Economy of Sweden

Economy of Sweden
CurrencySwedish krona
(SEK • KR)
Calendar year
Trade organisations
EU, WTO, OECD and others
Country group
Statistics
Population10,540,886 (2023)
GDP
  • $623 billion (nominal, 2024)[4]
  • $736 billion (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP rank
GDP growth
  • −0.2% (2023)
  • 0.2% (2024)
  • 2.2% (2025)[4]
GDP per capita
  • $58,529 (nominal, 2024)[4]
  • $69,177 (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP per capita rank
GDP by sector
  • 5.9% (2023)
  • 2.6% (2024)
  • 2.0% (2025)[4]
Population below poverty line
  • 15% (2014)[5]
  • 18.4% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE 2023)[6]
29.5 low (2023)[7]
Decrease 82 out of 100 points (2023)[9] (6th)
Labour force
  • 5,503,812 (2020, ILO)[10]
  • Increase 82.6% employment rate (2023)[11]
Labour force by occupation
  • agriculture: 2%
  • industry: 12%
  • services: 86%
  • (2014)[3]
Unemployment
  • 9.0% (September 2020)[12]
  • 28.9% youth unemployment (July 2020; 15 to 24 year-olds)[13]
Average gross salary
€46,400, per annum
€34,600, per annum
Main industries
External
Exports$170 billion (2017)[14]
Export goods
machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, military armaments
Main export partners
  • Germany 11%
  • Norway 10.2%
  • Finland 6.9%
  • United States 6.8%
  • Denmark 6.8%
  • United Kingdom 6.2%
  • Netherlands 5.4%
  • China 4.6%
  • (2017)[15]
Imports$155 billion (2017)[16]
Import goods
machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel; foodstuffs, clothing
Main import partners
  • Germany 18.7%
  • Netherlands 8.8%
  • Norway 8.2%
  • Denmark 7.2%
  • United Kingdom 5.2%
  • Belgium 5.0%
  • Finland 4.7%
  • China 4.6%
  • France 3.9%
  • (2017)[17]
FDI stock
$0.5 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)
$911 billion (2019)[18]
Public finances
  • 35.1% of GDP (2019)[19]
  • SEK 1.765 trillion (2019)[19]
  • SEK 24.8 billion surplus (2019)[19]
  • +0.5% of GDP (2019)[19]
Revenues49.8% of GDP (2019)[19]
Expenses49.3% of GDP (2019)[19]
Economic aid
$60 billion (31 December 2012 est.)[25]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.
Historical development of real GDP per capita in Sweden

The economy of Sweden is a highly developed export-oriented economy, aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. These constitute the resource base of an economy oriented toward foreign trade. The main industries include motor vehicles, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, industrial machines, precision equipment, chemical goods, home goods and appliances, forestry, iron, and steel. Traditionally, Sweden relied on a modern agricultural economy that employed over half the domestic workforce. Today Sweden further develops engineering, mine, steel, and pulp industries, which are competitive internationally, as evidenced by companies such as Ericsson, ASEA/ABB, SKF, Alfa Laval, AGA, and Dyno Nobel.[26]

Sweden is a competitive open mixed economy. The vast majority of Swedish enterprises are privately owned and market-oriented. There is also a strong welfare state, with public-sector spending accounting up to three-fifths of GDP.[27][28] In 2014, the percent of national wealth owned by the government was 24%.[29]

Due to Sweden being one of the neutral powers during World War II, it did not have to rebuild its economic base, the banking system, and country as a whole, as did many other European countries. Sweden has achieved a high standard of living under a mixed system of high-tech capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. Sweden has the second highest total tax revenue behind Denmark, as a share of the country's income. As of 2012, the total tax revenue was 44.2% of GDP, down from 48.3% in 2006.[30]

In 2014 the National Institute of Economic research predicted GDP growth of 1.8%, 3.1% and 3.4% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.[31][needs update] A comparison of upcoming economic growth rates of European Union countries revealed that the Baltic states, Poland, and Slovakia are the only countries that are expected to keep comparable or higher growth rates.[32]

  1. ^ "World Economic and Financial Surveys World Economic Outlook Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information April 2024". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund.
  2. ^ "World Bank Country and Lending Groups". datahelpdesk.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "EUROPE :: Sweden". CIA.gov. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "World Economic Outlook database: April 2024". IMF.
  5. ^ "Sweden". The World Factbook. CIA. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  6. ^ "People at risk of poverty or social exclusion". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat.
  7. ^ "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income - EU-SILC survey". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat.
  8. ^ a b "Human Development Index (HDI)". hdr.undp.org. HDRO (Human Development Report Office) United Nations Development Programme.
  9. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index". Transparency International. 30 January 2024. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Labor force, total - Sweden". data.worldbank.org. World Bank & ILO. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Employment rate by sex, age group 20-64". ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Unemployment by sex and age - monthly average". appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  13. ^ "Unemployment rate by age group". data.oecd.org. OECD. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  14. ^ "CIA - the World Factbook -- Rank Order - Exports". Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  15. ^ "Export till våra 30 största handelspartner". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  16. ^ "CIA - the World Factbook -- Rank Order - Imports". Archived from the original on 4 October 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  17. ^ "Import från våra 30 största handelspartner". Retrieved 18 February 2018.
  18. ^ Debt - External "Sweden", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 7 April 2022, retrieved 20 April 2022
  19. ^ a b c d e f "Euro area and EU27 government deficit both at 0.6% of GDP" (PDF). ec.europa.eu/eurostat. Eurostat. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  20. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ "Sovereigns rating list". Standard & Poor's. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  23. ^ a b c Rogers, Simon; Sedghi, Ami (15 April 2011). "How Fitch, Moody's and S&P rate each country's credit rating". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  24. ^ "Scope affirms the Kingdom of Sweden's AAA rating with Stable Outlook". Scope Ratings. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  25. ^ "CIA World Fact book – Sweden". CIA. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  26. ^ Agricultural toward Industrial|Swedish economic history Archived 9 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Ekonomifakta.se (28 September 2012). Retrieved on 29 January 2013.
  27. ^ "How Sweden Created a Model Economy". Sweden.se. 2 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019. Today, Sweden has a diverse and highly competitive and successful economy. The World Economic Forum ranks Sweden among the top ten most competitive countries in the world. Sweden is also one of the easiest countries in the world to do business with, according to the World Bank. A key feature of the Swedish economy is its openness and liberal approach to trade and doing business.
  28. ^ "Sweden - Economy". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 3 October 2019. Most enterprises are privately owned and market-oriented, but when transfer payments—such as pensions, sick pay, and child allowances—are included, roughly three-fifths of gross domestic product (GDP) passes through the public sector. Education, health care, and child care costs are primarily met by taxation. Government involvement in the distribution of national income, however, diminished over the last two decades of the 20th century.
  29. ^ Public Wealth in the US and Nordic Countries
  30. ^ Skattetrycket| Skattetryck| Skatter| Fakta och statistik Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Ekonomifakta.se. Retrieved on 29 January 2013.
  31. ^ "Swedish economy marking time". NIER. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  32. ^ "Taking Europe's Pulse". The Economist. Retrieved 5 May 2014.