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SWEDEN. Swe'den.
This kingdom, united with Norway, forms the Scandinavian peninsula. The
government is vested in a King, a Council of State and a Parliament. Area,
170,979 square miles. Population, 4,603,595. Capital, Stockholm;
population, 194,469. The armed forces number 172,260 officers and men. The
Royal navy consists of 66 vessels, with 4,068 men.
The country has numerous lakes and rivers. In the north it is cold and
sterile; but the climate, on the whole, is milder than that of other
countries in the same latitude, and south of latitude 59deg the country is
generally fertile. About 7 per cent. of the land area is cultivated, and 5
per cent. is natural meadows. Agricultural population, 2,309,790. Emigrants
in 1883 numbered 29,490, of whom four-fifths came to the United States.
Value of imports, 1882, $63,840,000; exports, $70,524,000. Chief exports:
timber, $32,482,290; metals, $11,861,580. Mining is one of the chief
industries. In 1883 there were exported 34,319 tons of iron ore, 52,126
tons of bar iron, 3,602 pounds of silver, 945 tons of copper and 54,423
tons of zinc ore. Mining population numbered 410371
The state religion is Lutheran Protestant. The census of 1880 returned
4,544,434 persons of that faith, with 2,408 churches. There are 2
universities, with 2,540 students. Education is free and compulsory. The
total number of schools is about 9,800; pupils, 660,000; expenditures,
$2,718,390.
The commercial navy numbers 3,356 sailing vessels, of 439,932 tons, and 785
steamers, of 87,524 tons. Number of miles of railway, 1883, 4,000, of which
1,437 miles belong to the state; telegraph, 5,347 miles.
NORWAY. Nor'w[=a].
In 1814 united with Sweden into a joint kingdom. Area, 122,869 square
miles. Population, 1,806,900. Government an hereditary constitutional
monarchy; executive power in the hands of the King and Council of State;
legislative rests with Storthing, or Great Court. Capital, Christiania;
pop., 1884, 124,155.
Norway is an agricultural and pastoral country; but, owing to the light
character of the soil, the products are insufficient for home consumption,
and one-fourth of the total imports is grain.
Principal imports are metals, minerals, textile manufactures and corn;
total value in 1883, $44,810,000. Chief exports are timber and fish; value
of all exports, 1883, $32,261,000. Fisheries employ 120,000 people and
25,000 boats, three-fourths employed in the cod fisheries; total product,
1883, $6,757,500. Merchant marine, 7,913 vessels; tonnage, 1,530,004;
largest in the world, considering population.
Army raised by conscription and enlistment; war footing, 68,800 officers
and men. Armed force to exceed 18,000 unlawful without the consent of
Storthing. Navy, 31 sailing vessels and 40 steamers, with 152 guns, manned
by a force of 915.
Miles of railway, 1884, 971; 929 miles controlled by the state. Miles of
telegraph, 5,629; length of wire, 10,075. Number of postoffices, 1032
Protestants are in the majority; unlimited religious liberty, Jesuitism
excepted; none but Lutherans eligible to high offices.
Compulsory education prevails; primary schools, 6,617; 17 public high
schools, 1 university; total number of students, 284,035. {33}
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DENMARK. Den'mark.
A constitutional kingdom in Europe. Area, 13,784 square miles. Population,
1,969,039. Almost entirely insular. Temperature at Copenhagen, 47deg.
Country low and level.
Constitution, dating back to 1849, and modified in 1855, '63, '66, vests
executive authority in the King and his responsible ministers; legislative,
in the Senate and House of Commons. King must belong to Evangelical
Lutheran church. The franchise is extended to all males over 30, who are
not recipients of charity.
Pop. of Copenhagen, the capital, 1880, 273,323; Aarhuus, 24,831; Adense,
20,804. In 1882, 11,614 emigrants left Denmark; vast majority of them for
the United States. Relatively, Denmark ranks among the first states of
Europe in point of agriculture. In 1880, 75 per cent. of area productive;
area under cereals, 1882, 2,681,691 acres; product, 86,706,937 bushels.
Cattle rearing increasing in importance. In 1881, value of cattle,
$7,350,395; number of horses, 347,561; sheep, 1,548,613; swine, 527,417.
There were exported 84,586 cattle, 72,487 sheep, 2,230,000 lbs. of wool,
and 253,294 hogs. Total value of exports in 1882, $52,225,300. Total
imports, $70,297,280. Army is recruited by conscription; it embraces 36,469
men, with a reserve of 14,000. In 1884, navy consisted of 40 steamers.
Miles of railway, 1,106; 932 miles operated by the state. Miles of
government telegraph, 2,283.
Education compulsory; number of schools supported by the state, 2,940.
RUSSIA. R[)u]sh'e-a.
The Russian Empire comprises one-seventh of the total land area of the
globe. The area and population are known only through estimates, the latest
of which give the total area as 8,520,637 square miles, and the population
as 102,682,124. Area of European Russia, 2,041,402 square miles;
population, 86,486,959. Asiatic Russia: area, 6,479,235 square miles;
population, 16,195,165. The government of Russia is an absolute hereditary
monarchy; the whole legislative, executive and judicial power being vested
in the Emperor. Capital, St. Petersburg; population, 929,100.
The established religion of the empire is the Greco-Russian, which numbers
63,835,000 members, 636 cathedrals and 41,807 churches. The mass of the
population is uneducated. European Russia has about 375 high schools, 61
normal and 22,770 primary schools; pupils number more than 1,220,000. The
empire has 8 universities, with 10,700 students.
Of European Russia, 63 per cent. of the area is productive; 21 per cent. is
cultivated. Chief products, cereals; the crop of 1883, exclusive of
Finland, was 1,671,012 tons; potatoes, 447,875 tons; tobacco, 119,200,000
lbs. Large areas are covered with forests; value of timber exported 1881,
$49,200,000. Value of total exports of Russian Empire, $308,898,000;
imports, $283,396,000. Minerals are abundant; the mining population numbers
392,304.
The total strength of the Russian army on a peace footing is 729,770 men
and 27,468 officers; war footing, 1,876,358 men and 41,551 officers. The
navy numbers 358 vessels, of 349,730 tons.
In 1883, European Russia had 15,274 miles of railway, of which 13,670 miles
belonged to the state. Number of miles of telegraph, 65,726. Postoffices,
4,586. The commercial navy, in 1883, consisted of 187 steamers, of 138,291
tons, and 2,155 sailing vessels, of 477,072 tons. {35}
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