Economy of Sweden

Sweden has a strong economy and sells many goods and services to other countries. Important resources include timber, hydropower, and iron ore. Key industries in Sweden include making motor vehicles, telecommunications equipment, pharmaceuticals, and many other products like home goods and appliances.

Historical development of real GDP per capita in Sweden

Traditionally, Sweden had a strong agricultural economy, but today it is known for engineering, steel, and pulp industries. Big companies such as Ericsson, ASEA/ABB, and SKF show how competitive Sweden is.

Sweden is a mixed economy where most businesses are privately owned but the government helps in many ways. The government provides services and supports its citizens through a strong welfare state. Even though taxes are high, Sweden has a very good standard of living because of its balance between technology and benefits for people.

History

Main article: Economic history of Sweden

In the 1800s, Sweden changed from a country where most people worked on farms to one that started building factories and cities. Many people were poor, so some moved to places like the United States to find better lives. During this time, Sweden made changes to its money and banking systems. By the 1930s, Sweden had a high standard of living, meaning people had a good quality of life. Sweden stayed out of both World Wars, which helped it grow because other countries needed its resources.

In the 1990s, Sweden faced a big economic problem. Money was lost in real estate and banking, and many people lost their jobs. The government helped fix the economy. After that, Sweden made changes to stay strong in the world economy.

Year	GDP (in bn. US$PPP)	GDP per capita (in US$ PPP)	GDP (in bn. US$nominal)	GDP per capita (in US$ nominal)	GDP growth (real)	Inflation rate (in percent)	Unemployment (in percent)	Government debt (in % of GDP)
1980	87.6	10,531.9	140.4	16,877.2	4.6%	17.5%	2.7%	n/a
1981	100.2	12,044.3	128.1	15,396.7	4.5%	12.1%	3.4%	n/a
1982	107.9	12,960.2	113.1	13,576.6	1.4%	8.6%	4.3%	n/a
1983	114.5	13,739.8	103.9	12,470.9	2.1%	8.9%	4.8%	n/a
1984	123.7	14,833.2	108.3	12,976.1	4.3%	8.0%	4.2%	n/a
1985	130.6	15,629.1	113.2	13,549.5	2.3%	7.4%	3.9%	n/a
1986	137.2	16,371.7	149.6	17,852.7	3.0%	4.2%	3.6%	n/a
1987	145.3	17,263.6	182.0	21,629.3	3.3%	4.2%	2.9%	n/a
1988	154.1	18,216.4	205.9	24,339.3	2.5%	5.8%	2.4%	n/a
1989	164.4	19,278.6	216.7	25,412.2	2.7%	6.4%	2.0%	n/a
1990	171.8	20,001.0	259.9	30,253.9	0.8%	10.5%	2.2%	n/a
1991	175.7	20,322.8	272.2	31,490.2	-1.1%	8.8%	4.0%	n/a
1992	178.0	20,478.1	283.2	32,584.9	-0.9%	1.4%	7.1%	n/a
1993	178.9	20,455.1	213.0	24,351.1	-1.8%	4.7%	11.2%	65.7%
1994	189.9	21,537.6	229.0	25,978.3	3.9%	2.9%	10.8%	68.2%
1995	201.5	22,799.9	267.3	30,246.9	3.9%	2.5%	10.4%	68.3%
1996	208.4	23,565.4	291.7	32,986.1	1.6%	1.0%	10.9%	68.7%
1997	218.5	24,699.1	268.1	30,307.2	3.1%	1.8%	10.9%	67.4%
1998	230.5	26,034.3	270.8	30,585.1	4.3%	1.0%	8.8%	65.1%
1999	243.7	27,500.4	274.1	30,928.6	4.2%	0.6%	7.6%	60.1%
2000	261.1	29,393.1	262.8	29,589.1	4.8%	1.3%	6.3%	50.2%
2001	270.8	30,400.8	242.4	27,207.5	1.4%	2.7%	5.8%	51.8%
2002	281.1	31,441.2	266.8	29,846.2	2.2%	1.9%	6.0%	49.8%
2003	293.3	32,674.8	334.3	37,249.3	2.3%	2.3%	6.6%	49.3%
2004	314.2	34,868.2	385.1	42,736.9	4.3%	1.0%	7.4%	48.5%
2005	333.3	36,841.1	392.2	43,349.9	2.9%	0.8%	7.8%	48.8%
2006	359.6	39,463.0	423.1	46,425.8	4.7%	1.5%	7.2%	43.7%
2007	382.1	41,605.3	491.3	53,496.5	3.4%	1.7%	6.3%	39.0%
2008	387.6	41,877.3	517.7	55,929.9	-0.5%	3.3%	6.4%	37.5%
2009	373.2	39,952.7	436.5	46,734.9	-4.3%	1.9%	8.5%	40.7%
2010	400.2	42,498.8	495.8	52,658.8	6.0%	1.9%	8.8%	38.1%
2011	421.5	44,450.3	574.1	60,540.2	3.2%	1.4%	8.0%	37.1%
2012	432.5	45,258.8	552.5	57,816.0	-0.6%	0.9%	8.2%	37.5%
2013	444.6	46,098.8	586.8	60,845.0	1.2%	0.4%	8.2%	40.2%
2014	457.5	46,936.6	582.0	59,704.8	2.7%	0.2%	8.1%	44.9%
2015	481.3	48,857.9	505.1	51,274.3	4.5%	0.7%	7.6%	43.7%
2016	500.4	50,061.6	515.7	51,590.5	2.1%	1.1%	7.2%	42.3%
2017	530.4	52,413.1	541.0	53,459.1	2.6%	1.9%	6.9%	40.7%
2018	553.7	54,123.6	555.5	54,295.7	2.0%	2.0%	6.5%	38.9%
2019	574.8	55,656.2	533.9	51,694.5	2.0%	1.7%	7.0%	34.9%
2020	569.1	54,830.0	547.1	52,706.3	-2.2%	0.7%	8.5%	39.2%
2021	622.8	59,587.3	635.7	60,815.5	5.1%	2.7%	8.8%	36.8%
2022	684.5	63,877.4	603.9	56,361.4	2.6%	7.2%	7.6%	33.5%
2023	707.9	65,459.2	654.0	60,473.0	-0.1%	8.4%	7.4%	31.2%
2024	738.2	67,666.3	693.2	63,533.9	2.1%	3.5%	7.3%	28.8%
2025	769.4	69,935.3	732.6	66,594.4	2.3%	2.3%	7.2%	26.9%
2026	799.2	72,080.3	769.9	69,435.1	1.9%	2.0%	7.2%	25.5%
2027	830.7	74,376.1	808.7	72,405.1	2.0%	2.0%	7.2%	24.2%

