as a major exporter of iron, copper and timber. Improved transportation and communication allowed more remote natural assets to be utilized on a larger scale, most notably timber and iron ore. In the 1890s, universal schooling and industrialization enabled the country to develop a successful manufacturing industry and by the twentieth century, Sweden emerged as a welfare state, consistently achieving a high position among the top-ranking countries in the UN Human Development Index (HDI). Sweden has a rich supply of water power, but lacks significant oil and coal deposits.

During the Middle Ages, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (including the Swedish-controlled areas of what is today Finland), were united through the Kalmar Union, formed in 1397 under Margaret I of Denmark. Sweden left the union in the 16th century, and battled its neighbours for many years, especially Russia and Denmark-Norway. In the seventeenth century, during an era of absolute monarchy, the Swedish kings expanded Sweden's territory through warfare, creating Swedish dominions on the Scandinavian peninsula, in the Baltic and in areas in present-day Germany. After the death of Charles XII in 1718, the Swedish empire crumbled. In 1809, the eastern part of Sweden, Österland and the eastern part of Norrland became Finland, the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Imperial Russia and by 1814, Sweden had lost all of the conquered territory outside the Scandinavian peninsula. In 1814, Norway was coerced into a personal union with Sweden which lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a non-aligned foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.

The area of Swedish wildlife is one of the largest in Europe. With a length of over 2,000 km north-south, Sweden offers a diverse and very varied nature with only 18 people per sqr km. Over 57 % of the total area is covered by forests. The coastline is the longest in Europe, stretching 7,300 km.

The warm Gulf Stream in the Atlantic gives Sweden a milder climate than other areas this far north. Stockholm, the capital, shows the same latitude as southern Alaska but has an average temperature in July of 18 C (64 F).

The Northwest is dominated by mountains reaching above the timber-line, but except for the most southern regions dominated by deciduous trees, the nature is considered a forest region and relatively flat. The highest mountain, Kebnekaise, reaches 2 111 meters(6 926 ft).

Sweden's archipelagos are world famous. The west coast is unique by its naked rocks and islands. The soil was washed away during the Ice Age, thousands of years ago, and left smooth, bare islands. The water is not as salty as the rest of the Atlantic, but still clear and with generally the same kind of maritime life. The Stockholm archipelago on the east coast is known for its many islands - over 25,000 with forests and meadows.

Although less than Finland, Sweden is the country of uncountable lakes, over 100,000 lakes, which add to the beauty of the varied Swedish landscape and provides a rich environment for the Swedish wildlife. Sweden is therefore not surprisingly famous for its fish, especially the salmon and the salmon trout, even though a very large part of the fishing takes place along the coastline. Apart from lakes the country is cut by numerous large rivers that run into the Baltic Sea in the east and into the Atlantic on the West coast.

The number of species of various wild animals is very large. The obvious ambassador of the Swedish wildlife is the moose or elk (close relative to the North American moose). Sweden is really the land of the moose - with a population of 250,000 spread from the north to the southern regions, Sweden has the highest density of moose in the world. The annual shooting rate, around 100,000, generates a value of close to one billion dollars of venison.

Sweden does have wolves (protected), but not at all in the numbers tourists expect. The population is about 100 for the whole country! Seeing one is very rare but there are areas where groups can be heard howling. Sweden has some fantastic national parks. Especially the northern mountain region has large areas protected from industry and hunting which give people a great opportunity to experience Nordic wildlife in a protected environment.

Hunting is very well integrated in Swedish tradition. Moose, bear, deer, fox, grouse etc. all have special hunting seasons. The big game hunt is popular among foreign hunters and organised at many different places in Sweden. Sweden is maybe not known for rare birdlife but there is rich bird life in most of the Swedish nature. Since forests are unexploited in large areas, ornithologists will have a memorable time!

The most important base for the recreation in nature is the Every Man's Right (Allemansrätten) providing the possibility for each and everyone to visit somebody else's land, to take a bath in, and to travel by boat on somebody else's waters, and to pick the wild flowers, mushrooms, berries, fallen cones, acorns and beechnuts. The Swedish wildlife, as well as nature, is somewhat protected by the Every Man Rights. However, as it is allowed to enter into areas where rare birds might nest, where bears might have their offspring, and where protected flowers grow, and so forth, it takes great responsibility by those using these rights. It is prohibited to dig up all flowers and trees. Furthermore, all orchids are protected, as is the Hepatica, the pasque flower, the poppy, as well as the wormwood