Sweden Geography Profile 2013

Location

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway

Geographic coordinates

62 00 N, 15 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 450,295 sq km
land: 410,335 sq km
water: 39,960 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than California

Land boundaries

total: 2,233 km
border countries: Finland 614 km, Norway 1,619 km

Coastline

3,218 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm (adjustments made to return a portion of straits to high seas)
exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate

temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north

Terrain

mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west

Elevation extremes

lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m

Natural resources

iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 5.93%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 94.06% (2005)

Irrigated land

1,600 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

179 cu km (2005)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 2.68 cu km/yr (37%/54%/9%)
per capita: 296 cu m/yr (2002)

Natural hazards

ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic

Environment - current issues

acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas