World  > Europe  > Sweden
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General Information Area: 449,964 sq km (173,732 sq miles). Population: 8,882,792 (2000). Population Density: 19.7 per sq km. Capital: Stockholm. Population: 743,703 (1999). GEOGRAPHY: Sweden is bordered by Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, with a long Baltic coast to the east and south. Approximately half the country is forested and most of the many thousands of lakes are situated in the southern central area. The largest lake is Vänern, with an area of 5540 sq km (2140 sq miles). Swedish Lapland to the north is mountainous and extends into the Arctic Circle. Government: Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from Denmark in 1523. Head of State: King Carl XVI since 1973. Head of Government: Prime Minister Göran Persson since 1996. Language: Swedish. Lapp is spoken by the Sámi population in the north and there are Finnish-speaking minorities. English is taught as the first foreign language from the age of nine. Religion: Around 86 per cent of the population belong to the Church of Sweden (Evangelical Lutheran), separated from the state in January 2000; other Protestant minorities constitute the majority of the remainder. Time: GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October). Electricity: 230 volts, three-phase AC, 50Hz. Two-pin continental plugs are used. Telephone Full IDD is available. Country code: 46. Outgoing international code: 00. Unlike in other European countries, telephones are not found in post offices but in special ‘Telegraph Offices’. There are three types of payphone: they take cash, phonecards or credit cards. Credit card phones (indicated by a ‘CCC’ sign) are widely available. Phonecards can be bought from newsagents’ shops or kiosks. Mobile telephone GSM 900/1800 networks are available. Main network providers include: Telia AB (website: www.teliamobile.se), Vodafone (website: www.vodafone.se), Orange (website: www.orange.se), 3 (website: www.hi3access.se) and Comviq (website: www.comviq.se). Coverage is available across most of the country. Fax An excellent service is widely available throughout the country. Internet Main ISPs include Svenska Internet Centralen (website: www.sic.se), Dataphone, (website: www.dataphone.net), and Net Guide Scandinavia, (website: www.netg.se). Internet cafes exist in all main urban areas. Telegram Telegrams can be sent from most hotels and post offices. Post Post offices are open during normal shopping hours (Mon-Fri 0800-2200, Sat 0900-1500). Some branches may be closed Saturday during July. Post boxes are yellow. Stamps and aerograms are on sale at post offices and also at most bookstalls and stationers. Airmail within Europe takes three to four days. Poste Restante facilities are widely available in post offices. Press The provinces have their own newspapers which are widely read in their respective regions; the major dailies are confined largely to the capital and include such titles as Aftonblad, Dagens Nyhter, Expressen and Sydsvenska Dagbladet. Many papers are financed by political parties but independence and freedom of the press is firmly maintained. All papers are in Swedish. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.57 12.10 9.410 6.195 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 15.21 11.82 9.760 1.197 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.