gton, DC 20521-5750 (pouch)
telephone: (8) 783 53 00
FAX: (8) 661 19 64

Flag description: 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)

@Sweden:Economy

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. GDP growth is forecast for 4% in 2000, buttressed by solid
consumer confidence.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $184 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.8% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $20,700 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 30.5%
services: 67.3% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 20.1% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.4% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 4.3 million (1996)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 2%, industry 24%, services
74% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.5% plus about 5% in training programs (1999 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: 3% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 156.772 billion kWh (19