The Kingdom of Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a
multiparty, parliamentary form of government. Legislative
authority is vested in the unicameral Riksdag (parliament). The
population exceeds nine million. In national elections on
September 17, voters elected a center-right coalition government
led by the Moderate Party. The elections were free and fair. The
king is the largely symbolic head of state. The prime minister
is the head of the government and exercises executive authority.
Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of
the security forces. The government generally respected the
human rights of its citizens, and the law and judiciary provided
effective means of dealing with individual instances of abuse.
Reported human rights problems included: isolated incidents of
excessive police violence; prison overcrowding and lengthy
pretrial detention; government surveillance and interference
with the right to privacy; government interference with freedom
of speech and the press; socie