SWEDEN
Photo: Henrik Trygg/imagebank,sweden.se
Located in Northern Europe, Sweden is a thriving, innovative and globally connected society blessed with a vast landscape of wilderness including forests, lakes and rivers, with mountain ranges in the north and a long sea coast with thousands of islands. It has the fifth largest surface area among European countries, approximately corresponding to the size of California, stretching 1574 kilometres from north to south. Geography and climate partly explain why a strong industry and infrastructure development has been vital to our prosperity – from steel making and forestry production to roads and railways to telecommunications and broadband, to vehicle and aircraft manufacturing to highly advanced life sciences. Our people and companies combine high-skilled production with care for both the environment and society at large. Policies enabling widespread access to technology and the internet have contributed to making Sweden the fast-moving, innovative nation it is today.
Sweden’s economy and business environment is praised internationally: as the most innovative country in the EU, second most innovative country in the world and one of the best countries in Europe for business.
Key Facts
Population : 10,673.669 (2024)
Capital: Stockholm
GDP per capita: 56,373.8 USD (2024)​
Rankings
#1
In the infrastructure index
#1
In the business sophistication index
#1
Most innovative country in the EU, and 2nd most innovative economy globally
#2
In the knowledge and technology outputs index
#3
In the human capital and research index​
#4
Most trustworthy country in the world​​​
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Did you know?
…that since 1901, every year, the Nobel Prize is awarded out of Sweden to ‘those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind’. Prizes are awarded in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economic sciences and peace (the latter awarded jointly by Sweden and Norway).
…that the dynamite, three-point seatbelt, zipper, and pacemaker are all Swedish Inventions (dynamite as early as in the 1860s).
…that Sweden is second (after our neighbour Finland) in regard to achieving the UN sustainability (SDG) goals.
…second only to Silicon Valley, Stockholm has the largest number of tech unicorns (multi-billion dollar tech companies) per capita in the world.
…that less than 1% of all waste material in Sweden ends up in landfills.