It is difficult to imagine something less similar to each other than the EGP of Sweden and Italy. The two countries are located on different ends of Europe, in different climatic conditions and have a completely different history of economic and political development.
Kingdom of Sweden
EGP of the country is characterized today, firstly, by the outskirts of the state in relation to the main trade routes and markets. However, this did not prevent Sweden from achieving a high position in the international ratings of stability and prosperity.
In the XVll-XVlll centuries, Sweden occupied a much larger territory than today, and did not huddle in the south and east of the Scandinavian Peninsula, but controlled the land along all the shores of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
However, after the defeat in the Northern War, a new period began in the history of the state, when Sweden and its citizens had to abandon the idea of greatness and set about equipping their country and developing the economy and social sphere.
EGP characteristic of Sweden
Sweden is the largest country in Scandinavia and occupies up to three fifths of its area. By land, the country borders with Norway and Finland, but the length of its sea borders is much greater than land. In the waters of the Baltic Sea there are two large islands belonging to Sweden - these are Gotland and Öland.
Despite the fact that the EGP of Sweden is characterized by a situation in the north of Europe, its climate is moderate due to the influence of the Gulf Stream and allows local residents to engage in agriculture. The land in Sweden is poor and unproductive, the use of modern methods of growing crops allows you to increase productivity in the conditions of a short and rainy summer. Moreover, land suitable for planting occupies no more than 8% of the country's territory.
Foreign trade and business
Modern Sweden is an economically developed country with an export-oriented economy, a developed domestic market and close cooperation with neighboring countries. Since most of the country is covered by forests, Sweden's EGP naturally implies their active, but careful use in the processing industry.
Overcoming the many difficulties associated with the not very favorable climate, which does not allow providing a growing population, the country began the active development of industry in the 19th century.
Industrialization proceeded at a faster pace with the introduction of the latest Western European developments, because at that time Sweden was headed by one of the best Napoleonic generals - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, who received the throne name Karl XIV Johan after the coronation.
The situation of Sweden in the XX century
The twentieth century has become decisive for many world empires. Sweden not only did not become an exception to the decolonization process, but actually set this trend long before Britain began to grant freedom to its colonies.
The fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century a union operated between Sweden and Norway, according to which the Swedish crown ruled Norway. Such an important issue inevitably caused numerous conflicts, and immediately after the Norwegians spoke in favor of independence in a referendum, Sweden began to prepare an army to suppress a possible uprising. However, the world military powers did not support Sweden in its endeavor, and Norway nevertheless gained independence.
The liquidation of the union led to the fact that ultimately the Swedish companies lost access to promising oil fields, which were of great importance to the Norwegian economy for the whole century and allowed it to accumulate huge foreign exchange reserves. In addition, Sweden has lost access to the North Atlantic and the ability to extract fish resources that are in demand on the international market.
Rapid development
At the beginning of the 20th century, despite attempts at industrialization in the previous century, Sweden was still largely an agrarian country. In addition, the Norwegian branch dealt an additional blow to the state economy.
In such circumstances, urgent measures were needed to modernize the economy. But given the small domestic demand and relative poverty of the population, the newly created companies had to focus on the foreign market and make the most efficient use of EGP in Sweden.
The basis for growth was the diverse resources of Northern Sweden - the edge of harsh natural conditions, short and cold polar and rainy summers. Vast forests, ore deposits and abundant hydropower resources are concentrated in the north of the country .
Cooperation with neighbors
In the first half of the twentieth century, something like early globalization happened in the country, caused by active cooperation between Swedish companies and firms from other European countries.
Quite quickly, the country's economy was enriched by brands such as Volvo, Saab, Ikea, Ericsson and Scania. All these companies have brought Sweden fame as a global manufacturer of high-quality equipment for various purposes.
The technological base created during the 20th century allowed Sweden to actively enter the era of high-tech companies. Today, industries such as biomedicine, genetics, and information technology are becoming increasingly important for the country.
State and business
But not only industry brought Sweden worldwide fame. A special mention deserves the model of the relationship between the state, society and business. Sweden is a world leader in the quality of social services and the provision of public services.
High taxes make the prices of many goods extremely high, but this is also offset by high salaries, and high government spending allows us to provide services at a high level.
But the most important characteristic of the political and economic regime of Sweden remains respect for the human person, the needs of the citizen and respect for human rights. These basic conditions have allowed us to create a very effective and humane education system that regularly receives praise from international organizations and makes possible the future development of the economy and high-tech industry. Thus, we can conclude that the change in the EGP of Sweden in time occurred spasmodically and was associated with a change in its borders.