Claim: Sweden once had territories not within the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Sweden -LRB- Konungariket Sverige -RRB- , is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe . It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east , and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund . At 450295 km2 , Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area , with a total population of 10.0 million . Sweden consequently has a low population density of 22 PD/km2 , with the highest concentration in the southern half of the country . Approximately 85 % of the population lives in urban areas .   Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times , emerging into history as the Geats/G ötar and Swedes/Svear and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen . Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural , while the north is heavily forested . Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia . The climate is in general very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence , that in spite of this still retains warm continental summers . Today , Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy , with a monarch as head of state . The capital city is Stockholm , which is also the most populous city in the country . Legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag . Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister . Sweden is a unitary state , currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities .   Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages . In the 17th century , it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire , which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century . Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries , ending with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809 . The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814 , when Norway was militarily forced into personal union . Since then , Sweden has been at peace , maintaining an official policy of neutrality in foreign affairs . The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905 , leading to Sweden 's current borders . Though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars , Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts , such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe .   After the end of the Cold War , Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 , but declined NATO membership , as well as Eurozone membership following a referendum . It is also a member of the United Nations , the Nordic Council , Council of Europe , the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development -LRB- OECD -RRB- . Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens . It has the world 's eighth-highest per capita income and ranks highly in numerous metrics of national performance , including quality of life , health , education , protection of civil liberties , economic competitiveness , equality , prosperity and human development .