The Taregh ( Persian : طارق ) is a class of fast patrol boat used by naval forces of Iran .
98-617: A Boghammar is a High Speed Patrol Boat for use in coastal patrol. The term Boghammar originated from the Iranian patrol boats manufactured by the Swedish company Boghammar Marin AB during the 1980s used in the Iran–Iraq War and its Tanker War . In 1983, Iran purchased 50 RL-118 and RL-130 patrol crafts from Boghammar Marin AB for reportedly $ 10 million. It was the biggest order ever for
196-577: A UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya during the Arab Spring . In addition, there was extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry; some Swedish-made weaponry was used by Coalition militaries in Iraq. In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Sweden moved to formally join NATO, alongside Finland. After many months of delays caused by
294-441: A fiscal crisis in the early 1990s. Sweden's GDP declined by around 5%. In 1992, a run on the currency caused the central bank to briefly increase interest rates to 500%. The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatising public services and goods. A referendum passed with 52.3% in favour of joining
392-518: A military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss , which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905. The 1814 campaign was the last time Sweden was at war. The Swedish East India Company began in 1731. The obvious choice of home port was Gothenburg at Sweden's west coast, the mouth of Göta älv river
490-576: A personal union , a union which lasted until 1905. Sweden is a highly developed country ranked fifth in the Human Development Index . It is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag . It is a unitary state , divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities . Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has
588-431: A distinct period of winter. The northern parts of the country have a subarctic climate while the central parts have a humid continental climate . The coastal south can be defined as having either a humid continental climate using the 0 °C isotherm, or an oceanic climate using the -3 °C isotherm. Dominium maris baltici The establishment of a dominium maris baltici (" Baltic Sea dominion")
686-622: A garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. The actions of these Swedish Vikings are commemorated on many runestones in Sweden, such as the Greece runestones and the Varangian runestones . There was also considerable participation in expeditions westwards, which are commemorated on stones such as
784-538: A local irregular military force and usually being a modified civilian boat or other similar machine. It is usually a speedboat or fast patrol boat (as used by police for harbor/river patrol) on which are mounted recoilless rifles , heavy machine guns , mortars , or other relatively small weapons systems. A boghammar is usually unarmoured. Boghammars, in this sense, have been used by paramilitary forces to attack offshore oil platforms and civilian shipping, or even larger military vessels, most notably by Iran in
882-476: A long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC. The runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the second century AD, but all that has survived from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions demonstrating that the people of south Scandinavia spoke Proto-Norse at the time, a language ancestral to Swedish and other North Germanic languages . In
980-494: A rapid population growth. These innovations included government-sponsored programmes of enclosure , aggressive exploitation of agricultural lands, and the introduction of new crops such as the potato. The Swedish farming culture began to take on a critical role in Swedish politics, which has continued through modern times with modern Agrarian party (now called the Centre Party). Between 1870 and 1914, Sweden began developing
1078-562: A stronger state. According to the Legend of Saint Erik and the Erik's Chronicle , Swedish kings conducted a series of Crusades to pagan Finland and started conflicts with the Rus' , who by then had no further connections with Sweden. The Swedish colonisation of the coastal areas of Finland began in the 12th and 13th centuries. By the 14th century, this colonisation became more organised, and by
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#17327722111801176-506: Is covered with forests. The highest population density is in the Öresund Region in southern Sweden, along the western coast up to central Bohuslän, and in the valley of lake Mälaren and Stockholm. Gotland and Öland are Sweden's largest islands ; Vänern and Vättern are its largest lakes. Vänern is the third largest in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia. Combined with
1274-489: Is sometimes considered as the foundation of modern Sweden . Shortly afterwards the new king rejected Catholicism and led Sweden into the Protestant Reformation . The term riksdag was used for the first time in the 1540s, although the first meeting where representatives of different social groups were called to discuss and determine affairs affecting the country as a whole took place as early as 1435, in
