From the 14th century the coat of arms of Sweden had a blue field with three golden crowns, and the earlier Folkung dynasty used a shield of blue and white wavy stripes with a gold lion. The off-center "Scandinavian" cross was influenced by the flag of the rival kingdom of Denmark. The current flag law was adopted on July 1, 1906.

Sweden Official name: Konungariket Sverige (Kingdom of Sweden). Form of government: constitutional monarchy and parliamentary state with one legislative house (Parliament [349]). Chief of state: King. Head of government: Prime Minister. Population (1998): 8,860,000. Population projection: (2000) 8,909,000; (2010) 9,084,000. Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1996): 0.2 (world avg. 15.7). Gross national product (1996): U.S.$227,315,000,000 (U.S.$25,710 per capita). Land use (1994): forest 68.0%; pasture 1.4%; agriculture 6.8%, other 23.8%.

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