Contemporary economy

Sweden has a mixed economy. It sells goods and services to other countries. Sweden has many resources like timber, hydropower, and iron ore. These help its industries.

Major industries include making cars, telecommunications devices, medicines, and machines.

Many people in Sweden work and many go to college or university. Sweden does well in making and selling things. The country uses its own money, called the Swedish krona. It also has its own bank to help keep the economy stable.

Economic and monetary union

Main article: Sweden and the euro

Sweden's economy got stronger after a difficult time in the early 1990s. Because of this, Sweden could have joined a special group in Europe that uses the same money, called the euro.

However, the government decided not to use the euro when it started in 1999. They found a way to stay out without breaking any rules.

In 2003, Sweden asked its people to vote on whether to use the euro. Most people, about 56%, decided not to change to the euro. Today, there are no plans to ask people again soon.

Unemployment

Sweden had very low unemployment in the 1980s, with rates around 2% or 3%. But things changed during a big economic problem in the early 1990s, when unemployment rose above 8%. By 2000, the government aimed to lower unemployment to 4%, and they succeeded that year.

Even so, by August 2006, about 5% of working-age Swedes were still unemployed. In June 2013, official numbers showed 9.1% unemployment overall, and about 29% for young people aged 15 to 25.

Trade unions

In Sweden, about seventy percent of workers belong to trade unions. These unions work with groups that represent employers. They work separately from the government and political parties.

One big union group is called the National Swedish Confederation of Trade Unions. It has strong ties to the Social Democrats, one of Sweden's main political parties.

Union membership is high among both regular workers and professional workers. In 2023, most professional workers were in unions. There are special union groups for professional workers, and they do not support any political parties or candidates in elections.

Sweden does not have laws that set a minimum wage. Instead, wages are decided through talks between unions and employers. Almost all workers have these talks, even though the government does not force them to happen for every industry. This shows how much the unions and employers handle things themselves instead of the government getting involved.

Labour force

In Sweden, wages have changed a little over time. Workers without special skills still earn good money, but those with education often earn less than in some other countries. Recently, wages have gone up faster than usual because prices have not changed much. In the year 2000, about 4.4 million people were working in Sweden.

Ongoing and finished privatisations

The Swedish government plans to sell some companies it owns. The money will help pay off debts and make things easier for future generations.

Ongoing privatisations

Telia Sonera – telecom. The government used to own part of the company but has sold some shares.
SAS Group – airline. The government owned part of the airline and sold some shares. The Minister of Enterprise, Mikael Damberg, said the government shouldn’t own an airline for a long time.

Completed privatisations

OMX – stock exchange. Sold to Borse Dubai.
Vin & Sprit. Sold to Pernod Ricard.
Vasakronan. Sold to AP Fastigheter.
Nordea – bank. The government sold all its shares.