1372-626: Is unknown. Determining its age depends mostly on whether Sweden is considered a nation when the Svear (Swedes) ruled Svealand or when the Svear and the Götar (Geats) of Götaland were united under a single ruler. In the former case, Svealand was first mentioned as having one single ruler in the year 98 by Tacitus, but it is almost impossible to know for how long it had been this way. The epic poem Beowulf describes semi-legendary Swedish-Geatish wars in
1470-402: Is very wide and has the county's largest and best harbour for high-seas journeys. The trade continued into the 19th century, and caused the little town to become Sweden's second city. Between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. According to some scholars, mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during
1568-502: The 2013 Stockholm riots . In response to these violent events, the anti-immigration opposition party, the Sweden Democrats , promoted their anti-immigration policies, while the left-wing opposition blamed growing inequality caused by the centre-right government's socioeconomic policies. Sweden was heavily affected by the 2015 European migrant crisis , eventually forcing the government to tighten regulations of entry to
1666-616: The Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia , providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula . To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain ( Skanderna ), a range that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its north-east. It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia , and it is also linked to Denmark (south-west) by
1764-512: The Battle of Nördlingen in 1634, Sweden's only significant military defeat of the war, pro-Swedish sentiment among the German states faded. These German provinces broke away from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories: Swedish Pomerania , Bremen-Verden and Wismar . From 1643 to 1645, during the last years of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway fought
1862-689: The England runestones . The last major Swedish Viking expedition appears to have been the ill-fated expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled to Serkland , the region south-east of the Caspian Sea . Its members are commemorated on the Ingvar runestones , none of which mentions any survivor. During the early stages of the Viking Age, a centre of trade in northern Europe developed at Birka on
1960-585: The House of Bernadotte , taking the regnal name of Charles XIV. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark–Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January 1814 in exchange for the northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel . The Norwegian attempts to keep their status as a sovereign state were rejected by the Swedish king, Charles XIII . He launched
2058-743: The Kalmar Union . However, Margaret's successors, whose rule was centred in Denmark, were unable to control the Swedish nobility. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark , who attempted to restore the Union of Kalmar through military force, ordered the massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm, an event known as the " Stockholm Bloodbath ." This atrocity incited the Swedish nobility to renew their resistance, and on 6 June 1523 (now celebrated as Sweden's National Day ), they made Gustav Vasa their king. This
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#17327722111802156-688: The Marshall Plan and participated in the OECD. During most of the post-war era, the country was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party largely in co-operation with trade unions and industry. The government actively pursued an internationally competitive manufacturing sector of primarily large corporations. Sweden was one of the founding states of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). During
2254-656: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in multiple conflicts. During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states and defeated the Imperial army at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. Gustavus Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor , ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. After
2352-724: The Sound Dues from merchants entering or leaving the Baltic Sea, allowing the Copenhagen court to benefit from the Baltic Sea trade profits without engaging in economic adventures itself. The Sound Dues, imposed until 1857 and constituting a primary source of income for the Royal treasury, quickly became a contentious issue, which brought Denmark into conflict with the Hanseatic League and the neighboring powers. After
2450-804: The Swedes ", which excluded the Geats in Götaland . The contemporary English variation was derived in the 17th century from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German . As early as 1287, references are found in Middle Dutch referring to a lande van sweden ("land of [the] Swedes"), with swede as the singular form. In Old English the country was known as Swéoland or Swíoríce , and in Early Modern English as Swedeland . Some Finnic languages , such as Finnish and Estonian , use
