GENERAL
Official name of the state
Kingdom of Sweden.
Capital
Stockholm.
Geography
As a country located in Europe according to thesciencetutor, Sweden is bordered by Norway to the west, Finland to the north-east, the Baltic Sea to the east and the Skagerrak and Kattegat to the south and south-east. The national territory includes numerous islands, the largest being Gotland, Öland and Orust. Most of the many thousands of lakes are in southern central Sweden. Sweden has 38,485 square kilometers of inland water. The largest lake is the 5540 square km Vänern, the highest point is the 2111 m high Kebnekaise. About half of the country is forested. The Swedish part of Lapland in the north of the country is mountainous and extends beyond the Arctic Circle.
Government
Parliamentary monarchy since 1809. Constitution from 1975. Unicameral parliament (Riksdag) with 349 members. Independent since 1523 (previously united with Denmark and Norway), since 1917 parliamentary democracy with a royal head of state. Sweden is a member of the EU.
Head of state
King Carl XVI. Gustav, since 1973
Head of government
Stefan Löfven, since October 2014.
Electricity
230 V, 50 Hz.
Time zone
Central European Time: CET +2 (CET +3 from March 26 to October 29, 2017)
MONEY
Currency
1 Swedish krona = 100 ore. Currency abbreviation: Skr, SEK (ISO code). Banknotes are available in values of 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20 Skr; Coins with denominations of 10, 5, 2 and 1 Skr. Sweden is currently making no efforts to adopt the euro.
Credit cards
American Express, MasterCard, Diners Club and Visa are accepted even for small amounts. Details from the issuer of the credit card in question.
ATMs
EC / Maestro card / Sparcard
With the EC / Maestro card and PIN number, cash in the local currency can be withdrawn from ATMs across Europe. In many European countries it is also possible to pay in shops with the ec / Maestro card. Cards with the Cirrus or Maestro symbol are accepted in Europe and worldwide. Further information from banks and credit institutes. The same applies to the German Sparcard, the successor to the postal savings book as a means of procuring currency in other European countries. With the Sparcard and PIN number, cash can be withdrawn from European ATMs with the Plus logo. ATMs can be found everywhere, but you should provide cash in remote areas.
Attention: Travelers who pay abroad with their bank customer card and want to withdraw money should find out about the possibilities of using their card from their bank before starting their journey.
Bank opening times
Mon-Fri 9.30 a.m.-3 p.m. Many banks are also open until 5 or 6 p.m. on a weekday.
Foreign exchange regulations
For travelers inside and outside the EU, there are no restrictions on the import or export of national and foreign currencies, but there is an obligation to declare cash from the equivalent of € 10,000 (including travelers checks, other currencies or checks made out to third parties).
Currency Exchange
Money can be exchanged in exchange offices that can be found in large cities, airports and ferry ports. There are ATMs across the country. In shops with the euro symbol (yellow on a blue background), euros are also accepted as a means of payment.
LANGUAGE
Overview
Swedish is the national language. The minority languages in Sweden include Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish and Meänkieli. In addition, English, German and French are widely spoken as foreign languages.
CULTURE
Religion
87% of the population belong to the Church of Sweden. Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist minorities.
Social rules of conduct
Etiquette: Except when dealing with authorities, the “you” is common in Sweden. Being unpunctual is considered very impolite. One should not drink until the host has raised his glass and said a toast. Skål means cheers. After dinner, you thank the cook with “tack för maten ”.
Clothing: Casual clothing is appropriate almost everywhere, only more elegant clothing is expected in better restaurants, clubs and on special occasions.
Smoking: Smoking is prohibited in all of Sweden in all public places, in public buildings and on public transport, as well as in closed rooms of cafes, restaurants and pubs where food and drinks are served. Dining facilities are allowed to offer smoking rooms, in which, however, no food or drinks may be served.
Tip: The service charge is already included in hotel and restaurant bills, but it is usually rounded up. The service charge is higher at night. Taxi drivers are happy about the fare being rounded up.
CLIMATE
Best travel time
In northern Sweden, the winters are long and very cold, with temperatures as low as -40 ° C. The midnight sun shines above the Arctic Circle from mid-June to mid-July. Summers can be very hot in general, but are shorter in the north. It is therefore best to travel to northern Sweden from the beginning of June to mid-July. In southern and central Sweden, the winters are also cold and bring a lot of snow. The best travel time for these parts of the country starts in May and ends in September. The island of Öland is known for its particularly dry, warm climate.
COUNTRY DATA
Area code +46 Area (square km) 449 964 Population 9851852 Population density (per square km) 22 Population in 2015 Member of the EU Yes main emergency number 112