Sweden

Sweden Population and cities

Population

According to Countryaah website, Sweden has over 10 million residents since 2017. It must be taken into account that residents are not identical to citizens.

Ethnic composition

About 90.8% of the population are Swedes. The largest ethnic minority are Finns with 2.5%, Yugoslavs and Bosnians with 1% and Iranians with around 0.5%.

But about 20,000 Germans and 15,000 Poles also live in the country. Amazingly, the proportion of other Scandinavian countries is very low and should be well below 0.5%.

Religion

Since 2000 there has been no state religion in Sweden any more. About 86% belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2% are Catholics and 12% are either non-religious or belong to various other religions.

Around 400,000 Muslims live in the country, of which around 110,000 are registered with the Muslim organizers.

National languages

Swedish (Sami and Finnish are minority languages). Many Swedes also understand Danish and Norwegian well.

Capital, other cities

The capital and seat of government of Sweden is Stockholm, with a population of around 868,140.

Other cities are:

• Gothenburg with around 496,000 residents
• Malmö with around 249,000 residents
• Uppsala with around 125,000 residents
• Linköping with around 95,000 residents
• Västerås with around 103,000 residents
• Örebro with around 96,000 residents
• Norrköping with around 83,000 residents
• Helsingborg with around 88,000 residents
• Lund with around 74,000 residents
• Umek with around 71,000 residents
• Jönköping with around 82,000 residents
• Karlskrona with around 60,000 residents
• Kristianstad with around 28,000 residents

Sweden: geography, map

Defined by DigoPaul, Sweden covers an area of around 449,964 km². It is divided into the three large parts of the country: Norrland (northern Sweden), Svealand (central Sweden) and Götaland (southern Sweden). Below these large subdivisions, the country consists of a total of 25 so-called Landskap (landscapes), with which the Swedes identify strongly. For example, the students are in landscape connections. The landscapes have their own symbols, traditions, songs or costumes. However, they are not political units as in Germany the federal states or districts or cantons in Switzerland. The 25 landscapes from north to south:

Lapland

Skåne

National borders and length of coast

Sweden shares a border with a total of two countries. There are limits to:

• Finland with a length of around 590 km
• Norway with a length of around 1,620 km
• The country is connected to Denmark by an imposing bridge over the Öresund from Malmö to Copenhagen, the Öresund Bridge, which opened on July 1, 2000 and is 7,845 m long.

Sweden has a sea coast with a length of around 3,200 km.

What does the land area consist of?

The area of Sweden of 449,964 km² consists of:

• Forest

  Around 62% of the country is forested, mainly coniferous forests.

• Meadow and pasture land

  Only around 1% of the land is used as pasture land.

• Arable land and fields

  Around 10% of the land is used as arable land or fields, especially for growing grain, potatoes and oil crops.

• Swamp

  Sweden has many swamps and bogs.

• Mountains

  The Scandinavian Mountains (Skanden) run from the Norwegian Skagerrak coast in the south to the North Cape. The Scandinavian mountains are around 1,700 km long and 320 km wide.

The northernmost place of Sweden is Treriksröset (something: Dreireichs Grenzplatz). This is where Sweden, Norway and Finland border each other.

The southernmost place is Smygehuk in the province of Skåne.

Tidal range

In Sweden, the mean tidal range of the Baltic Sea is around 0.2 m.

For detailed explanations of ebb and flow, see Tides, Ebb and Flow.

Compare

The world's highest tidal range can be found in the Bay of Fundy in Canada, where it is up to 16 m, and at spring tide even over 20 m. The Bay of Fundy is located on the Atlantic between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which is called Nova Scotia in German and whose capital is Halifax.

On the German North Sea coast it varies between 1 m and 3 m. In the western Baltic Sea, on the other hand, the tidal range is only 0.3 m, while it is barely noticeable in the eastern Baltic Sea.

Longitude and latitude

Sweden extends over the following geographical latitude (abbreviation Δφ) and geographical longitude (abbreviation Δλ):

You can find detailed information on this subject under Longitude and Latitude.

Time

For Sweden, the following value applies to Central European Time (CET), i.e. the time without summer time. A minus sign means that it is earlier there, a plus sign that it is later than CET:

Sweden has the same time as Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Further and detailed explanations of the time can be found under Time zones, time.

Highest point of the sun in Stockholm

Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, lies at a north latitude of around φ = 59.5 ° (59 ° 30 ').

As long as the sun is at the tropic, i.e. at δ = 23.5 °, summer starts in Sweden on June 21st. Then, for the highest position of the sun at noon, according to Eq. 1 (see position of the sun):

59.5 ° = (90 ° - h) + 23.5 °

so:

This position of the sun is the highest that the senses in Stockholm can occupy all year round.

Mountains

Kebnekaise

The highest mountain in the country is the Kebnekaise, which is located around 150 km north of the Arctic Circle and west of the ore city of Kiruna. It has a height of 2,111 m.

Other higher mountains are:

• Pårtekajse with a height of 2,102 m
• Sarektjåkko with an altitude of 2,090 m
• Akavare with a height of 2,013 m as well
• Sulitjelma with a height of 1,914 m

Rivers

Göta älv

The longest river in the country is the Göta älv with a length of around 720 km.