2548-607: The Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 ( Kejserkrigen of 1625–1629) is also considered part of the wars for the dominium maris baltici —in this war, however, the opponent was not the Swedish king, but the ambitious Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II , who temporarily planned to establish the Empire as a naval power in the Baltic. He assigned this task to Albrecht von Wallenstein , leading to a concerted action by Denmark and Sweden in
2646-479: The Torstenson War . The result of that conflict and the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War helped establish postwar Sweden as a major force in Europe. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories in northern Germany. In the middle of the 17th century, Sweden was the third-largest country in Europe by land area. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X after
2744-475: The Uppsala Synod in 1593 which officially confirmed the modern Church of Sweden as Lutheran . Following his deposition in 1599, Sigismund attempted to reclaim the throne sparing no expense, and hostilities between Poland and Sweden continued for the next hundred years. Sweden rose to prominence on a continental scale during the reign of king Gustavus Adolphus , seizing territories from Russia and
2842-567: The Varangian Guard . The Swedish Vikings, called Rus are believed to be the founders of Kievan Rus' . The Arab traveller Ibn Fadlan described these Vikings saying: I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil . I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear
2940-711: The World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The name for Sweden is generally agreed to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root * s(w)e , meaning "one's own", referring to one's own tribe from the tribal period. The native Swedish name, Sverige (a compound of the words Svea and rike , first recorded in the cognate Swēorice in Beowulf ), translates as "realm of
3038-644: The defense of Stralsund . The Danish defeat in the Battle of Wolgast (1628) and the subsequent Treaty of Lübeck in 1629, however, removed Denmark from the battlefield. After Sweden had left the Kalmar Union in 1523, she became Denmark's major rival for the dominium maris baltici . The first war ascribed to this conflict is the Northern Seven Years' War (1563–1570, associated with the Livonian War ), which between 1611 and 1613 followed
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3136-720: The maritime powers , especially the Dutch Republic , continued to be economically and militarily present and pursued their balance of power policy also in respect to Denmark and Sweden. The Second Northern War , the Scanian War and the first stage of the Great Northern War left Sweden's dominium maris baltici intact, yet it was finally ended by the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. Sweden had sought to secure her dominium maris baltici by turning many towns (e.g. Riga, Narva, Wismar) into fortresses, often under
3234-575: The treaty of Roskilde in 1658, following Charles X's crossing of the Danish Belts . The foundation of Sweden's success during this period is credited to Gustav I's major changes to the Swedish economy in the 16th century, and his introduction of Protestantism . One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating Great Famine of 1695–1697 that struck the country. Famine also hit Sweden, killing roughly 10% of Sweden's population. In
3332-723: The world's 14th highest GDP per capita and ranks very highly in quality of life , health , education , protection of civil liberties , economic competitiveness, income equality , gender equality and prosperity . Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and NATO on 7 March 2024. It is also a member of the United Nations , the Schengen Area , the Council of Europe , the Nordic Council ,
3430-408: The Öresund Bridge . Its border with Norway ( 1,619 km long) is the longest uninterrupted border within Europe. Sweden lies between latitudes 55° and 70° N , and mostly between longitudes 11° and 25° E (part of Stora Drammen island is just west of 11°). At 449,964 km (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the 55th-largest country in the world, the fifth-largest country in Europe, and
3528-722: The Øresund channel, thus closing it to Allied shipping, and allowing the Germans to use Swedish facilities and the Swedish cipher to transmit secret messages to their overseas embassies. Sweden also allowed volunteers to fight alongside the Germans for the White Guards against the Red Guards and Russians in the Finnish Civil War , and briefly occupied Åland in cooperation with the German Empire. As in
3626-530: The 17th century, Sweden was engaged in many wars, for example with Poland–Lithuania, with both sides competing for territories of today's Baltic states . The Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) ended with a ceasefire in Stary Targ ( Truce of Altmark ) on 26 September 1629 that was in favour of the Swedes, to whom Poland ceded the larger part of Livonia together with its important port of Riga . The Swedes also got
