At stake in this election:

• 349 seats in the Parliament (Riksdag)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: King CARL XVI GUSTAF
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Goran PERSSON
• Assembly: Sweden has a unicameral Parliament (Riksdag) with 349 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary N/A.
• Prime Minister is elected by parliament.
• In the Parliament (Riksdag) 349 members are elected by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Social Democratic Party (S)
  • Leader: Gran PERSSON
  • Seats won in this election: 131
  • Seats won in last election: 161
• Party: Moderate (Conservative) Party (M)
  • Leader: Carl BILDT
  • Seats won in this election: 82
  • Seats won in last election: 80
• Party: Left Party (V)
  • Leader: Gudrun SCHYMAN
  • Seats won in this election: 43
  • Seats won in last election: 22
• Party: Christian Democrats (KD)
  • Leader: Alf SVENSSON
  • Seats won in this election: 42
  • Seats won in last election: 15
• Party: Centre Party (C)
  • Leader: Lennart DALEUS
  • Seats won in this election: 18
  • Seats won in last election: 27

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 8,850,974 (1998)
• Registered voters: 6,603,129 (1998)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population:4,476,994 (1998)

·         Is Sweden a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (7 March 1980)

·         Has Sweden ratified CEDAW: Yes (2 July 1980)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are some political parties that have adopted voluntary quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 149 (following the 1998 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 14 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Sweden a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Sweden ratified CRPD: Yes (15 December 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 1,327,646 (est.)