Democrats 7.1%, New Democracy 6.7%, Left Party (Communist) 4.5%, Green
Party 3.4%, other 1.2%;
seats--(349 total) Social Democratic 138, Moderate (conservative) 80,
Liberal People's Party 33, Center Party 31, Christian Democrats 26, New
Democracy 25, Left Party (Communist) 16; note: the Green Party leaves
the Riksdag because it received less than the required 4% of the vote

_#_Communists: VP and SKP; VP, formerly the Left Party-Communists,
is reported to have roughly 17,800 members and attracted 5.8% of the vote
in the 1988 election; VP dropped the Communist label in 1990, but
maintains a Marxist ideology

_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer) AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-6, G-8, G-9, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTERPOL,
INTELSAT, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NC,
NEA, NIB, OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Anders THUNBORG; Chancery at
Suite 1200, 600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20037;
telephone (202) 944-5600; there are Swedish Consulates General in
Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York;

US--Ambassador Charles E. REDMAN; Embassy at Strandvagen 101,
S-115 89 Stockholm; telephone [46] (8) 783-5300

_#_Flag: blue with a yellow cross that extends to the edges of the
flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the
style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Aided by a long period of peace and neutrality during
World War I through World War II, Sweden has achieved an enviable
standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and
extensive welfare benefits. It has essentially full employment,
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 that is 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. For some observers,
the Swedish model has succeeded in making economic efficiency
and social egalitarianism complementary, rather than competitive,
goals. Others argue that the Swedish model is on the verge of
collapsing by pointing to the serious econom