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Economy—overview: Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole twentieth century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force. Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 2% of GDP and 2% of the jobs. In recent years, however, this extraordinarily favorable picture has been clouded by budgetary difficulties, inflation, high unemployment, and a gradual loss of competitiveness in international markets. Sweden has harmonized its economic policies with those of the EU, which it joined at the start of 1995. Sweden decided not to join the euro system at its outset in January 1999 but plans to hold a referendum in 2000 on whether to join. Annual GDP growth is forecast for 2.2% and 2.6% in 1999 and 2000 respectively. Budgetary problems and shaky business confidence will constrain government plans to reduce unemployment.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$175 billion (1998 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 2.9% (1998 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$19,700 (1998 est.)
GDP—composition
by sector:
agriculture:
2.2%
industry:
30.5%
services:
67.3% (1997)
Household
income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest
10%: 3.7%
highest
10%: 20.1% (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1998 est.)
Labor force: 4.552 million (1992)
Labor force—by occupation: community, social and personal services 38.3%, mining and manufacturing 21.2%, commerce, hotels, and restaurants 14.1%, banking, insurance 9%, communications 7.2%, construction 7%, agriculture, fishing, and forestry 3.2% (1991)
Unemployment rate: 6.3% plus about 5% in training programs (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$109.4 billion
expenditures:
$146.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY95/96)
Industries: iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles
Industrial production growth rate: 4.4% (1998)
Electricity—production: 135.192 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—production
by source:
fossil
fuel: 9.75%
hydro:
37.52%
nuclear:
52.62%
other:
0.11% (1996)
Electricity—consumption: 141.392 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—exports: 9.7 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity—imports: 15.9 billion kWh (1996)
Agriculture—products: grains, sugar beets, potatoes; meat, milk
Exports: $85.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Exports—commodities: machinery 35%, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals
Exports—partners: EU 55% (Germany 11%, UK 9%, Denmark 6%, Finland 5%), Norway 8%, US 8% (1994)
Imports: $66.6 billion (f.o.b., 1998)
Imports—commodities: machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, iron and steel, clothing
Imports—partners: EU 68% (Germany 19%, UK 10%, Denmark 8%, France 6%), Norway 8%, US 6% (1997)
Debt—external: $66.5 billion (1994)
Economic aid—donor: ODA, $1.7 billion (1995)
Currency: 1 Swedish krona (SKr) = 100 oere
Exchange rates: Swedish kronor (SKr) per US$1—7.8193 (January 1999), 7.9499 (1998), 7.6349 (1997), 6.7060 (1996), 7.1333 (1995), 7.7160 (1994)
Fiscal
year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 13 million (1996 est.)
Telephone
system: excellent domestic and international facilities; automatic
system
domestic:
coaxial and multiconductor cable carry most voice traffic; parallel microwave
radio relay network carries some additional telephone channels
international:
5 submarine coaxial cables; satellite earth stations—1 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean), 1 Eutelsat, and 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions);
note—Sweden shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries
(Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Norway)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 360 (mostly repeaters), shortwave 0
Radios: 7.272 million (1993 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 163 (1997)
Televisions:
3.5 million
Transportation
Railways:
total:
13,415 km (includes 3,594 km of privately-owned railways)
standard
gauge: 13,415 km 1.435-m gauge (7,917 km electrified and 1,152 km double
track) (1996)
Highways:
total:
138,000 km
paved:
105,018 km (including 1,330 km of expressways)
unpaved:
32,982 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges
Pipelines: natural gas 84 km
Ports and harbors: Gavle, Goteborg, Halmstad, Helsingborg, Hudiksvall, Kalmar, Karlshamn, Malmo, Solvesborg, Stockholm, Sundsvall
Merchant
marine:
total:
154 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,894,783 GRT/1,528,077 DWT
ships
by type: bulk 6, cargo 28, chemical tanker 28, combination ore/oil 4, liquefied
gas tanker 1, oil tanker 24, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 39, short-sea passenger 5, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier
13 (1998 est.)
Airports: 255 (1998 est.)
Airports—with
paved runways:
total:
145
over
3,047 m: 2
2,438
to 3,047 m: 10
1,524
to 2,437 m: 82
914
to 1,523 m: 27
under
914 m: 24 (1998 est.)
Airports—with
unpaved runways:
total:
110
914
to 1,523 m: 5
under
914 m: 105 (1998 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1998 est.)
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Última actualització: 8 de juny de 2000