The population has long been steadily increasing. In 1750 it amounted to 1,763,368, in 1800 to 2,347,303, and in 1850 to 3,482,541. The census of December 31, 1880, returned the number as 4,565,668 (2,215,243 males, 2,350,425 females), and at the end of 1885 the population was estimated at 4,682,769 (2,273,861 males, 2,408,908 females).
It will be seen that Sweden is sparsely peopled (the average for the whole country being only 28 inhabitants to the square mile), and that the population is very unevenly distributed,—Malmöhus län, which lies farthest south, counting 193 persons to the square mile, whereas Norrbotten, farthest to the north, and by far the largest county, has only 2.4.
The urban population as late as 1884 amounted to only 777,857 (the rural amounting to 3,866,591). The towns are in general small. Except Stockholm (215,688 inhabitants in 1885), only five towns—Gothenburg (91,033), Malmö (44,532), Norrköping (28,503), Gene (20,753), and Upsala (20,202)—had in 1885 more than 20,000 inhabitants.
Vital statistics.
The average number of marriages per 1000 inhabitants was for each of the years 1751-60 9.09; this proportion has gradually diminished since, having been 7.60 in 1851-60 and 6.81 in 1871-80. The yearly average of living children born from 1871-80 was 133,730, and the yearly average of deaths 80,140. The yearly average of deaths to 100 inhabitants for 1751-1815 was 2.71; this number has since been almost constantly decreasing, the average for 1851-60 being 2.17, and for 1871-80 1.82. Immigration and emigration till comparatively recent times had little influence on the numbers of population, but the latter years of the decennial period 1860-70 caused a change in this respect. The number of emigrants, which as late as 1867 amounted to little more than 9000, increased during 1868 to 27,000 and during 1869 to 39,000. During the years that followed there was a considerable decrease, but towards 1880 the number of emigrants again rapidly increased, and in 1882 this amounted to upwards of 50,000. The figure for 1884 was 23,560. Immigration, on the contrary, continues to be insignificant. The annual average of immigrants for 1875-84 was 3333.
Race.
The inhabitants of Sweden belong almost exclusively to the Scandinavian race. The principal exceptions are the Finns (in 1880 about 17,000), who chiefly inhabit the north-eastern part of the county of Norrbotten, the Lapps (in 1880 about 6400), spread over an area of about 44,000 square miles in Lapland and Jemtland, and the Jews (in 1880 about 3000).
Agriculture.
Agriculture.—Agriculture is the principal industry in Sweden. The number of persons gaining their livelihood by this occupation and those immediately depending on it was 2,342,000 in 1880, and the value of the harvest in 1884 was estimated at about £25,500,000 sterling, of which the grain-harvest made £14,800,000. From 1840 to 1880 the export of grain (including meal, &c.) exceeded the import; but this has not been the case since 1881, while, on the other hand, the export of dairy produce has meanwhile increased.
Mines.
Mines.—Sweden is rich in minerals, especially iron-ores, and the Swedish iron is celebrated for its good quality. In 1884 526 iron-mines were worked, the joint produce of which amounted to 922,310 tons. The manufacture of cast-iron amounted to 416,958 tons, that of bar-iron to 267,534 tons, of steel to 66,329 tons, and of hardware to 43,226 tons. The copper during the same year amounted to 650 tons, and the silver to rather more than 4000 ℔. Pit-coal has been found only in Malmöhus län, and even there in small quantity compared to the consumption of the country. The produce of the coal-mines was in 1884 not more than 7,277,000 cubic feet, whereas the import of coal amounted to 52,650,000 cubic feet.
Forests.
Forests.—A great part of Sweden is, as was above mentioned, covered with forests. Most of these are the property of private persons or joint-stock companies, but the Government also possesses large forests, the value of which was in 1884 estimated at about £2,400,000. The forest produce ranks among the principal articles of export from Sweden.
Manufactures.
Manufactures.—It was not till 1854 that Sweden completely broke with the pre-existing protectionist system and adopted the principles of free trade. Since 1860 there has been no prohibition, and import duty is in general low. The value of the manufactures, which as late as 1850 was estimated at only £2,000,000, was for 1883 computed at more than £10,600,000.
Commerce.
