Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia,
Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway
Geographic coordinates:
62 00 N, 15 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 449,964 sq km
water: 39,030 sq km
land: 410,934 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 2,205 km
border countries: Finland 586 km, Norway 1,619 km
Coastline:
3,218 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: agreed boundaries or midlines
territorial sea: 12 NM (adjustments made to return a portion of
straits to high seas)
Climate:
temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly
cloudy summers; subarctic in north
Terrain:
mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; mountains in west
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: reclaimed bay of Lake Hammarsjon, near Kristianstad
-2.41 m
highest point: Kebnekaise 2,111 m
Natural resources:
zinc, iron ore, lead, copper, silver, timber, uranium, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 6.8%
permanent crops: 0%
other: 93.2% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
1,150 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of
Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic
Environment - current issues:
acid rain damage to soils and lakes; pollution of the North Sea and
the Baltic Sea
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:
strategic location along Danish Straits linking Baltic and North
Seas