3724-486: The 1880s. It is thought that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States . Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Western European countries began to industrialise. Despite the slow rate of industrialisation into the 19th century, many important changes were taking place in the agrarian economy due to constant innovations and
3822-584: The 1960s the EFTA countries were often referred to as the Outer Seven, as opposed to the Inner Six of the then- European Economic Community (EEC). Like many industrialised countries, Sweden entered a period of economic decline and upheaval following the oil embargoes of 1973–74 and 1978–79. In the 1980s several key Swedish industries were significantly restructured. Shipbuilding was discontinued, wood pulp
3920-553: The 20th century, people gradually moved into cities to work in factories and became involved in socialist unions. A communist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of parliamentarism , and the country was democratised . Sweden was officially neutral during World War I . However, under pressure from the German Empire , they did take steps which were detrimental to the Allied powers – most notably, mining
4018-468: The Baltic, Denmark in 1637 destroyed, without declaration of war, the nascent Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy . The numerous wars fought for the dominium maris baltici are often collectively referred to as the Northern Wars . Initially Denmark had the upper hand, but eventually it lost ground to Sweden. Neither Denmark nor Sweden managed to realize thorough military and economic control of
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4116-535: The Baltic, though Sweden during its time as an empire came closest to that aim before the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. Historiography uses the term dominium maris baltici either in a narrower sense as a new Swedish concept of the Early Modern era, closely tied to the Swedish Empire , or in a wider sense including the preceding Danish hegemony in the southern Baltic Sea. Denmark had subdued
4214-409: The EU on 13 November 1994. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995. In a 2003 referendum the Swedish electorate voted against joining the Euro currency. Sweden held the chair of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2009. On 28 September 1994, the MS Estonia sank as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster claimed
4312-570: The First World War, Sweden remained officially neutral during World War II , although its neutrality has been disputed. Sweden was under German influence for much of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government unofficially supported Finland in the Winter War and the Continuation War by allowing volunteers and materiel to be shipped to Finland. However, Sweden supported Norwegian resistance against Germany, and in 1943 helped rescue Danish Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps . During
4410-437: The Hanseatic League, and entered its golden era, the fact that the peasantry had traditionally been free meant that more of the economic benefits flowed back to them rather than going to a feudal landowning class. The end of the 16th century was marked by a final phase of rivalry between the remaining Catholics and the new Protestant communities. In 1592, Gustav Vasa's Catholic grandson and king of Poland , Sigismund , ascended
4508-430: The Hanseatic town of Visby ( Gotland ) in 1361, resulting in a war decided in favour of the League in the peace of Stralsund in 1370, which marked the climax of Hanseatic power. Atterdag's daughter and de facto successor, Lady Margaret , managed to concentrate the crowns of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in her Copenhagen -centered Kalmar Union from 1397. In 1429, Kalmar king Eric of Pomerania started to raise
4606-450: The Nazis' war efforts. Sweden was officially a neutral country and remained outside NATO and Warsaw Pact membership during the Cold War , but privately Sweden's leadership had strong ties with the United States and other western governments. Following the war, Sweden took advantage of an intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe. Sweden received aid under
4704-488: The Russian army at Poltava. The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire. In addition, the plague raging in East Central Europe devastated the Swedish dominions and reached Central Sweden in 1710. Returning to Sweden in 1715, Charles XII launched two campaigns against Norway in 1716 and 1718, respectively. During the second attempt, he was shot to death during the siege of Fredriksten fortress. The Swedes were not militarily defeated at Fredriksten, but
4802-401: The Swedish throne. He pursued to strengthen Rome's influence by initiating Counter-Reformation and created a dual monarchy that temporarily became known as the Polish-Swedish Union . His despotic rule, strongly characterised by intolerance towards the Protestants, sparked a civil war that plunged Sweden into poverty. In opposition, Sigismund's uncle and successor, Charles Vasa , summoned
