Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First part - I. Physical Geography
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
i.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
The Kingdom of Sweden occupies the eastern, and larger, section
of the Scandinavian Peninsula, situated in North-Western Europe. The
western, and smaller, section of the peninsula consists of the Kingdom
of Norway, which is politically united with Sweden under one monarch.
Of the total area of the united kingdoms — about 770,000 sq. kilom. —
448,000 sq. kilom., or approximately 58 belong to,Sweden*. Of their
total population — rather over 7 millions — upwards of 5 millions,
or about 70 %, are resident in Sweden.
Sweden and Norway form a political unit, which, in respect to extent,
stands second in Europe, the Russian Empire alone being larger. Even
Sweden by itself, covering as it does 4-5 7 % of the area of Europe, is one
of. the larger countries of that continent. It is a little smaller than either
France or Germany, but is, on the other hand, nearly half as large
again as Great Britain and Ireland. In respect to population Sweden
and Norway cannot, of course, bear comparison with the Great Powers,
though among countries of second rank their united inhabitants are
only outnumbered by those of Spain. In Sweden alone there are about
as many people as in the Netherlands; it comes, therefore, after
Belgium, but surpasses Switzerland, for instance, by about 60 %.
Owing to its very northerly situation the Scandinavian Peninsula
is, as a whole, thinly populated, though less so than any other land
of the same latitude. The southernmost parts of Sweden are
comparable to Central Europe in respect to state of culture and density of
population.
Sweden is bounded by the sea on the east, the south, and partly
on the west — the waters being: the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea,
the Sound, the Kattegat, and the Skagerack. The sole land-boundaries
are those dividing it from Finland and from Norway. The remarkable
degree of ethnographical uniformity possessed by Sweden as a nation
is paralleled, in a measure, by the notably advantageous character of
its boundaries as a geographical and political unit. Exception must,
however, be made in regard to the Finnish frontier, for that is con-
* A sq. kilom. = 0*386 sq. mile.
Sweden. 1
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
