Country profile · Northern Europe
Sweden
Sweden has about 10.6 million people (Statistics Sweden, 2026). It joined NATO in March 2024 after more than 200 years outside military alliances. Ulf Kristersson has been caretaker prime minister since the September 2026 election, which the centre-left opposition won narrowly. Sweden builds its own fighter jets and makes almost all its electricity without fossil fuels.
Where Sweden ranks
All rankings →Which alliances is Sweden in?
All alliances →Who runs Sweden?
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson was born in Lund in 1963. He has led the conservative Moderates since 2017 and became prime minister in October 2022. His government of Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals depended on the votes of the Sweden Democrats, a party founded in 1988 by people from neo-Nazi and white-nationalist groups. Under the Tidö Agreement between the four parties, Sweden cut asylum applications to 6,735 in 2025, the lowest since 1996. At the election of September 13, 2026, the four centre-left opposition parties won 176 of 349 seats and Kristersson's side won 173 (chart). Kristersson resigned on September 17 and stays on as caretaker. The opposition parties cannot agree on a government, because the Centre Party refuses one with Left Party ministers. On October 15 the Riksdag voted down the Social Democrat leader, Magdalena Andersson, by 248 votes to 99. If four candidates fail, Sweden must hold a new election. King Carl XVI Gustaf, on the throne since 1973, has no political power.
- Caretaker government: Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals 111
- Sweden Democrats (backed the government, 2022 to 2026) 62
- Social Democrats 99
- Left Party, Centre Party and Greens 77
Photo (June 2023): European Commission / Christophe Licoppe, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
Who are Sweden's allies and rivals?
Sweden stayed out of every war after 1814 and joined no military alliance. Russia's full invasion of Ukraine changed that. Sweden applied to join NATO with Finland on May 18, 2022, and became its 32nd member on March 7, 2024. Every Baltic Sea coast is now NATO territory except Russia's Kaliningrad and the coast around St Petersburg. About 500 Swedish soldiers serve in Latvia, and since June 2026 Sweden has led NATO's land force in Finland. A 2024 agreement gives US forces access to 17 Swedish bases. Sweden spent $16.5 billion on its military in 2025, 2.5% of GDP (SIPRI), and plans to reach 3.5% by 2030. Russia is the main threat. Gotland, Sweden's largest island, lies about 330 km from Kaliningrad. In March 2026 the Swedish coast guard seized the Caffa, a ship carrying grain stolen from occupied Ukraine. Sweden has given Ukraine about SEK 156 billion of aid since 2022, and on June 30, 2026 Ukraine ordered 16 new Gripen fighters from Saab.
Allies and partners
FinlandJoined NATO together; Sweden leads its land force
NorwayLongest border, 1,630 km; top export market with Germany
United StatesAccess to 17 Swedish bases since August 2024
- Gotland Sweden's largest island, about 330 km from Kaliningrad. Its army regiment returned in 2018.
- Kiruna LKAB's mines here and at Gällivare produced 86% of the EU's iron ore in 2025.
- Karlskrona Sweden's main naval base. A Soviet submarine ran aground near it in 1981.
- Ādaži Latvian base where about 500 Swedish soldiers serve with NATO.
- Sweden
- Partner
- Rival
Who does Sweden trade with?
In 2025 Sweden exported SEK 2,038 billion of goods, about $208 billion, and imported SEK 1,981 billion (Statistics Sweden). Germany and Norway are the largest buyers, with 10% each, and Germany supplies 16% of imports (chart). Machinery and vehicles make up 39% of goods exports, from companies such as Volvo, Ericsson and Saab. Exports of goods and services equal about 54% of GDP. LKAB's mines in the far north produced 86% of the EU's iron ore in 2025. Near Kiruna lies Per Geijer, a deposit with about 2.2 million tonnes of rare earth oxides, which the EU named a strategic project in March 2025. Hydropower, nuclear power and wind made almost all of Sweden's electricity in 2024, and a fifth of it was exported. Northvolt, the battery maker, went bankrupt in March 2025, and its new owner, Lyten, expects its first cells in 2027. Since July 24, 2026 the United States has charged a 10% tariff on most EU goods. The economy grew 1.5% in 2025.
Sells to
Share of Sweden's exports
Germany10.0%- Norway10.0%
- United States8.3%
Denmark7.0%- Finland6.6%
Goods, 2025. Statistics Sweden (SCB).
Why did Sweden join NATO?
Sweden's last war was a short campaign against Norway in 1814. In the Cold War it stayed outside NATO but kept a large conscript army and its own arms industry. A government inquiry found in 1994 that Sweden had also secretly prepared to receive Western military help if it was attacked. After the Cold War it cut its army from 155,000 soldiers to 65,000 by 1998, disbanded the Gotland regiment in 2005 and paused conscription in 2010. In 2021 only 29% of Swedes thought joining NATO was a good idea (SOM Institute). Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and eight days later a poll showed a majority in favor for the first time. The Social Democrats, then in government, dropped their opposition on May 15, 2022, and Sweden applied three days later. Turkey ratified in January 2024, after Sweden passed a law against taking part in a terrorist group. Hungary ratified last, on February 26, 2024. Sweden now spends a larger share of GDP on defense than Germany (chart).
Latvia
Estonia
LithuaniaHow bad is gang violence in Sweden?
In a 2021 study of 23 European countries, Brå, Sweden's crime prevention council, found that Sweden had had the highest rate of gun killings since 2018. About eight in ten of these killings happened in criminal circles. Shootings peaked in 2022, with 391 shootings and 62 deaths (police). In September 2023 Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson gave a televised address and asked the armed forces to help the police. Shootings fell to 158 in 2025. In the first nine months of 2026 there were 61 shootings and 13 deaths, the lowest since police records began in 2017. Bombings rose from 136 in 2024 to 189 in 2025, then fell in 2026. Gangs recruit children to carry out killings, because children under 15 could not be prosecuted. Since September 10, 2026, children of 14 can be prosecuted for the most serious crimes. Rawa Majid, the leader of the Foxtrot network, runs his gang from abroad. Turkey refuses to extradite him because he holds Turkish citizenship.