Sweden

The Kingdom of Sweden is a northern European country bordering Norway and Finland and [Page 1123]connected to Denmark by tunnel. The third-largest country in the European Union by area, it has sizeable sparsely populated regions; most of the population lives in the urbanized south, with the country being 85 percent urbanized.

One of the regions of the Vikings’ homelands, Sweden constituted itself as a political and cultural union in the Middle Ages and became one of the great imperial powers of the Enlightenment before losing most of its conquests in the 19th century. In modern times, Sweden has been primarily neutral. Today, one of the world’s richest countries as measured by per capita income, it is known for its commitment to social welfare, including universal health ...