Sveden

Sveden

Sweden (i/ˈswiːdən/ SWEE-dən; Swedish: Sverige ), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. Sweden borders Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund.

At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.5 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city. Since the early 19th century Sweden has been at peace and has avoided war.

Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy form of government and a highly developed economy. Sweden has the world's eighth highest per capita income. In 2011, it ranked fourth in the world in The Economist's Democracy Index, 7th in the 2013 United Nations' Human Development Index (third on the inequality-adjusted HDI) and third on the 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index.

In 2010, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the second most competitive country in the world, after Switzerland. According to the United Nations, it has the third-lowest infant mortality rate in the world. In 2010, Sweden also had one of the lowest Gini coefficients of all developed countries (0.25), making Sweden one of the world's most equal countries in terms of income. Sweden's wealth, however, is distributed much less equally than its income, with a wealth Gini coefficient of 0.85, which is higher than the European average of 0.8.

In 2013, The Economist declared that the Nordic countries "are probably the best-governed in the world," with Sweden in first place.