STOCKHOLM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- A majority of Swedes are still opposed to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to a new poll published on Thursday.

    Forty-six of those who answered the survey by Gothenburg University's SOM Institute opposed joining NATO, while 22 percent were in favor. The responses are identical to those in last year's survey.

    While most of Sweden's political parties have been opposed to full membership, this country has participated in NATO-led missions in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan as well as other military exercises.

    There are 26 countries in NATO, including Sweden's Nordic neighbors Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

    The issue of Nato membership is further down the political agenda than during the Cold War, when Sweden's freedom from alliances was put forward as a crucial part of its defense strategy.

    Today, three out of the four governing parties are broadly in favor of joining NATO, with only the Center Party firmly opposed to. Of these, only the Liberal Party has chosen to actively push the issue in recent years.

    The three left-wing opposition parties are firmly opposed to ending Sweden's tradition of not joining military alliances. ¡¡