Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe.

It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east.

Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested.

Sweden is part of the geographical area of Fennoscandia.Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen.

Sweden emerges as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages.

In the seventeenh century, it expands its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which becomes one of the great powers of Europe until the early eighteenth century.

Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula are gradually lost during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, beginning with the annexation of present-day Finland by Russia in 1809.

The last war in which Sweden is directly involved is in 1814, when Norway is militarily forced into personal union.