4900-427: The Tanker War. Other users of such vessels include Nigerian militants, LTTE Sea Tigers , and Somali pirates . Sweden – in Europe (green & dark grey) – in the European Union (green) – [ Legend ] Sweden , formally the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe . It borders Norway to
4998-419: The above-mentioned Kalmar War . Major Swedish successes followed the capture of Riga in 1621 and the Swedish landing in Pomerania in 1630 . The gains in the Torstenson War , a theater of the Thirty Years' War , humiliated Denmark, and the subsequent Peace of Westphalia confirmed Sweden's status as a European great power ( stormaktstiden ). Swedish control of the Baltic was not thorough, however, since
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#17327722111805096-405: The aegis of Erik Dahlbergh . Since the Thirty Years' War, Sweden collected customs ( Licenten ) from merchant vessels on the Baltic Sea, in Swedish as well as in non-Swedish ports. These customs were calculated as a certain percentage of the value of transported goods, and once payment took place in any port, the respective receipt was valid for the whole dominium maris baltici . The failure of
5194-456: The area of present-day Sweden and 50,000 from the Finnish part of Sweden . Executive power was historically shared between the King and an aristocratic Privy council until 1680, followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the commoner estates of the Riksdag. As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in 1719, followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in 1772, 1789 and 1809,
5292-421: The beginning of the 19th century, with one third of the population dying between 1349 and 1351. During this period, the cities began to acquire greater rights and were heavily influenced by German merchants of the Hanseatic League , active especially at Visby . In 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark (the former daughter-in-law of Magnus Eriksson) established the personal union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark through
5390-400: The break-up of the Kalmar Union in the early 16th-century, the Kingdom of Sweden became Denmark–Norway 's primary rival for hegemony in the Baltic Sea. Christian IV of Denmark 's victory in the Kalmar War in 1613 marked the last instance of a successful defense of a Danish dominium maris baltici against Sweden; subsequent wars ended in Sweden's favor. The period of Danish intervention in
5488-502: The canal. Sweden also has plenty of long rivers draining the lakes. Northern and central Sweden have several wide rivers known as älvar , commonly sourced within the Scandinavian Mountains. The longest river is Klarälven - Göta älv , which originates in Trøndelag in central Norway, running 1,160 kilometres (720 mi) before it enters the sea at Gothenburg . In southern Sweden, narrower rivers known as åar are also common. The vast majority of municipal seats are set either on
5586-402: The central and southern half of the country. Sweden's urban areas together cover 1.5% of its land area. Sweden has a diverse climate owing to the length of the country, which ranges from 55°N to 69°N . Sweden has been inhabited since prehistoric times , c. 12,000 BC . The inhabitants emerged as the Geats (Swedish: Götar ) and Swedes ( Svear ), which together constituted
5684-401: The country. Some of the asylum restrictions were relaxed again later. On 30 November 2021, Magdalena Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister. The September 2022 general election ended in a narrow win to a bloc of right-wing parties. On 18 October 2022, Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party became the new Prime Minister. Situated in Northern Europe, Sweden lies west of
5782-419: The domain of one of them, not of an "outsider" like Poland or Russia. The Scandinavian powers tried to prevent the rise of their opposition through diplomatic treaties, which forbade other powers like Russia or Germany to build navies, and through military actions, whether targeting opponent naval forces, or through taking control of the Baltic ports. In one of the most notable actions to retain its monopoly over
5880-399: The early 18th century. During this era Sweden controlled much of the Baltic Sea . Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Imperial Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into
5978-488: The eighth century to the 11th century. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, Estonia, the Baltic countries , Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad . Their routes passed through the Dnieper south to Constantinople , on which they carried out numerous raids. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos noticed their great skills in war, and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as
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#17327722111806076-477: The end of the century, several of the coastal areas of Finland were inhabited mostly by Swedes. Except for the provinces of Scania, Blekinge, and Halland in the southwest of the Scandinavian peninsula, which were part of the Kingdom of Denmark during this period, feudalism never developed in Sweden as it did in much of Europe. As a result, the peasantry remained largely a class of free farmers throughout most of Swedish history. Slavery , also known as thralldom ,
