Aided by peace and neutrality for the whole of the 20th century, Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. It has a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labor force.Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Privately owned firms account for about 90% of industrial output, of which the engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Agriculture accounts for only 1% of GDP and 2% of employment. (CIA World Factbook)
Major Swedish owned firms:
IKEA
The IKEA Group has grown into a major retail experience. With more than 231 stores in 24 countries and over 118,000 co-workers in 40 countries, the IKEA Group has annual sales worth more than 19 billion euros. IKEA offers a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.
H&M
Hennes & Mauritz is a retail store with a broad and varied range for women, men, teens and children. Today H&M operates in 33 countries and has 73,000 employees all working to the same philosophy: to bring you fashion and quality at the best prices.
Ericsson
Ericsson is a world-leading provider of telecommunications equipment and related services to mobile and fixed network operators globally. Over 1,000 networks in more than 175 countries utilize their network equipment and 40 percent of all mobile calls are made through their systems.
