Traditional Swedish units of measurement were standardized by law in 1665, prior to which they only existed as a number of related but differing local variants. The system was slightly revised in 1735. In 1855, a decimal reform was instituted that defined a new Swedish inch as 1⁄10 Swedish foot (2.96 cm or 1.17 inches). Up to the middle of the 19th century, there was a law allowing the imposition of the death penalty for falsifying weights or measures. After a decision by the parliament in 1875,[1] Sweden adopted the metric system on 22 November 1878, with a ten-year transition period until 1 January 1889.
As part of the transition, the Swedish mil measurement was maintained, but was shortened from 18000 alnar – the equivalent of 10.69 km (6.64 mi) – to exactly 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). This measurement is still in use in both Sweden and Norway (which were in a union at the time).