Natural hazards: ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially
in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic
Environment—current issues: acid rain damaging soils and lakes;
pollution of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical
Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography—note: strategic location along Danish Straits linking
Baltic and North Seas
People
Population: 8,911,296 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (male 856,819; female 812,958)
15-64 years: 64% (male 2,896,383; female 2,802,571)
65 years and over: 17% (male 651,549; female 891,016) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.29% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 10.77 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)