Other rivers are:

Klarälven with a length (within Sweden) of 478 km

Torne älv

Dalälven with a length of 520 km

Ångermanälven with a length of 490 km.

Lakes

The country includes around 100,000 smaller and larger lakes.

Vänersee (Vänern)

By far the largest lake in Sweden and the third largest in Europe is Lake Vänern with an area of around 5,650 km². The lake is located in the southwest of the country between the provinces of Dalsland, Värmland and Västergötland. The greatest depth is 106 m. Its fresh water volume is 153 km³, making it the largest drinking water reservoir in Europe. In the lake there are a number of islands, the largest of which are:

Fågelö and Torsö together with 62 km² (north of Mariestad on the Göta Canal), Kållandsö with 57 km² (near Lidköping in the south of the lake) and Hammarö with 47 km² (near Karlstad in North of the lake).

Lake Vättern (Vättern)

Lake Vättern covers an area of 1,912 km² - with a maximum depth of around 120 m. It is located in the middle of southern Sweden, about 185 km southwest of Stockholm. In the southern part of the lake is the island Visingsö, which is a little less than 15 km long and covers an area of 25 km². The towns of Jönköping, Huskvarna, Motala or Karlsborg with the fortress of the same name are located on the lake

Lake Mälaren (Lake Mälaren)

With an area of 1,140 km², Lake Mälaren is the third largest lake in Sweden after Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern. The lake is west of Stockholm

Other larger lakes are:

Hjälmarsee with an area of around 484 km²

Storsjön with an area of 456 km².

Bigger islands

The following larger islands are offshore.

Gotland

Gotland with the capital Visby is located in the Gulf of Bothnia approx. 85 km from the Swedish mainland. With an area of 2,994 km² it is the largest Swedish island. Around 57,000 people live on it. has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since

Öland

Öland covers an area of 1,348 km² and lies below Gotland in the Gulf of Bothnia. The island stretches in north-south direction and is only about 5 km from the mainland near Kalmar. The main town on the island is Borgholm. Around 21,000 people live on the island.

Orust

Orust is located on the west coast of the country around 50 km north of Gothenburg and covers an area of 346 km². Around 15,000 people live on the island. The island is connected to both the mainland and the island of Tjörn by bridges. It is the largest island on the west coast of Hisingen, Sweden

Hisingen belongs to Gothenburg and covers an area of 199 km². Most of the port of Gothenburg is located here. Hisingen becomes an island because it is bounded in the east and south by the river Göta älv, in the north by the river Nordre älv and in the west by the Kattegat.

Tjörn

Tjörn is located south of Orust, to which it is connected by a bridge. The distance to Gothenburg is around 35 km as the crow flies. The island covers an area of 167 km² - with around 15,000 residents.

Sailors will be interested to know that the regatta "Tjörn runt" (Rund Tjörn) takes place here in the third week of August. Around 1,300 private boats take part in this regatta. This 28 nm (nautical miles) long regatta is one of the largest sailing regattas in the world.

Fårö

Fårö is located in the north of Gotland, from which the island is separated at its narrowest point by around 500 m and at its widest point by around 3 km. The island covers an area of 113 km². The Swedish director Ingmar Bergman died on the island on July 30, 2007 and was buried here.

Lakes in Sweden

Vänern Lake

With an area of 5,520 km², Vänern Lake is the largest lake in Sweden and also the largest in the whole of the European Union (EU).

Lake Vättern Lake

Vättern is the second largest lake in Sweden with an area of around 1,885 km². It has a maximum depth of approx. 120 m. It is connected to Lake Vänern via the Göta Canal. The town of Jönköping, with a population of 95,000, is located at its southern tip. In the lake is the island of Visingö, which is around 25 km² in size.

Mälaren-See

The Mälaren-See covers an area of around 1,090 km², making it the third largest lake in the country. It is located west of Stockholm. In addition to Stockholm, there are also Södertälje, Västerås, Enköping and Köping, as well as Gripsholm Castle in Mariefred and Drottningholm Castle on the lake. There are around 17 larger islands in the lake.

Hjälmaren

The Hjälmaren covers an area of around 477 km²

Störsjön Lake

The Störsjön Lake covers an area of around 456 km²

Hornavan Lake

The 262 km² large Hornavan Lake is the deepest lake in Sweden with a macimal depth of 228 m .

Tormeträsk Lake

The 330 km² large Tormeträsk Lake is the second deepest lake in the country with a maximum depth of 170 m

Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, North Sea

Sweden borders the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, which is part of the Baltic Sea, as well as the Kattegat and Skagerrak. The Skagerrak belongs to the North Sea and lies between the north coast of Jutland (Denmark) and the south coast of Norway and the south-west coast of Sweden. In the south, the Skagerrak borders on the Kattegat, which lies between the north-east coast of Jutland and the south-west coast of Sweden. The Skagerrak connects the Great and Little Belt and the Öresund via the Kattegat, the Baltic Sea with the North Sea.