426
SWEDEN.
About three- fifths of the population of Sweden are devoted to agricultural pursuits, and one-third of the rural population are owners of the land which they are cultivating. The nobility, which is very numerous, there being no law of primogeniture, and titles, as well as property, descending equally to all children, enjoyed formerly considerable privileges; but they have nearly all been annulled. The last and most important, that of sitting unelected in the Diet, was repealed in December 1865. Emigration from the country, commencing with the year 18G0, shows a tendency to assume considerable proportions. In 1860, the number of emigrants was 348; in 1865 it rose to 6,691 ; in 1866 to 7,206; in 1867 to 9,334 ; and in 1868 to 27,024.
Education is well advanced in Sweden. Public instruction is gratuitous and compulsory, and children not attending schools under the supervision of the Government must furnish proofs of having been privately educated. In the year 1866, seventy-seven per cent, of all the children between eight and fifteen years visited the public schools. There were above 5,000 teachers and professors in the country in 1867. The vast majority of the population are Protest- ants, the census of 1867 showing but 2,157 dissenters, including 419 Roman Catholics, and 1,326 Jews.
Trade and Industry.
The commercial intercourseof Sweden is chiefly with Great Britain, both as regards imports and exports, and, next to it, with Germany, Denmark, and Russia, in the order here indicated. The imports consist mainly of textile manufactures, coal, machinery, and colonial merchandise, while the staple exports are timber, bar iron, and corn. The value of the total imports and exports of Sweden, in each of the five years 1864 to 1868, was as follows: —
Years
Total Imports
Total Exports
Riksdaler
&
Riksdaler
&
1864
96,549,000
5,363,833
94,003,000
5,222,388
1865
l()o,863,()oo
5,831,277
108,086.000
6,004,777
1866
112,910,000
6,222,778
107,066,000
5,948,112
1867
134,181,000
7,454,501
128,639,000
7,146,611
1868
137,740,000
7,652,222
119,524,000
6,640.222
The commerce of Sweden with Great Britain is twice as great as that with any other country. Subjoined is a tabular statement giving the total value of the exports from Sweden to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce into Sweden in each of the five years 1865 to 1869 : —
