Land and Resources
Sweden's topography consists of high mountains in the northwest, bounded on the east by a plateau that slopes down to lowlands and plains in the east and south. Many rivers flow southeast from the mountains to the Gulf of Bothnia, providing abundant waterpower. One-seventh of Sweden is above the Arctic Circle, where daylight is continuous for about two months in the summer and darkness is continuous for about two months in the winter. Despite the northern latitude, warm ocean winds keep temperatures moderate, except in the north, where mountains block the moderating influence. The principal natural resources are the forests, which cover about two-thirds of the country. Most of Sweden’s cultivated land is in the south. Sweden has large deposits of iron and other minerals and an estimated 15 percent of the world's uranium deposits. Alpine and arctic vegetation prevail in the north and at higher altitudes. In the south, deciduous trees, including oak and beech, are found. Deer and elk are plentiful, and reindeer are common in the north.

Population and Culture
Sweden's population (1997 estimate) of 8,865,051 is mostly Scandinavian of Germanic descent, with a relatively small number of ethnic Finns. Most people live in the southern lowlands. Some 83 percent of the population lives in urban centers such as Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö, Uppsala, Linköping, Örebro, Norrköping, and Västerås. The majority belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Sweden's state church. The Swedish language is spoken by most of the population. Education is free and compulsory between the ages of 7 and 15. Important institutions of higher learning include the University of Uppsala (1477) and the Karolinska Institute (1810), a medical college that awards the Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine.

Although Sweden has a modern industrial culture, its people have maintained provincial traditions as a result of the country's isolated location. Swedish artists such as motion-picture director Ingmar Bergman and dramatist August Strindberg have exercised a profound effect in the international artistic community.