6174-412: The first Danish king to pursue a policy of establishing a Danish dominium maris baltici , aiming at adding to Denmark's naval dominance and economical hegemony at the expense of the Hanseatic League. To achieve this aim, Valdemar sold Danish Estonia to the Teutonic Order state in 1346, consolidating his finances and raising an army from the revenue. After initial territorial gains, Valdemar conquered
6272-407: The first battles of the Great Northern War , the Russian army was so severely devastated that Sweden had an open chance to invade Russia. However, Charles XII did not pursue the Russian army, instead turning against Poland and defeating the Polish king, Augustus II the Strong , and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszów in 1702. This gave Russia time to rebuild and modernise its army. After
6370-445: The four lands of Sweden . Saint Ansgar is traditionally credited with introducing Christianity to Sweden in 829, but the new religion did not begin to fully replace paganism until the 12th century. During that century, Sweden was undergoing dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans. The conflict ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan, founding the Bjälbo dynasty, which gradually consolidated Sweden into
6468-401: The hegemonial ambitions of his adversaries in the Livonian War . The first written reference stems from the Dutch-Swedish treaty of 5 ( O.S. ) / 15 ( N.S. ) April 1614, concluded in The Hague . Several European powers regarded the Baltic Sea as of vital importance. It served as a source of important materials and as a growing market for many commodities. So large did the importance of
6566-438: The industrialised economy that exists today. Strong grassroots movements sprang up in Sweden during the latter half of the 19th century (trade unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups), creating a strong foundation of democratic principles. These movements precipitated Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during
6664-417: The island of Björkö , not far from where Stockholm was later constructed, in mid-latitude Sweden. Birka was founded around 750 AD as a trading port by a king or merchants trying to control trade. Birka was the Baltic link in the Dnieper Trade Route through Ladoga ( Aldeigja ) and Novgorod ( Holmsgard ) to the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate . It was abandoned c. AD 975 , around
6762-506: The largest country in Northern Europe. The lowest elevation in Sweden is in the bay of Lake Hammarsjön, near Kristianstad , at −2.41 m (−7.91 ft) below sea level. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,111 m (6,926 ft) above sea level . Sweden has 25 provinces or landskap . While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role in people's self-identity . The provinces are usually grouped together in three large lands , parts,
6860-500: The last year of the war, Sweden began to play a role in humanitarian efforts, and many refugees, among them several thousand Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were rescued thanks to the Swedish rescue missions to internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees. The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues ensured the safety of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews. Nevertheless, both Swedes and others have argued that Sweden could have done more to oppose
6958-490: The latter granting several civil liberties. Already during the first of those three periods, the 'Era of Liberty' (1719–72) the Swedish Rikstag had developed into a very active Parliament, and this tradition continued into the nineteenth century, laying the basis for the transition towards modern democracy at the end of that century. In the 18th century, Sweden did not have enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia, and most of them were lost, culminating with
7056-423: The lifetime task of Charles X's son, Charles XI , to rebuild the economy and refit the army. His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of Sweden, Charles XII , was one of the finest arsenals in the world, a large standing army and a great fleet. Russia, the most serious threat to Sweden at this time, had a larger army but lagged far behind in both equipment and training. After the Battle of Narva in 1700, one of
7154-761: The lives of 852 people (501 of them were Swedes ), being one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century. Until 2022, Sweden generally remained non-aligned militarily, although it participated in some joint military exercises with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and some other countries, stationed its troops under NATO command in Afghanistan , took part in EU-sponsored peacekeeping operations in Kosovo , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Cyprus , and helped enforce
