Sweden

Sweden (pronounced more...

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ogg\" src=\" /ˈswiːdən/ (help·info)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and is connected to Denmark by the Öresund Bridge. It has been a member of the European Union since January 1, 1995. Sweden's capital is Stockholm, which is also the largest city in the country (population of 810,000 with 2 million in the metropolitan area). The second and third largest cities are Gothenburg and Malmö.

At 449,964 square kilometres (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country by area in Western Europe and fourth largest in Europe. With a total population of over 9.2 million, of whom about 7.9 million are ethnic Swedes, Sweden has a low population density of 20 people per km² (52 per square mile). About 85% of the population live in urban areas.

Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. It joined the Kalmar Union formed in 1397, and received a modern centralized administration beginning with King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. 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 Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden, a union which lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, adopting a non-aligned foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.

Sweden is the most visited country of the Nordic countries with 5.2 million visitors in 2007.

Etymology

The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Sweoðeod, which meant \"people of the Swedes\" (Old Norse Svíþjóð, Latin Suetidi). This word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas (Old Norse Sviar, Latin Suiones). The Swedish name Sverige literally means \"Realm of the Swedes\", excluding the Geats in Götaland.

Read more at Wikipedia.org