 Sweden at a Glance| Location: | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway | | 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 | | Resources: | iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower | | Hazards: | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic | | Population: | 9,059,651 (July 2009 est.) |
A Brief Profile of SwedenA military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 by the global economic downturn, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.
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