7252-572: The loss in 1809 of eastern Sweden to Russia, which became the highly autonomous Grand Principality of Finland in Imperial Russia . In interest of re-establishing Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea, Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars . However, in 1810, a French Marshal, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte , was chosen as heir presumptive to Charles XIII ; in 1818, he established
7350-611: The northern Norrland, the central Svealand and southern Götaland. The sparsely populated Norrland encompasses almost 60% of the country. Sweden also has the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve , one of the largest protected areas in Europe, totaling 562,772 ha (approx. 5,628 km ). About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle . Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Around 65% of Sweden's total land area
7448-453: The objections of Turkey and Hungary, Sweden became a NATO member on 7 March 2024. In recent decades Sweden has become a more culturally diverse nation due to significant immigration; in 2013, it was estimated that 15% of the population was foreign-born, and an additional 5% of the population were born to two immigrant parents. The influx of immigrants has brought new social challenges. Violent incidents have periodically occurred including
7546-573: The power vacuum created by the weak or non-existent naval power of the Holy Roman Empire and Poland–Lithuania , adopted expansionist policies which fostered conflict over the Baltic. Denmark and Sweden used their control of parts of the Baltic to fuel their militaries. Each claimed the Baltic as their own, and promised to protect foreign shipping. While the Nordic powers vied with one another over control, they both agreed that it should be
7644-539: The provinces of Östergötland and Västergötland . The island of Gotland was contested by various groups, including the Danes, the Hanseatic League , and the local Gutes . Småland was of little interest at the time due to its deep pine forests, with only the city of Kalmar and its castle holding any significant importance. There were also Swedish settlements along the southern coastline of Norrland , one of
7742-461: The region loom that it became of interest even to powers that did not have direct access to it, such as Austria and France . For several centuries, Sweden and Denmark would attempt to gain total control of the sea, a policy which other local and international powers opposed. Historians have described the control of the Baltic as one of the main goals of Denmark's and Sweden's policies. The Scandinavian (Nordic) powers, who sensed opportunity in
7840-550: The right to tax Poland's trade on the Baltic (3.5% on the value of goods), and kept control of many of the cities in Royal and Ducal Prussia (including Piława ( Pillau ), Memel and Elbląg (Elbing). The Swedes later conducted a series of invasions into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge . After more than half a century of almost constant warfare, the Swedish economy had deteriorated. It became
7938-469: The same time Sigtuna was founded as a Christian town some 35 km to the northeast. It has been estimated that the population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people. Archaeological finds indicate that Birka still was wealthy in the 9th and 10th centuries. Thousands of graves, coins, jewelry and other luxury items have been found there. The actual age of the kingdom of Sweden
8036-439: The sea, a river or a lake and the majority of the country's population live in coastal municipalities. Most of Sweden has a temperate climate , despite its northern latitude , with largely four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The winter in the far south is usually weak and is manifested only through some shorter periods with snow and sub-zero temperatures; autumn may well turn into spring there, without
8134-626: The sea-faring peoples known as the Norsemen . A unified Swedish state was established during the late 10th century. In 1397, Sweden joined Norway and Denmark to form the Scandinavian Kalmar Union , which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side, an expansion of its territories began, forming the Swedish Empire , which remained one of the great powers of Europe until
8232-585: The shipyard, and was worth almost three times their annual revenues. By February 1987, The Washington Post reported that the newly established Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps began using the boats. According to Svenska Dagbladet , American authorities maintained that Iran acquired at least a further 13 boats by way of Czechoslovakia . The term boghammar, sometimes spelled boghammer , has also come to mean an improvised naval fighting vessel, typically used by
8330-751: The sixth century, Jordanes names two tribes living in Scandza , both of which are now considered to be synonymous with the Swedes: the Suetidi and Suehans . The Suehans were known to the Roman world as suppliers of black fox skins and, according to Jordanes, had very fine horses, similar to those of the Thyringi of Germania ( alia vero gens ibi moratur Suehans, quae velud Thyringi equis utuntur eximiis ). The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly from
