Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. It has the most populous urban area in Sweden as well as in Scandinavia. Approximately 975,000 people live in the municipality,[10] with 1.6 million in the urban area,[6] and 2.4 million in the metropolitan area.[10] The city stretches across fourteen islands where Lake Mälaren flows into the Baltic Sea. Outside the city to the east, and along the coast, is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago. The area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, and was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden.