Portal:Sweden

Welcome to the Sweden Portal!
Välkommen till Sverigeportalen!

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east, and shares a maritime border with Denmark to the south. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area and population, and is the fifth-largest country in Europe. Its capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a population of 10.6 million, and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi); 88% of Swedes reside in urban areas. They are mostly in the central and southern half of the country. Sweden's urban areas together cover 1.5% of its land area. Sweden has a diverse climate owing to the length of the country, which ranges from 55°N to 69°N.

Sweden has been inhabited since prehistoric times around 12,000 BC. The inhabitants emerged as the Geats (Swedish: Götar) and Swedes (Svear), who formed part of the sea-faring peoples known as the Norsemen. A unified Swedish state was established during the late 10th century. In 1397, Sweden joined Norway and Denmark to form the Scandinavian Kalmar Union, which Sweden left in 1523. When Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War on the Protestant side, an expansion of its territories began, forming the Swedish Empire, which remained one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. During this era Sweden controlled much of the Baltic Sea. 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 Imperial 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, a union which lasted until 1905.

Sweden is a highly developed country ranked fifth in the Human Development Index. It is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy, with legislative power vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. It is a unitary state, divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens. It has the world's 14th highest GDP per capita and ranks very highly in quality of life, health, education, protection of civil liberties, economic competitiveness, income equality, gender equality and prosperity. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and NATO on 7 March 2024. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Schengen Area, the Council of Europe, the Nordic Council, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (Full article...)

Good article -

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

"Breakin' Point" is a song by Swedish band Peter Bjorn and John from their seventh studio album Breakin' Point (2016). It was released on 25 March 2016 through PBJ Musik and Ingrid as the album's second single. Written by the band and produced by Emile Haynie, "Breakin' Point" is a midtempo pop song with lyrics alluding to the protagonist's concerns about expecting a child. It features a whistling intro, which the band were initially hesitant to include as their breakthrough single "Young Folks" (2006) had a similar composition. They eventually decided "Breakin' Point" would represent a fitting tribute as it was conceived near the ten-year anniversary of "Young Folks".

Music critics were generally positive towards "Breakin' Point" and noted its catchiness. Commercially, the single only appeared below the top 50 of the Wallonian Ultratip chart. A remix by Swedish band Miike Snow was also released. The song's accompanying music video was shot in Poland on several locations, including Wolin National Park. It was directed by Danish-Norwegian duo HochR, who took inspiration from the rivers of Hades in the underworld from Greek mythology, particularly the river Styx. (Full article...)

List of Good articles

Selected article -

Garbo in Inspiration (1931)

Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish and American actress. She was a premier star during Hollywood's silent and early golden eras. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time, she is known for her melancholic and somber screen persona, her film portrayals of tragic characters, and her subtle and understated performances. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Garbo fifth on its list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

Garbo launched her career with a secondary role in the 1924 Swedish film The Saga of Gösta Berling. Her performance caught the attention of Louis B. Mayer, chief executive of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), who brought her to Hollywood in 1925. She stirred interest with her first American silent film, Torrent (1926). Garbo's performance in Flesh and the Devil (1926), her third movie in the United States, made her an international star. In 1928, Garbo starred in A Woman of Affairs, which catapulted her to MGM's highest box-office star, surpassing the long-reigning Lillian Gish. Other well-known Garbo films from the silent era are The Mysterious Lady (1928), The Single Standard (1929), and The Kiss (1929). (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know -

... that Sweden's richest man, Henry Dunker, willed his fortune to a foundation which funded improvements to the city of Helsingborg?
... that the song "Gubben Noak" (Songs of Fredman no 35) offended the Swedish church so much that Lund chapter attempted to collect all prints and transcripts in circulation, in 1768?
... that "Baggböleri", the Swedish derogatory term for deforestation, is named after Baggböle on the Ume River?

General images -

The following are images from various Sweden-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Swedish tribes in Northern Europe in 814 (from History of Sweden)
Image 2Two golden 20 kr coins from the Scandinavian Monetary Union, which was based on a gold standard. The coin to the left is Swedish and the right one is Danish. (from History of Sweden)
Image 3Dalecarlian horse in Avesta (from Culture of Sweden)
Image 4Gustavus Adolphus, victor at the Battle of Breitenfeld, 1631 (from History of Sweden)
Image 5Traditional Swedish folk costumes according to Nordisk Familjebok (from Culture of Sweden)
Image 6Köttbullar - Swedish meatballs, a typical dish throughout the country (from Culture of Sweden)
Image 7Map of Sweden-Norway (from History of Sweden)
Image 8The Swedish Crown Prince Charles John (Bernadotte), who staunchly opposed Norwegian independence, only to offer generous terms of union. (from History of Sweden)
Image 9Gustav Vasa (Gustav I) in 1542 (from History of Sweden)
Image 10Silver coin minted at Sigtuna for a Swedish king around the year 1000 (from Culture of Sweden)
Image 11Viking expeditions (blue): depicting the immense breadth of their voyages throughout most of Europe, the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean (from History of Sweden)
Image 12St. Lucy's Day (Luciadagen), an important Swedish annual celebration. (from Culture of Sweden)
Image 13Coastal defence ship of the Swedish Navy HM Pansarskepp Gustaf V (Agfacolor photo until 1957) (from History of Sweden)
Image 14The Swedish Empire, 1560–1815 (from History of Sweden)
Image 15Main line railways built 1860–1930 (from History of Sweden)
Image 16Homann's map of the Scandinavian Peninsula and Fennoscandia with their surrounding territories: northern Germany, northern Poland, the Baltic region, Livonia, Belarus, and parts of Northwest Russia. Johann Baptist Homann (1664–1724) was a German geographer and cartographer; map dated around 1730. (from History of Sweden)
Image 17ABBA in Rotterdam in 1979 (from Culture of Sweden)