8428-472: The sixth century. However, historians typically start the line of Swedish monarchs from when Svealand and Götaland were ruled under the same king, namely Erik the Victorious and his son Olof Skötkonung in the tenth century. These events are often described as the consolidation of Sweden , although substantial areas were conquered and incorporated later. In this context, "Götaland" primarily refers to
8526-410: The southern Baltic coast from Holstein to Pomerania in the 12th century, but lost control in the 13th century after being defeated by German and Hanse forces in the Battle of Bornhöved (1227) , retaining just the principality of Rügen . Thereafter, the Hanseatic League became the dominant economic power in the Baltic Sea. Robert Bohn credits Valdemar IV "Atterdag" of Denmark (reigned 1340–1375) as
8624-538: The success of invading Poland, Charles XII decided to make an attempt at invading Russia , but this ended in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. After a long march exposed to Cossack raids, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great 's scorched-earth techniques and the extremely cold winter of 1709 , the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and were enormously outnumbered against
8722-600: The terms Ruotsi and Rootsi ; these variations refer to the Rus' people who inhabited the coastal areas of Roslagen in Uppland and who gave their name to Russia. Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerød oscillation , a warm period around 12,000 BC, with Late Palaeolithic reindeer -hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province, Scania . This period
8820-465: The third- and fourth-largest lakes Mälaren and Hjälmaren , these lakes take up a significant part of southern Sweden's area. Sweden's extensive waterway availability throughout the south was exploited with the building of the Göta Canal in the 19th century, shortening the potential distance between the Baltic Sea south of Norrköping and Gothenburg by using the lake and river network to facilitate
8918-516: The town of Arboga . During the Riksdag assemblies of 1527 and 1544, under King Gustav Vasa, representatives of all four estates of the realm (clergy, nobility , townsmen and peasants ) were called on to participate for the first time. The monarchy became hereditary in 1544. When Gustav Vasa broke the monopoly power of the Hanseatic League , he was regarded as a hero by the Swedish people. Furthermore, when Sweden did develop, freed itself from
9016-418: The west and north, and Finland to the east. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm . Sweden has a population of 10.6 million, and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi); 88% of Swedes reside in urban areas. They are mostly in
9114-445: The whole structure and organisation of the campaign fell apart with the king's death. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. With Sweden's lost influence, Russia emerged as an empire and became one of Europe's dominant nations . As the war finally ended in 1721, Sweden had lost an estimated 200,000 men, 150,000 of those from
9212-428: Was characterised by small clans of hunter-gatherers who relied on flint technology. Sweden and its people were first described by Publius Cornelius Tacitus in his Germania (98 AD). In Germania 44 and 45 he mentions the Swedes ( Suiones ) as a powerful tribe with ships that had a prow at each end ( longships ). Which kings ( * kuningaz ) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents
9310-411: Was integrated into modernised paper production, the steel industry was concentrated and specialised, and mechanical engineering was robotised. Swedish GDP per capita ranking declined during this time. A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in
9408-416: Was not common in Sweden, and the institution gradually diminished due to the spread of Christianity, the difficulty of obtaining slaves from lands east of the Baltic Sea, and by the development of cities before the 16th century. Indeed, both slavery and serfdom were abolished altogether by a decree of King Magnus Eriksson in 1335. Sweden remained a poor and economically underdeveloped country, where barter
9506-593: Was one of the primary political aims of the Danish and Swedish kingdoms in the late medieval and early modern eras . Throughout the Northern Wars the Danish and Swedish navies played a secondary role, as the dominium was contested through control of key coasts by land warfare. The term, which is commonly used in historiography, was probably coined in 1563 by the King of Poland , Sigismund II Augustus , referring to
9604-500: Was the primary means of exchange. In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united in a personal union under King Magnus Eriksson, the grandson of King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden and of King Haakon V of Norway. Magnus Eriksson also ruled Scania from 1332 to 1360. In the mid-14th century, Sweden was struck by the Black Death . The population of Sweden and most of Europe was decimated. The population did not reach its pre-1348 levels until
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