!Sweden Sweden is a country, Region - Northern Europe, Capital - Stockholm, Population (2003) - 8,876,000, Population density - 20 per sq km, Surface area - 449,964 sq km, and Currency - krone. SWEDEN is a kingdom of Northern Europe, occupying the eastern portion of the great Scandinavian Peninsula, bounded W. by Norway, E. by Russian Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, and the Baltic, and on the N. stretches across the Arctic circle between Norway (NW.) and Russia (NE.), while its southern serrated shores are washed by the Skager-Rack, Cattegat, and Baltic. From the mountain-barrier of Norway the country slopes down in broad terrace-like plains to the sea, intersected by many useful rivers and diversified by numerous lakes, of which Lakes Wenner, Wetter, and Mälar (properly an arm of the sea) are the largest, and lying under forest to the extent of nearly one-half its area; is divided into three great divisions: 1, Norrland in the N., a wide and wild tract of mountainous country, thickly forested, infested by the wolf, bear, and lynx, in summer the home of the wood-cutter, and sparsely inhabited by Lapps. 2, Svealand or Sweden proper occupies the centre, and is the region of the great lakes and of the principal mineral wealth (iron, copper, &c.) of the country. 3, Gothland, the southern portion, embraces the fertile plains sloping to the Cattegat, and is the chief agricultural district, besides possessing iron and coal. Climate is fairly dry, with a warm summer and long cold winter. Agriculture (potatoes, grain, rye, beet), is the principal industry, and with dairy-farming, stock-raising, &c., gives employment to more than one-half of the people; mining and timber-felling are only less important; chief industries are iron-works, sugar-refineries, cotton-mills, &c.; principal exports timber (much the largest), iron, steel, butter, &c., while textiles and dry-goods are the chiefly needed imports. Transit is greatly facilitated by the numerous canals and by the rivers and lakes. Railways and communication systems are well developed in proportion to the population. As in Norway, the national religion is Lutheranism; education is free and compulsory. Government is vested in the king, who with the advice of a council controls the executive, and two legislative chambers which have equal powers, but the members of the one are elected for nine years by provincial councils, while those of the other are elected by the suffrages of the people, receive salaries, and sit only for three years. In the 14th century the country became an appanage of the Danish crown, and continued as such until freedom was again won in the 16th century by the patriot king, Gustavus Vasa. By the 17th century had extended her rule across the seas into certain portions of the empire, but selling these in the beginning of the 18th century, fell from her rank as a first-rate power. In 1814 Norway was annexed, and the two countries, each enjoyed complete autonomy, but united under one crown. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905.