Featured article -

This is a Featured article, which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna Göteborg (officially IFK Göteborg Fotboll), commonly known as IFK Göteborg, IFK (especially locally) or Blåvitt, is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. Founded in 1904, it is the only club in the Nordic countries that has won one of the main UEFA competitions, having won the UEFA Cup in both 1982 and 1987. IFK is affiliated with Göteborgs Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Gamla Ullevi. The club colours are blue and white, colours shared both with the sports society which the club originated from, Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, and with the coat of arms of the city of Gothenburg. The team colours have influenced the historical nickname Blåvitt. The blue and white are in stripes, with blue shorts and socks.

Besides the two UEFA Cup titles, IFK have won 18 Swedish championship titles, second most in Swedish football after Malmö FF, and have the second most national cup titles with eight. The team has qualified for four group stages of the UEFA Champions League, and reached the semi-finals of the 1985–86 European Cup. IFK Göteborg is the only club team in any sport to have won the Jerring Award, an award for best Swedish sports performance of the year voted by the Swedish people, for the 1982 UEFA Cup victory. (Full article...)

List of Featured articles

Featured picture -

This is a Featured picture that the Wikimedia Commons community has chosen as one of the highest quality on the site.

Image 1A Life Guard in Stockholm
Image 2Tjörnbron (the Tjörn bridge) is one of three bridges along Tjörnbroleden that connects the islands of Tjörn and Orust to the mainland.
Image 3Map of Gothenburg, Sweden, published by N. P. Pehrsson in 1888
Image 4A view of the Rådhuset metro station in Central Stockholm
Image 5Steamboat Siljan, built in 1868 for timber floating, at Lake Insjön, Dalarna (Dalecarlia), Sweden
Image 6Allehandaborgen is a historic office building in Örebro, Sweden that was built 1891.
Image 7Mount Helagsfjället (left) and Sylan mountain range, seen from Torkilstöten, Ljungdalen
Image 8Katarina Church and cemetery. Södermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
Image 9A small greenhouse with grapevines (Vitis vinifera) escaping from the roof hatch, In Gåseberg, Lysekil Municipality, Sweden

Main topics

Subdivisions: Counties of Sweden • Municipalities of Sweden • Provinces of Sweden

History: 1975 Occupation of the West German embassy • Ådalen shootings • Consolidation of Sweden • Early Swedish history • Enlightened Absolute Monarchy in Sweden • Early Vasa era • Industrialization of Sweden • Post-war Sweden • Prehistoric Sweden • Rise of Sweden as a Great Power • Suiones • Swedish Empire • Sweden after the Great Northern War • Sweden and the Winter War • Sweden during late 19th century • Sweden during World War II • Swedish allotment system • Swedish emigration to the United States • Union between Sweden and Norway

Politics: Alliance for Sweden • Constitution of Sweden • Foreign relations of Sweden • Government of Sweden • Parliament of Sweden • Riksdag • Swedish general election, 2006 • Swedish general election, 2010 • Swedish neutrality • Swedish welfare

Economy: Swedish krona

Demographics: Education • Ethnic minorities • Languages • Religion • Subdivisions • Cities • People • Healthcare • Immigration

Culture: Cinema of Sweden • Cuisine of Sweden • Music of Sweden • Sports in Sweden • Swedish literature • Tourism in Sweden

Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem

Things you can do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Breakdancing in Sweden • Graffiti in Sweden • Bertil Jonsson • Swedish design • Swedish Writers' Union/Sveriges Författarförbund • Theatre of Sweden (instead of a redirect) • redlinks in List of members of the Swedish Academy
Stubs : List of all Stub-class Sweden articles
Join : WikiProject Sweden

Wikipedia in Swedish

There is a Swedish version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

WikiProjects

Sweden

European Union

Europe

Featured and good content

	Featured articles		Battle of Svolder • Henry, Bishop of Uppsala • IFK Göteborg • Melodifestivalen • S. A. Andrée's Arctic balloon expedition of 1897 • Swedish allotment system • Swedish emigration to the United States • Swedish language • Meshuggah
	Featured lists		Frölunda HC seasons • List of Swedish-speaking and bilingual municipalities of Finland • List of drafted Frölunda HC players • Swedish football champions
	Good articles		Boden Fortress • Crossair Flight 498 • Emanuel Swedenborg • Fredrik Reinfeldt • Scanian (linguistics) • Skåneland • Swedish literature • Refugee controversy in Sjöbo

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Welcome to the Sweden Portal!Välkommen till Sverigeportalen!