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Overview
Medieval Sweden absorbed Christianity and grew into a great-power Baltic empire under Gustavus Adolphus. Modern Sweden pioneered social democracy.
Basic Information
CapitalStockholm
Population10.5 million
Area450,295 km²
CurrencySwedish krona (SEK)
LanguagesSwedish
RegionWestern Europe
History Timeline
- c. 800 – 1050Swedish Viking Age
- 1523Gustav Vasa founds independent Sweden
- 1611 – 1718Swedish Empire
- 1809Loss of Finland to Russia
- 1905Union with Norway dissolved
Ancient Peoples
- Swedes
- Geats
- Sámi
Ancient Kingdoms
- Kingdom of Sweden
Empires
- Swedish Empire
Religions
- Lutheranism
Culture
Ingmar Bergman, ABBA, Nobel Prize, design tradition.
Language
Swedish is a North Germanic language.
Important Battles
- Battle of Breitenfeld1631
Swedish victory in the Thirty Years' War
- Battle of Poltava1709
Defeat by Peter the Great
Historical Figures
Gustavus Adolphus
1611 – 1632
Warrior king
Alfred Nobel
1833 – 1896
Industrialist, prize founder
Archaeological Sites
- Birka Viking town
- Old Uppsala
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Drottningholm Palace
- Birka and Hovgården
- Historic Visby
Dynasties
- Vasa
- Bernadotte
Colonial Period
Brief colonial ventures in Delaware and the Caribbean.
Modern History
Constitutional monarchy; joined the EU in 1995 and NATO in 2024.