Economic Conditions and Trade and Commerce

In the 18th century Sweden took first place among iron-produc ing countries. The use of coal changed this pre-eminence. As regards quality, however, Swedish output is unsurpassed. After the World War, production went down greatly. Pig-iron manu facture amounted in 1927 to only 413,000 tons, steel manu facture to only 517,00o, compared with 730,00o and 750,000 re spectively in 1913. The exportation of iron has decreased from 480,000 tons in 1913 to 263,000 in 1927.

Machinery.—The making of machinery has been developed, for instance, separators, motors, electrical machines and appara tuses, agricultural machines, ball bearings, etc. Minor iron articles, also, such as cutlery, enamelled vessels and other household things made of iron, are being exported on a large scale. The shipbuild ing industry also has gone ahead strongly of recent years. The export of iron products amounted to about £15,000,000 in 1927. Other Industries.—There is a preparation of granite for road-making and building purposes, and the cement industry.

Beet-sugar also is refined. The match industry has been merged into one single Trust (Svenska Tandsticksaktiebolaget). This organisation now covers the whole world and, with the help of English and American capital, controls the production of matches in most countries.

Actual industries, apart from hand-work and building operations, employ about 400,00o workers (in 190o, the number was 296,000).

The value of the foreign trade per inhabitant is about half that in Great Britain. Imports amounted in 1927 to .186,700,00o, exports to £88,700,000. Ordinarily the excess is on the side of imports. Of exports in 1927, pulp and paper represented 26%, wood products 18%, metal-work and machinery 17% and iron ore 9% of the value of the total exports. The greatest con sumer of Swedish products is Great Britain (28%) ; next come Germany (17%) and the United States (ii%). From these same countries Sweden obtains the bulk of its imports but here Ger many occupies the first place.

Before the World War as a general rule much capital came into Sweden from abroad, the country's own command of capital being inadequate for the great activity manifested in the building of railways, the construction of industrial plants, etc. But the war turned Sweden into a great exporter of capital. At the moment, the imports and exports of capital seem to maintain a balance. Sweden's policy is moderately protective. There has been little increase of tariff since the war.

Shipping.

About half Sweden's imports and exports are trans ported on Swedish tonnage, about half on foreign tonnage. Her commercial navy has grown greatly since the beginning of this century. It amounts now to nearly 1,5oo,000 tons register gross, of which 93% is represented by steamers and motor-vessels.

Internal Communication.

Sweden possesses a highly devel oped network of railways, the beginning of which dates from the 1850's. The total length of the lines amounts to about Io,000

English miles. In proportion to the population this is the highest figure reached by any European country. About 3,700 miles be long to the State. Their total freight revenue exceeds that of all the other railways. By means of ferry-steamers the Swedish State lines are in direct communication both with Germany (Tralleborg-Tassnitz) and with Denmark (Malmo-Copenhagen and Halsingborg-Halsingor).

The number of telephones in Sweden amount to 440,000, i.e., I to 14 inhabitants ; the corresponding figures in Great Britain are I to 4o. Swedish firms have been employed in setting up and managing central telephone establishments in other countries.

Finance.

Sweden's financial system since the year 1873 has been on a gold basis, the counting-unit being one krona, which is divided into 1 oo ore. LI equals 18.16 kronor. There is no actual circulation of gold but the ordinary method of payment is in notes issued by the Riksbank. During the war, in Sweden as in other European countries, the redemption of notes was suspended. Their value sank to a certain degree in relation to gold, in the year 192o down to 4o%. There was then a rapid movement up again, followed by a heavy fall in prices, and on April 1, 1924, the redemption of gold was brought back definitively to par. Sweden was the first country in Europe thus to restore her gold currency after the war to its pre-war basis.

The Riksbank, which is the central bank of the country (and the oldest in Europe, with a history going back to 1668), is a State bank, pure and simple, and since 1904 has had a monopoly in the issuing of notes. Of its board of directors, one member, who is also chairman, is appointed by the king, and six members are appointed by the riksdag. Commercial banks began to come into existence in the 1830's, at first in the form of companies with joint responsibility. Bankers of this type had the right to issue notes down to 1904. Some of them are still in existence; the most prominent of them is Stockholms Enskilda Bank. Most of the commercial banks of more recent origin, however, have taken the form of joint stock companies. A strong concentration move ment has of late been in progress in the banking world, whereby the total number of banks has been reduced from 8o in 1910 to 31 in 1928. Four large banks have come into existence, namely, AB Svenska Handelsbanken, Skandinaviska Kredit AB, AB GOte borgs Bank, and Stockholms Enskilda Bank, which handle about two-thirds of the commercial business. Their capital and funds amounted in 1927 to about £26,400,000 and their turnover to about 1174,000,00o. The Swedish commercial banks do not as a rule (like the German banks) found new businesses.