What is the Swedish krona (SEK)?

Credit Ratings & Outlook

In the latest credit ratings from December 1970, Moody's gives Sweden a Aaa rating, with a stable outlook. Fitch has a stable outlook with a AAA rating. Finally, S&P last issued a AAA rating, with a stable outlook.

Sovereign credit ratings play an important part in determining a country’s access to international capital markets, and the terms of that access. Sovereign ratings help to foster dramatic growth, stability, and efficiency of international and domestic markets.

Central Bank Rate

The current central bank interest rate is 1.50%. This is the same as 2011, which was 1.75%.

GDP

In 2010 the total GDP was $458,551,636,256 in US Dollars, while the per capita GDP was $48,896. It grew by 5.61% over the previous year.

Unemployment

The latest unemployment rate for 2012 is 7.50%.

Consumer Price Index

The latest consumer price index for 2010 is 107.87.

Political Structure

The current head of the government is Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, and the head of state is King Carl XVI Gustaf (in a ceremonial role).

Currency Details

The official currency of Sweden is the krona (SEK). Until 1873, the accepted currency in Sweden was the riksdaler, but the krona replaced it when Sweden joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union with Denmark and Norway. The union lasted until World War I when the countries each broke off into their own respective currencies, but Sweden chose to keep the name krona. The krona is divided into 100 ore.

Moody’s Rating

Aaa, 04 Apr 2002

S&P Rating

AAA

Sovereign credit ratings play an important part in determining a country’s access to international capital markets, and the terms of that access. Sovereign ratings help to foster dramatic growth, stability, and efficiency of international and domestic markets.

What does it look like?

Political Structure

The Kingdom of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy. The King of Sweden is Carl XVI Gustaf, but he plays no role in the government. Instead, the prime minister leads the parliamentary government. The legislature also referred to as the unicameral Riksdag, which consists of 349 members that are directly elected to four-year terms.

Prominent Figures

Chief of State King CARL XVI GUSTAF (since 19 September 1973); Heir Apparent Princess VICTORIA Ingrid Alice Desiree, daughter of the monarch (born 14 July 1977)
Head of Government Prime Minister Fredrik REINFELDT (since 5 October 2006)
Cabinet Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
Elections the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister

Key Economic Factors

After suffering a severe recession in the early 1990s, Sweden’s economic growth has been strong since the late 1990s and the dawn of the 21st century. The inflation rate historically has been low and stable, and the export sector has been extremely affluent since the mid 1990s (namely in the areas of information technology and telecommunications).

In 1997, while the European Union was in the process of preparing to implement a common currency, Sweden decided against adopting the euro as its official currency and has maintained that contention to the present day. The fact that industrial production has been in the black through mid 2005 corresponds well to the GDP figures for the first quarter. The outcome was pretty glum, compared to the stellar performance of the Swedish economy in 2004, as seasonally adjusted real GDP grew only 0.3%. Amidst the negative figures, however, fixed capital formation came in strongly, suggesting that business investment is still buoyant. Looking from the production side, goods production took a beating in the first quarter, but still held up fairly well. This indicates that the industrial sector in Sweden is still strong, although a slowing from 2004′s boom is to be expected, specifically since external demand has waned. The generally less positive outlook for the economy in 2005 is thus only partially dependent on a reduced contribution from the industrial sector; softer global demand and a darker outlook for the euro zone play a great part.