This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee (EDRC) 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 5 December 2016. The draft report was then revised in the light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 5 January 2017.

The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Christophe André and Jon Pareliussen, with contributions from Hugo Bourrousse and Per Olof Robling, under the supervision of Vincent Koen. Research assistance was provided by Thomas Chalaux and Hyunjeong Hwang. Secretarial assistance was provided by Mercedes Burgos and Sisse Nielsen.

The previous Survey of Sweden was issued in March 2015.

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

  
Basic statistics of Sweden, 2015
(Numbers in parentheses refer to the OECD)

LAND AND PEOPLE

Population (millions)

9.8

(1 283.0)

Population density per km²

21.9

(35.4)

Under 15 (%)

17.3

(18.1)

Life expectancy (years, 2014)

81.9

(80.1)

Over 65 (%)

19.9

(16.2)

Men

80.2

(77.5)

Foreign-born (%)

16.4

(11.1)

Women

83.8

(82.8)

Latest 5-year average growth (%)

0.9

(0.6)

Latest general election

14th September 2014

ECONOMY

Gross domestic product

 

 

Value added shares (%, 2014)

 

 

In current prices (billion USD)

492.6

(45 865.0)

Primary

1.4

(1.6)

Latest 5-year average growth (%)

2.0

(1.6)

Industry including construction

26.0

(24.2)

Per capita (thousand USD PPP)

46.4

(39.7)

Services

72.6

(74.1)

GENERAL GOVERNMENT

Expenditure (% of GDP)

50.3

(41.9)

General government gross debt (% of GDP, 2014)

45.2

(115.9)

Revenue (% of GDP)

50.5

(39.0)

General government net debt (% of GDP, 2014)

-28.5

(76.1)

EXTERNAL ACCOUNTS

Exchange rate (SEK per USD)

8.44

 

Main exports (% of total merchandise exports)

 

 

PPP exchange rate (USA = 1)

9.13

 

Road vehicles

11.1

In per cent of GDP

 

 

General industrial machines

6.5

 

Exports of goods and services

45.6

(24.9)

Paper, paperboard

6.3

Imports of goods and services

40.8

(24.7)

Main imports (% of total merchandise imports)

 

 

Current account balance

5.2

(0.1)

Road vehicles

11.0

Net international transfers

-1.8

(-0.7)

Petroleum, petroleum products

8.8

 

Balance of income

2.3

(0.5)

Telecommunication, sound equipment

6.3

 

LABOUR MARKET, SKILLS AND INNOVATION

Employment rate for 15-64 year-olds (%)

75.5

(66.3)

Unemployment rate, Labour Force Survey (15-64 year-olds) (%)

7.6

(7.0)

Men

77.0

(74.2)

Youth (age 15-24) (%)

20.3

(14.0)

Women

74.0

(58.6)

Long-term unemployed (1 year and over) (% of unemployed)

0.2

(34.1)

Participation rate for 15-64 year-olds (%)

81.7

(71.3)

Tertiary educational attainment 25+ year-olds (%)

40.0

(35.0)

Average hours worked per year

1 612

(1 766)

Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP, 2014)

3.2

(2.4)

ENVIRONMENT

Total primary energy supply per capita (toe)

5.1

(4.1)

CO2 emissions from fuel combustion per capita (tonnes, 2013)

3.8

(9.4)

Renewables (% of TPES)

46.9

(9.6)

Water abstractions per capita (m3 per capita, 2010)

287.0

Fine particulate matter concentration (PM2.5, μg/m3)

6.1

(14.9)

Municipal waste per capita (tonnes, 2012)

438.0

(516.0)

SOCIETY

Income inequality (Gini coefficient, 2013)

0.281

(0.311)

Education outcomes (PISA score)

 

 

Relative poverty rate (2013)

8.9

(11.1)

Reading

500

(493)

Share of women in parliament

45.0

(27.1)

Mathematics

494

(490)

Net official devolpment aid (% of GNI)

1.4

(0.4)

Science

493

(493)

Source: Calculations based on data extracted from the databases of the following organisations: National Bureau of Statistics, OECD, International Energy Agency, World Bank and International Monetary Fund.