Sweden Travel Guide

Country Facts

Location

Northeast Europe, Scandinavia.

Language

Swedish. Sámi (Lapp) is spoken by the Sámi population in the north; there are also Finnish-speaking minorities. English is taught as the first foreign language from an early age.

Area

449,964 sq km (173,732 sq miles).

Time Zone

GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity

220 volts, three-phase AC, 50Hz. Two-pin continental plugs are used.

Population

9.24 million (2009 census).

Population Density

20 per sq km.

Capital City

Stockholm. Population: 810,120 (Dec. 2008).

Government

Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from Denmark in 1523.

Head of Government

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt since 2006.

Head of State

King Carl XVI Gustaf since 1973.

Religion

Around 86% of the population belong to the Church of Sweden (Evangelical Lutheran), which separated from the state in January 2000; other Protestant minorities constitute the majority of the remainder.

Recent History

The Social Democrats had held power for most of the last 70 years until the 2006 general elections, when a center-right coalition headed by Moderate Party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt won a narrow majority in parliament. Former leader Göran Persson had spent 10 years as prime minister.

Although Sweden has long been staunchly neutral in world affairs, Reinfeldt is a supporter of the country joining NATO. Sweden surprised the world in 2005 by announcing that it is aiming to break its dependence on imported oil by 2020, and it has launched a massive program to phase out nuclear power in favor of renewable energy sources.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +46.

Mobile Telephone

Coverage is available across most of the country.

Internet

Internet cafes exist in all main urban areas but are scarcer outside of these areas. Sweden is one of the world's most net-savvy countries, with a very high proportion of the population online.

Media

The Swedish public enjoys a wide variety of public and commercial broadcast services, though until relatively recently public TV and radio had a near-monopoly of the airwaves. Digital terrestrial broadcasting was launched by SVT in 1999. Swedes are among the top consumers of newspapers in the world.

Post

Post boxes are yellow. Stamps and aerograms are on sale at post offices and also at most bookstalls and stationers. Airmail within Europe takes two to three days.Mon-Fri 0800-1900, Sat 0800-1400. Some branches may be closed Saturday during July.

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 Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Expressen and Svenska Dagbladet.
• Many papers are financed by political parties but independence and freedom of the press is firmly maintained.
• The Local (website: www.thelocal.se) provides English-language online news.

Radio

•Sveriges Radio operates P1, P2, P3 and P4.
•Radio Sweden International broadcasts in a number of languages, including English.
•Rix FM, NRJ, Mix Megapol and Radio Match are among the commercial networks.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2010-December 2011 period.
2010
24 Dec Christmas Eve
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day

2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
6 Jan Epiphany
22 Apr - 25 Apr Easter
2 May Labor Day
2 Jun Ascension
6 Jun National Day
25 Jun Midsummer’s Day
12 Jul Whit Sunday
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
24 Dec Christmas Eve
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day
31 Dec New Year’s Eve

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
6 Jan Epiphany
6 Apr - 9 Apr Easter
1 May Labor Day
17 May Ascension
27 May Whit Sunday
6 Jun National Day
23 Jun Midsummer’s Day
1 Nov All Saints’ Day
25 Dec Christmas Day
26 Dec Boxing Day
31 Dec New Year’s Eve

Contact Information

VisitSweden

Box 3030, 103 61 Stockholm
Tel: (8) 789 1000
Website: www.visitsweden.com

Embassy of Sweden in the UK

11 Montagu Place, London W1H 2AL, UK
Tel: (020) 7917 6400.
Website: www.swedenabroad.com/london
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1200 and 1400-1600 (general enquiries); Mon-Fri 0900-1200 (visa applications).

VisitSweden in the UK

Not open to the public.
E-mail: uk@visitsweden.com
Website: www.visitsweden.com

Embassy of Sweden in the USA

2900 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007, USA
Tel: (202) 467 2600.
Website: www.swedenabroad.se

VisitSweden in the USA

Council PO Box 4649, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-4649, USA
Tel: (212) 885 9700.
Website: www.visitsweden.com