OECD Economic Surveys: Sweden 2021

Abstract

This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.

The economic situation and policies of Sweden were reviewed by the Committee on 10 May 2021. The draft report was then revised in light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 10 June 2021.

The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Christophe André, Jinwoan Beom and Mathilde Pak, under the supervision of Vincent Koen. Research assistance was provided by Natia Mosiashvili and Axel Purwin, and editorial support by Sisse Nielsen.

The previous Survey of Sweden was issued in March 2019.

Information about the latest as well as previous Surveys and more details about how Surveys are prepared is available at www.oecd.org/eco/surveys

Basic statistics of Sweden, 2019

(Numbers in parentheses refer to the OECD average)1

LAND, PEOPLE AND ELECTORAL CYCLE
Population (million)	10.3		Population density per km² (2018)	25.0	(38.1)
Under 15 (%)	17.6	(17.9)	Life expectancy at birth (years, 2018)	82.6	(80.1)
Over 65 (%)	20.2	(17.1)	Men (2018)	80.9	(77.5)
International migrant stock (% of population)	20.0	(13.3)	Women (2018)	84.3	(82.8)
Latest 5-year average growth (%)	1.2	(0.6)	Latest general election	September 2018
ECONOMY
Gross domestic product (GDP)			Value added shares (%)
In current prices (billion USD)	532.0		Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1.6	(2.6)
In current prices (billion SEK)	5 028.7		Industry including construction	25.0	(26.8)
Latest 5-year average real growth (%)	2.5	(2.2)	Services	73.4	(70.6)
Per capita (000 USD PPP)	55.1	(48.3)
GENERAL GOVERNMENT (Per cent of GDP)
Expenditure	49.3	(40.6)	Gross financial debt (OECD: 2018)	46.5	(107.6)
Revenue	49.9	(37.5)	Net financial debt (OECD: 2018)	-37.7	(67.8)
EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS
Exchange rate (SEK per USD)	9.45		Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)
PPP exchange rate (USA = 1)	8.88		Machinery and transport equipment	38.8
In per cent of GDP			Manufactured goods	16.7
Exports of goods and services	47.7	(54.2)	Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	12.8
Imports of goods and services	43.6	(50.6)	Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)
Current account balance	5.1	(0.3)	Machinery and transport equipment	37.1
Net international investment position	18.5		Manufactured goods	12.6
			Miscellaneous manufactured articles	11.6
LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION
Employment rate (aged 15-64, %)	77.1	(68.8)	Unemployment rate, Labour Force Survey (aged 15 and over, %)	6.8	(5.4)
Men	78.8	(76.3)	Youth (aged 15-24, %)	20.1	(11.7)
Women	75.4	(61.4)	Long-term unemployed (1 year and over, %)	0.7	(1.4)
Participation rate (aged 15-64, %)	82.9	(72.8)	Tertiary educational attainment (aged 25-64, %)	44.0	(38)
Average hours worked per year	1,452	(1,726)	Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP, 2018)	3.3	(2.6)
ENVIRONMENT
Total primary energy supply per capita (toe)	4.6	(3.9)	CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes)	3.2	(8.3)
Renewables (%)	40.8	(10.8)	Water abstractions per capita (1 000 m³, 2015)	0.2
Exposure to air pollution (more than 10 g/m³ of PM2.5, % of population)	1.6	(61.7)	Municipal waste per capita (tonnes)	0.5	(0.5)
SOCIETY
Income inequality (Gini coefficient, 2018, OECD: 2016)	0.275	(0.31)	Education outcomes (PISA score, 2018)
Relative poverty rate (%, 2018, OECD: 2016)	8.9	(11.4)	Reading	506	(487)
Median disposable household income (000 USD PPP, 2018, OECD: 2016)	31.7	(24.4)	Mathematics	502	(489)
Public and private spending (% of GDP)			Science	499	(489)
Health care	10.9	(8.8)	Share of women in parliament (%)	47.3	(30.7)
Pensions (2017)	9.4	(8.6)	Net official development assistance (% of GNI, 2017)	1.0	(0.4)
Education (% of GNI, 2018)	7.3	(4.5)

Note: The year is indicated in parenthesis if it deviates from the year in the main title of this table.

1. Where the OECD aggregate is not provided in the source database, a simple OECD average of latest available data is calculated where data exist for at least 80% of member countries.

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from databases of the following organisations: OECD, International Energy Agency, International Labour Organisation, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank.