Sweden (Listeni/ˈswiːdən/ swee-dən; Swedish: Sverige [ˈsværjɛ] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: About this sound Konungariket Sverige (help·info)), 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 9.6 million.[1] 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.[10] Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city. Since the early 19th century Sweden has generally been at peace and has largely 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 2013, it ranked second in the world on the Democracy Index,[11] seventh (tied with Ireland) on the 2013 United Nations' Human Development Index (third on the inequality-adjusted HDI),[12] second on the 2013 OECD Better Life Index[13] and fourth on the 2013 Legatum Prosperity Index.[14]
In 2012, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the fourth-most competitive country in the world.[15] According to the United Nations, it has the