The Kingdom of Sweden
INHABITANTS
10 550 054
Source: SCB (January 2024)
SIZE
447,425.16 km²
Source: Wikipedia
GOVERNMENT
Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
MONARCH (since 1973)
Carl XVI Gustaf
Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus Bernadotte
PRIME MINISTER (since 2022)
Ulf Kristersson
Moderate Party
CURRENCY ($1 USD ~ 10.25 SEK)
SEK
Svensk krona (Swedish crown)
MEMBER (since 1952)
Nordic Council
 
MEMBER (since 1995)
European Union
 
MEMBER (since 2024)
NATO
 
A brief history of Sweden
  • 2024 – Sweden joins the military defence alliance NATO as the 32nd country. First time since the Kalmar Union the Nordic countries shares defense.
  • 2023 – It has been 500 years since the dissolution of the Kalmar Union and Carl XVI Gustaf becomes the longest reigning king with his 50 years on the throne.
  • 2009 – Swedish gets status as an official language of Sweden together with five minority languages: Sami, Finnish, Meänkieli, Romani, and Yiddish.
  • 1995 – Sweden joins the European Union.
  • 1974 – The Swedish form of government is redefined.
  • 1905 – The Swedish-Norwegian union is dissolved after a Norwegian referendum.
  • 1814 – The Sweden-Norway union is formed, a personal union where the countries shares the same monarch.
  • 1809 – The Swedish form of government is redefined.
  • 1809 – Russian Emperor Tsar Alexander II redraws Sweden's eastern borders and makes Finland an autonomous grand dutchy.
  • 1772 – The Swedish form of government is redefined by king Gustav III after a coup, giving the monarch absolute power again.
  • 1720 – The Swedish form of government is revised.
  • 1719 – The Swedish form of government is defined.
  • 1658 – The former Danish regions of Skåne, Blekinge, and Halland becomes Swedish through the peace treaty of Roskilde after the Swedish army together with King Karl X Gustav venturously marches over the ice of The Little Belt and The Great Belt.
  • 1523 – Sweden elects Gustav (I) Vasa as its king and the Kalmar Union dissolves.
  • 1397 – Part of the Kalmar Union, a personal union where Denmark, Norway, and Sweden-Finland shared the same king.
  • 1252 – Stockholm is (most probably) founded this year by Birger Magnusson (known as Birger Jarl)
  • 1000s – Established
The flag of Sweden

The flag of Sweden is blue with a yellow Nordic cross. It was first mentioned in a letter from 1562 but originates in the cross baners used during the medieval crusades, the Danish flag and the flag of the Kalmar Union. There is a theory that it could be an oppositional flag, using the Danish flag with Swedish colors, since the Swedes were rather unhappy with the Danish dominance of the union at the time.

The colors blue and yellow have been a Swedish symbol for even longer and is present in the coat of arms of several noble families in early medieval times.

The modern flag and its colors were defined de jure in 1906.

Data
Adopted1906
Appearance defined in law1982:269
Colors defined in law1983:826
Proportions5:8
Blue#006AA7
Yellow#FECC00