Country Commercial Guides are prepared annually at U.S. Embassies through the combined efforts of several U.S. government agencies. Sweden, the fifth largest country in Europe and with less than 9 million inhabitants has a rich past filled with unique twists and contradictions. Sweden's early history is a saga of wars and occupation of a large part of Europe, reaching its peak in the 17th century when the Swedish King controlled all of the Baltic Rim, much of Northern Europe, and Russia. The defeat of Charles XII by Peter I in 1709 signaled the beginning of the downsizing of the Swedish empire, which ended in 1905 when Norway joined Finland, Denmark, the Baltic States, Western Russia and parts of Germany and Poland in moving out from under Swedish control. Twenty years ago Sweden was the world's best example of a prosperous, democratic state with an homogeneous population, generous social support system, equitable distribution of wealth and a very high standard of living.
Time often brings change.
Recession, a bank crisis in 1992, budget deficits, inflation, labor trouble, and meeting the Mastricht criteria have all resulted in a changing social and commercial environment. The economy has recovered and expansion occurs albeit not at a rate sufficient to offset double digit unemployment. In April 98, consumer confidence, which had been positive since October 97, hit the highest level since 1993. In fact, in June 1998, it is difficult to find any negative statistics on the Swedish economy. In 1998, it became very apparent that the Pharmacia-Upjohn merger several years earlier was just the tip of the iceberg.