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1 -
Political Status
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a
one-house Parliamentary regime (Riksdag). The
constitution dates from 1st January 1975, but it is
based on the constitution of 1809.
The country is ruled by King Carl Gustav XVI, whose
power is symbolic. It is a pluralistic, democratic
and denominational monarchy.
Göran Persson is Prime
Minister since 21st March 1996. He governs the
country and is responsible towards the Swedish
Parliament, the Riksdag, which is composed of 349
members, elected for a three year term of office.
310 are elected by majority vote and 39 by
proportional representation.
The party in power is the
Social democratic party, it has been since
September 1994, apart from between 1978 and 1982 it
has always had the majority since the
1930s.
Historical outline
:
1389 : Sweden and Norway fall
under Danish domination.
1523 : Swedish independence led by Gustav Vasa.
Protestantism becomes the official religion.
17th century : Sweden reaches the height of its
power in Northern Europe
1818 : Bernadotte, a French general from the
Napoleonic wars, becomes King of Sweden under the
name of Charles XIV
1905 : Secession of Norway (conquered from Denmark
in 1814)
1979 : The middle class right wing party replaces
the left wing Social democrat party which has been
in power for the last 30 years
September 1982 : Mr Olof Palme, a Social democrat,
is re-elected Prime Minister
28th February 1986 : Olof Palme is assassinated
March 1986 : Mr Ingvar Carlsson is nominated to the
post of Prime Minister
15th September 1991 : The conservatives win the
elections
4th Octobre 1991 : Mr Carl Bildt (Conservative) is
elected Prime Minister
19th November 1992 : The Swedish Kroner is
devalued
1st March 1994 : Sweden is accepted into the
EEC
18th September 1994 : Ingvar Carlsson becomes Prime
Minister again
13th November 1994 : A referendum in favour of
becoming a member of the European Union
1st January 1995 : Sweden becomes a member of the
European Union
22nd March 1996 : The Prime Minister, Göran
Persson, a Social democrat, presents his
government.
2 -
Geographical situation
Sweden is situated in
northern Europe, it has common borders with Norway
to the west and Finland to the north-east.
It is the biggest Scandinavian country with a total
surface area of 450,000 sq. kms.
The country is only populated in the south, forests
cover 59% of the country.
The population density is 225 inhabitants per sq.
km in the southern regions.
It is a long country, measuring 1,574 kms from
north to south and 499 kms from east to west,
bathed by the Baltic Sea. It is made up of 150,000
islands, most of it is pine and birch forest and
there are 96,000 lakes.
3
- Economy
Since 1995 the economy has been picking up. The
internal and export demands have risen and continue
to rise. The general economy has benefitted from
the increased export of telecommunications, paper
and pharmaceuticals. The low rate of unemployment
and the planned income tax reductions have
stimulated consumption without putting undue
pressure on the level of prices.
The budgetary and monetary
environment is good. The surplus of the 2000 budget
should continue.
Sweden's entry into the EEC
on 1st January 1995 opened new horizons. But the
Swedes are going through a period of prosperity and
are in no hurry to trade in their strong Kroner for
devalued Euros. A referendum will be held in
2002.
At the opening of the
intergovernment conference in Italy in 1996, the
Prime Minister, Mr Persson, emphasized the need for
a continuing reduction of unemployment, the
democratization of the institutions and the respect
of the environment.
The labour force is
divided into the following sectors :
3.5% in agriculture earning
2% of the GNP
0.5% in mining earning 0.5% of the GNP
24.9% in industry earning 31.5% of the GNP
71.1% in services earning 66% of the PNB
Calculating another way, the jobs are divided into
the following sectors :
Primary : 3.2%
Secondary : 23.4%
Tertiary : 73.4%
The main
economic indicators
|
(in
percentage)
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
|
economic growth
|
1.8
|
2.6
|
3.9
|
3.0
|
|
consumption
(variation)
|
1.6
|
2.4
|
3.2
|
2.8
|
|
investment
(variation)
|
-2.1
|
9.2
|
7.6
|
5.9
|
|
inflation
|
2.3
|
0.9
|
0.8
|
1.4
|
|
unemployment
rate
|
8.0
|
6.5
|
5.5
|
4.5
|
|
short term interest
rate
|
4.1
|
4.2
|
3.2
|
3.5
|
|
public balance/GDP
|
-1.8
|
1.9
|
2.3
|
2.1
|
|
public
debt/GDP
|
74.4
|
73.7
|
68.3
|
64.4
|
|
exports
(variation)
|
12.7
|
6.9
|
6.0
|
6.7
|
|
Imports
(variation)
|
11.7
|
9.7
|
4.5
|
7.1
|
|
balance of trade
(billions $)
|
18.4
|
17.6
|
18.1
|
18.9
|
|
tourist revenue
(billions $)
|
7.915
|
7.815
|
-
|
-
|
|
foreign investment
(milliards $)
|
5.693
|
5.488
|
-
|
-
|
(source
OECD)
The GDP divided by activity
sector :
Agriculture : 2.2%
Industry : 21.7%
Mining : 8.6%
Services : 67.5%
4 -
Agriculture
The agricultural sector is not very well developed
in the country, only 3% of the work force are
employed in it and it only earns 2.2% of the GDP.
It is subsidized by the government.
Crops are mainly barley, which cover 17% of the
farmland and produces 1.8 million tons and wheat
which covers 9% and produces 1.7 million tons per
annum.
Timber :
Sweden is the 9th biggest wood producer in the
world, 59% of the land is covered in forests. 58
million cubic meters of wood was cut in
1998.
Stock breeding :
In 1999 1.76 million cattle were raised and
2.32 million pigs.
Fishing :
Fishing is a major source of income, in 1997 a
total of 364,000 tons were fished.
5
- Industry
Nearly 25% of the working population are employed
in the industrial sector, earning 32% of the
GNP.
The sector deals mainly with manufacturing. Iron,
copper, zinc and silver are mined but the mining
activity only represents 1% of the GDP. Steel is
worked, particularly in the manufacturing of
precision materials such as weapons and ball
bearings.
In the electronic field, Sweden produces radios and
telephones.
The wood sector is important,
Sweden makes wood pulp, paper and
furniture.
Big Swedish multinational
groups are world known and are the backbone of the
economy : Asea, Electrolux, Ericson, Ikea, Volvo
...
In 1994 Ikea made a turnover of 23,640 billion
French Francs, it is the biggest furniture producer
in the world.
The automobile industry is
dynamic, there are three world famous car
manufacturers, not bad for such a small country.The
Saab Scania group has a huge turnover, 34.8 billion
SEK in 1995, making a net profit of 4.8 billion
SEK. It employs 22,000 people, half of whom are in
Sweden. 50% of Saab's capital is owned by General
Motors. Sania is the 5th biggest truck builder in
the world and has 14% of the European market for
trucks over 16 tons.
Other important sectors are
chemicals and foodstuffs.
The government has decided to
shut down all the nuclear power stations in the
country by 2010. But they still provide 46% of the
country's electricity, only one has already been
closed down and no alternative solution has yet
been proposed.
The rate of outstanding
payments in Swedish enterprises is the lowest in
Europe.
The strong developement of new technologies helps
all the sectors to gain in productivity and widen
their market.
35,000 new companies were set up during 1999.
Concurrently, Swedish companies spread abroad,
particularly in the neighbouring markets of the
European Union.
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