Commerce.—The united value of the exports and imports of Sweden was estimated for 1850 at little more than £4,000,000, whereas in 1884 it was something over £31,000,000 (imports about £18,000,000, exports about £13,000,000). The principal articles of export were—timber and wooden wares, £5,747,000; metals and hardware goods, £2,667,000; grain (including meal, &c.), £1,307,000; animal food, £1,081,000; live animals, £652,000; paper and stationery, £584,000. The principal articles of import during the same year were—cotton and woollen manufactured goods, £3,012,000; colonial products (coffee, sugar, &c.), £2,309,000; grain and meal, £2,258,000; minerals (principally coal), £1,479,000; metals and hardware goods, £1,308,000; cotton, wool, &c. £1,125,000; animal food, £1,036,000; ships, carriages, machines, instruments, &c., £807,000; hair, hides, bones, horns, and other animal substances, £784,000; tallow, oils, tar, gums, and similar substances, £782,000. The aggregate burden of vessels entering from and clearing to foreign ports was 858,827 tons in 1850, 5,388,085 tons in 1884. The estimated value of the exports to the United Kingdom during 1884 was £6,229,000, to Denmark £1,848,000, to France £1,073,000, to Germany £1,008,000, and to Norway £604,000; while the imports from Great Britain and Ireland reached £4,952,000, from Germany £4,947,000, from Denmark £2,932,000, from Russia and Finland £1,881,000, and from Norway £1,225,000.
Railways.
Railways, Posts, and Telegraphs.—The length of the railways in Sweden is very great in proportion to the population. In 1884 the total length was 4194 miles, of which 1437 miles belonged to Post-Office. the Government and 2657 to 76 private companies. The postal system is remarkably well organized. In 1884 the number of post offices was 1965, through which 46,533,627 inland letters, post-cards, post-office orders, newspaper and book packets, &c., were forwarded, and 5,507,770 to and 6,511,248 from foreign countries. Telegraphs. The telegraph system is also in a very flourishing condition. The total length of the telegraph wires in 1884 was 12,969 miles, and the number of messages forwarded was 1,178,959.
Education.
Education.—With regard to education Sweden occupies a very prominent place. Primary education is compulsory for all the children of the country, and this principle is so strictly applied that in 1884 out of 733,329 children of school-age only 15,143 were not under tuition. To supply this primary instruction there are 9925 national schools of different kinds, with 5216 male teachers and 6832 female teachers (1884). For higher educational purposes there are 96 public schools (1885), of three grades, with 14,617 pupils, and two universities (Upsala with 1821 and Lund with 827 students). In Stockholm there is, besides, a medical faculty, the Royal Caroline Medico-Chirurgical Institution. A free university is in course of formation, for which large sums have been given by private persons. There are a large number of Government schools for the military and naval services, for the technical sciences, for metallurgy, agriculture, nautical science, and for the blind and the deaf and dumb. All instruction at the national schools, the public schools, and the universities is free.
Religion.
Religion.—Christianity was introduced into Sweden about the ninth century, and was generally professed by the twelfth. The country adopted the doctrines of the Reformation during the reign of Gustavus Vasa. The national church, established by the resolution passed at Upsala in 1593 (Upsala möte), is Lutheran. The country is divided into 12 bishoprics (stift). The bishop of Upsala is archbishop of Sweden. In 1880 the number of dissenters was 21,234, of whom 14,627 were Baptists, 2993 Jews, 1591 Methodists, and 810 Roman Catholics.
Army.
Army and Navy.—The land defences consist partly of a standing army, partly of a militia. The former is for the most part founded on the so-called “indelningsverk,” an institution dating from the time of Sweden's greatness, which makes the soldier a settled farmer. This force comprises about 40,000 men. The militia comprises (since 1885) all males between twenty-one and thirty-two years of age. The time of drill for the militia is only forty-two days, extending over two years.
Navy.
The navy, with a permanent personnel (also for the most part founded on the “indelningsverk”) of rather more than 7000 men, consists principally of coasting vessels, both ironclad and unarmoured.
Constitution.—Sweden is a limited monarchy. Its constitution, like that of England, rests on an historical development of several centuries. From the earliest times the people governed themselves through elected trustees, made laws and levied taxes, while the king was little more than their leader in war. By and by the power of the king was extended, and alongside of it there arose a class of great men, who certainly lessened the legal rights of the lower orders, but who never succeeded in completely subduing them. Through Engelbrecht the burghers and yeomen regained their influence on the development of the state, and their deputies were summoned to the riksdag (1435). Gustavus Vasa and his son Charles IX. stripped the nobility of the high authority they had exercised during the latter part of the mediæval period, and which had been dangerous both to the power of the king and to the people, and so saved the work of Engelbrecht. The right of the lower classes to be members of the riksdag was confirmed by the first “Riksdagsordning” (“law for regulating the riksdag or parliament”) of Sweden (1617),
