Sweden: A Rare Earth Discovery
According to Sweden’s state-owned mining company LKAB, more than one million tons of rare earth oxides—the largest deposit of its kind in Europe—was discovered near Kiruna, about 1,000 kilometers north of Stockholm.
Sweden GDP and Economic Data
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Sweden economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Sweden best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 58.26 billion (2020)
World Bank, last updated 12/16/2021
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 622.37 billion (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
USD 609.48 billion (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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Real GDP growth
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* |
| 2.6% | 2% | 2% | –2.8% | 4% |
*Estimate
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GDP per capita - current prices
USD 58,639.19 (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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GDP per capita - PPP
USD 57,425.00 (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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GDP (PPP) - share of world total
0.42% (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 1.4%
- industry: 21.1%
- services: 66.1%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
3.4% (2019)
OECD, retrieved January 2022
Inflation
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* |
| 1.9% | 2% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 2% |
*Estimate
Source
Unemployment rate
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* |
| 6.7% | 6.3% | 6.8% | 8.3% | 8.9% |
*Estimate
Source
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* |
| 40.7% | 38.9% | 34.9% | 37.3% | 39.6% |
*Estimate
Source
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | 2021* |
| 1.4% | 0.8% | 0.4% | –3.2% | –2.8% |
*Estimate
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Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: AAA
Moody's: aaa
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (January 2022)
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Largest companies
Volvo Group, Investor AB, Ericsson, SEB AB, Svenska Handelsbanken, Swedbank, Atlas Copco, Essity Ab, Sandvik, Assa Abloy, H&M - Hennes & Mauritz, Skanska, Industrivarden, Kinnevik, Telia, Hexagon, Epiroc, Fastighets Balder, ICA Gruppen, SKF Group, Boliden, Latour Ab Investment, Electrolux Group, Lundbergs, AB Sagax, Evolution Gaming Group AB, EQT AB, Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget I Norden, Swedish Match, Tele2, Alfa Laval, Heimstaden AB Pref. Shs
Forbes Global 2000 (2021)
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Current account balance
USD 29.9 billion (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
4.8% (2021 estimate)
IMF - World Economic Outlook, October 2021
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Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
44.6% (2020)
World Bank - World Development Indicators (updated Feb 2022)
Shares in world total merchandising export
0.88% (2020)
Shares in world total commercial services export
1.3% (2020)
Export commodities
Cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, lumber (2019)
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Import commodities
Cars and vehicle parts, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers (2019)
Exports - major partners
Germany 10%, Norway 9%, United States 8%, Denmark 7%, Finland 6%, United Kingdom 5%, Netherlands 5%, China 5% (2019)
Imports - major partners
Germany 18%, Netherlands 9%, Denmark 7%, Norway 7%, China 6%, Finland 5%, Belgium 5%, Poland 5% (2019)
FDI inflows
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| USD 4.2 billion | USD 10.1 billion | USD 26.1 billion |
FDI outflows
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| USD 17.8 billion | USD 15.5 billion | USD 31 billion |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| USD –941 million | USD 7.4 billion | USD to 21.1 million | USD 24.3 billion |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 10 out of 190 countries (2020)
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 39 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 31 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 10 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 9 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 80 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 28 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 31 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 18 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 39 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 17 out of 190 countries
World Bank - Doing Business 2020
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Global competitiveness ranking
5 out of 141 (2019)
World Economic Forum / Global competitiveness ranking
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 11 / Score: 77.9 (Mostly Free)
The Heritage Foundation - 2022 Index of Economic Freedom
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Languages
Swedish (official)
Note: Finnish, Sami, Romani, Yiddish, and Meankieli are official minority languages
Religions
Church of Sweden (Lutheran) 57.6%, other (includes Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish, and Buddhist) 8.9%, none or unspecified 33.5% (2019 est.)
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 |
| 8.56 million | 8.87 million | 9.38 million | 9.8 million | 10.35 million |
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
| 73% | 83% | 84% | 88% |
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
29.3 (last available estimate, 2019)
Source
Freedom House rating
Total score: 100/100
Status: Free
Political Rights: 40/40
Civil Liberties: 60/60 (2022)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 14.6%
Mobile: 126.7% (2020) (fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)