Sweden (Konungariket Sverige) is the third largest country in Western Europe, and is governed by a constitutional parliamentary monarchy. It occupies the eastern side of the Scandinavian peninsula and bordered to the west and north with Norway, northeast with Finland; is washed by the Kattegat to the southwest, from the Baltic Sea to the southeast and the Gulf of Bothnia to the east. Among cities beyond the capital Stockholm are important Gothenburg and Malmö. The coasts are characterized by deep creeks, a mountain range, the Scandinavian Alps, acts as a border with Norway reaching the highest peak of the country with Mount Kebnekaise, 2117 meters, placed at the extreme north of the country near Kiruna. The northern regions are mountainous and covered with vast forests, while the southern regions are dominated by large plains. Most of the territory is made up of plateaus, partly covered by glaciers and lakes and by large coastal plains. The lakes cover 8,5% of the area and are located mainly in the center and south, the largest lake in Sweden is the Vänern, the third of Europe (5.585 sq. km). The main rivers are the Torne, Lule, Ume, Ångerma and Indals. In the Baltic Sea are the two main islands of Öland (1.344 sq. km) and Gotland (3.001 sq. km). 

Climate: The climate in Sweden is a cold climate, characterized by dark and long winters with minimum temperatures of -15°C/-20°C; in the north the ice persist from October to May and winter obstruct navigation in the Gulf of Bothnia. Summer is short, but with long days of light (in summer in most areas in the north of the country the sun never sets ever), with temperatures ranging between 15°C and 20°C. The rainfall is concentrated mainly in summer and autumn, the average is 800 to 1000 mm annually. The considerable length from north to south of the country involve in significant climatic differences between the extreme north and the extreme south. The average temperatures in Stockholm are -1°C in January, 12°C in May, 19°C in July, while in Kiruna, in the far north of the country, the average temperature is -8°C in January, 7°C in May and 15°C in July.