With 450,295 km2, the Kingdom of Sweden is the largest nation in Northern Europe, the third largest in the European Union, and the fifth largest nation overall in Europe. Out of the 10.2 million people living in Sweden, 2.4 million are of foreign descent.
In addition to having the eleventh-highest per capita income in the world, it performs well on a wide range of other national performance indicators, including equality, prosperity, civil liberties protection, quality of life, health, and education.
Brief information about the capital and other major cities in Sweden:
Stockholm
Located on 14 islands off the southeast coast of Sweden, Stockholm is the largest and capital city of the country. In addition to being the nation’s centre of politics, business, culture, and media, the city generates one-third of its GDP. One of the highest GDPs per capita in Europe is found in Stockholm. The city is thought of as a global city as well. Several highly regarded European universities are located there. Stockholm hosts the Nobel Prize ceremonies every year. The city is home to several of the Swedish government’s numerous agencies. There are 960,031 residents in the municipality, 1.5 million in the urban region, and 2.3 million in the metropolitan area.
Gothenburg
Located on Sweden’s west coast, the city of Gothenburg is home to over 570,000 people in its downtown and a million more in the surrounding metropolitan area.
Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Göthenburg are located in Göthenburg. The largest port in the Nordic region is the Port of Gothenburg.
Malmo
With 312,012 residents as of the 2017 census, Malmo is the sixth largest city in Scandinavia and the third largest city in Sweden after Stockholm and Gothenburg. It serves as South Sweden’s economic and cultural hub. Malmo found it difficult to adjust to post-industrialism while being one of the most industrialised towns in Scandinavia. In recent years, the city has seen significant architectural advancements and has drawn a large number of IT and biotech enterprises. This city also includes a large number of parks and historic structures. Historically, the shipbuilding and construction industries, including concrete manufacturers, have been the main drivers of Malmo’s economy. Malmo University, which opened its doors in 1998, is the ninth-largest university in the nation.
Religion:
The office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden is located in Uppsala, which has served as the religious hub of the country since the Middle Ages. There is no longer an official state church in Sweden because the Sweden Church was split off from the state in 2000. Despite the fact that the majority of nations do not have an official religion, Sweden is the only nation in the Nordic region without one.
The Church of Sweden is attended by 64% of the people living in Sweden. Since 2000, Swedes are no longer automatically members of the church by birth, and a record number of Swedes have recently left the church. It is anticipated that membership will continue to fall as younger Swedes are unable to replace elderly members. Additionally, surveys show that barely 8% of Swedes consistently attend religious services.
The Free Churches are the most widely distributed Christian denominations, second only to the Church of Sweden. The Free Churches are still separate entities from the Church of Sweden, although being Protestant as well.
Furthermore, a larger range of religions has been facilitated by increased immigration. Five mosques have been constructed in Sweden thus far, and Islam is thought to be a religion that is expanding. Additionally, the Swedish Catholic Church reports a rise in membership and points to immigrants as a major source of information. In the meanwhile, there are numerous Eastern Orthodox churches that are nation-specific; the greatest of these is the Syrian Orthodox Church.
