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The Kingdom of Sweden is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak Strait and the Kattegat Strait on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east. Sweden has a low population density in all but its metropolitan areas, with most of the inland consisting of large peaceful forests and mountainous wilderness.
The official list of Swedish monarchs starts about a 1000 years ago, about as long as Sweden has been Christian. After the allegedly notorious Vikings, Sweden spent a couple of centuries in battles with its neighbouring countries Denmark first in the 12th century and Norway; in the 16th and 17th century, Kings Gustav II Adolph and Charles XII of Sweden further ravaged in Northern Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States and extended the Realm of Sweden to twice its size – all lost later. Since 1816, Sweden has been a peaceful country without being involved in a single armed conflict, although its neutrality during World War II has been disputed.
As a result of massive poverty in the 18th century, whereby it was one of the poorest countries in Europe (second to Ireland), and suffering the results of alcohol, Sweden was shaped by the yoke of a dogmatic Protestantism, until its natural assets – timber, iron, grains – allowed it to fund a social democratic welfare state in the early 20th century. The country is today defined by liberal tendencies and a strong national quest for equality – especially among the sexes...