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Sweden Geography Profile

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LocationNorthern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Geographic coordinates62 00 N, 15 00 E
Map referencesEurope
Areatotal: 450,295 sq km

land: 410,335 sq km

water: 39,960 sq km
Area - comparativealmost three times the size of Georgia; slightly larger than California
Land boundariestotal: 2,211 km

border countries (2): Finland 545 km, Norway 1666 km
Coastline3,218 km
Maritime claimsterritorial 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
Climatetemperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north
Terrainmostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
Elevation extremeshighest point: Kebnekaise South 2,100 m

lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad -2.4 m

mean elevation: 320 m
Natural resourcesiron ore, copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium, arsenic, feldspar, timber, hydropower
Land useagricultural land: 7.5% (2018 est.)

arable land: 6.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 1.1% (2018 est.)

forest: 68.7% (2018 est.)

other: 23.8% (2018 est.)
Irrigated land1,640 sq km (2012)
Total renewable water resources174 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)
Natural hazardsice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic
Geography - notestrategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas; Sweden has almost 100,000 lakes, the largest of which, Vanern, is the third largest in Europe

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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