Sweden

Sweden

The light green area is the rest of the European Union

Sweden was the 22nd largest economy in the world by nominal GDP in 2018. Its GDP per capita was $54,112 USD, which is above the average for the OECD and High Income countries. Sweden is an open and dynamic market economy underpinned by high taxation and welfare. It was ranked 8th in the World Bank's Human Capital Index and 5th in the Economic Complexity Index in 2017. It is a member of the OECD and EU. It is not a member of the euro area. Services was the largest economic sector in 2018 (64.7 percent of GDP), followed by manufacturing (13.8 percent), and agriculture (1.04 percent). In 2017, the largest export sectors were services (32.2 percent), machinery (12.96 percent), agriculture (11.16 percent), vehicles (9.77 percent), and chemicals (9.22 percent). The largest individual exports were ICT services (19.18 percent), travel and tourism (6.19 percent), transport services (4.8 percent), cars (3.78 percent), and refined petroleum (3.35 percent). Its largest export partners were Germany (10.44 percent), Norway (9.9 percent), Finland (6.76 percent), Denmark (6.76 percent), and the US (6.58 percent). The largest goods imports were cars (5.9 percent), crude oil (4.8 percent), refined oil (3.82 percent), and parts of motor vehicles (3.61 percent). Sweden enjoyed strong productivity and economic growth between 1870 and 1970. It transformed itself from an agrarian to an industrial nation. This can be explained by a number of factors including the export of timber and ore to industrial Britain at the turn of the 19th century, its neutrality during both World Wars, and institutional reforms in the late 1800s. It has also benefitted from cheap electricity (hydropower) and its export orientation. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the economy struggled. Public debt was too high, and regulations had eroded the international competitiveness of Swedish firms. The government responded with fiscal discipline, a flexible exchange rate, and microeconomic reforms. The microeconomic reforms led to productivity gains, particularly in manufacturing, services, and export orientated industries. Key microeconomic reforms included deregulation of: banking and finance, power generation and distribution, telecommunications, and rail freight. The global financial crisis led to a recession but Sweden recovered quickly through the depreciation of the Krona and fiscal and monetary and fiscal stimulus. Sweden has also become a leader in start-ups and the new economy with Spotify its most famous example.

Its population in 2018 was 9,982,709 [1]

In 2015, 53.25% of its total energy
consumption was renewable [2]

In 2021, its GDP grew by 4.80% [2]

In 2021 it had a positive Current
Account Balance of US$bn 34.59 [3]

Its unemployment rate in 2021 was 8.80% [3]

Its Expenditure on R&D (as a percentage of
GDP) in 2020 was 3.53% [2]

A Big Mac will set you back the
local equivalent of US$5.84 [4]



What free trade areas or economic unions is it a member of?

Member of the European Union (EU) since 01/01/1995

Other members:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain


What trade deals are there between European Union and other countries and economic unions?

EU - Andorra Customs Union (from 01/01/1991)

European Single Market (SM) (from 01/01/1993)

EU - Sri-Lanka Co-operation and Partnership Agreement (from 01/04/1995)

EU - Türkiye Customs Union (from 31/12/1995)

EU - Faroe Islands Agreement (from 01/01/1997)

EU - Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement (from 01/07/1997)

EU - Tunisia Association Agreement (from 01/03/1998)

EU - Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (from 09/09/1999)

EU - Morocco Association Agreement (from 01/03/2000)

EU - Israel Association Agreement (from 01/06/2000)

EU - Mexico Global Agreement (from 01/10/2000)

EU - San Marino Customs Union (from 01/04/2002)

EU - Jordan Association Agreement (from 01/05/2002)

EU - North Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2004)

EU - Pakistan Co-operation agreement (from 29/04/2004)

EU - Egypt Association Agreement (from 01/06/2004)

EU - Chile Association Agreement and Additional Protocol (from 01/03/2005)

EU - Algeria Association Agreement (from 01/09/2005)

EU - Lebanon Association Agreement (from 01/04/2006)

EU - Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2009)

EU - Pacific States Interim EPA (from 20/12/2009)

EU - Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/05/2010)

EU - Central America Association Agreement (from 01/08/2013)

EU - Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/09/2013)

EU - Bosnia and Herzegovina Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/06/2015)

EU - South Korea Free Trade Agreement (from 01/07/2015)

EU - Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2016)

EU - Georgia Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Moldova Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (from 21/09/2017)

EU - Eswatini (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Lesotho (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Mozambique (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Namibia (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Botswana (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (from 01/02/2019)

EU - Eastern and Southern Africa States free trade agreement (from 07/02/2019)

UK - EU Trade Deal (from 01/01/2021)


What trade deals are there with other countries and economic unions?

None

Reitan Convenience: Value-Based Leadership to Drive Sustainability Effort

With a 125-year history of convenience retailing, Reitan Convenience has an established and enviable position in the convenience market. With branches across seven countries in the Nordics and Baltics —

CEO of Reitan Convenience AS: Johannes Sangnes

Johannes Sangnes is a Norwegian businessman with broad international experience from the convenience industry, having successfully led Reitan Convenience in Norway, Sweden and Finland. As CEO of Reitan Convenience AS
Read more

Jerome Powell, Chair of the Federal Reserve: The End of Easy Money

It had to happen and it just did. The untold joys of expansive monetary policy as the engine of growth in lean times are, of course, always of a temporary

Border Trouble

Post-Brexit, the UK will remain part of the EU customs union and quite possibly of its single market as well. That is the gist of the tentative agreement reached on
Read more

Jean-Claude Juncker

Dismissed and ridiculed as a failed small-town administrator with a penchant for fine wines and cognacs, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker represents to some all that is wrong with the

CFI.co Meets the Head of Responsible Investments at Nordea Asset Management: Sasja Beslik

Sasja Beslik, head of Responsible Investments at Nordea Asset Management, spends a fair chunk of his time on the road visiting projects around the globe to evaluate environmental and social
Read more

What Does Carbon Pricing Success Look Like? Ask These Leaders

British Columbia, Sweden, California and China have been pioneering carbon pricing systems to lower emissions and help shift their economies onto cleaner, greener trajectories. Currently, nearly 40 countries and more

Trade with the United Kingdom

Source: UK Office for National Statistics, October 2022.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

CFI