Sweden flag Sweden: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Sweden

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
King: CARL XVI GUSTAF (since September 1973) – hereditary
Prime Minister: Ulf KRISTERSSON (since 18 October 2022) - Moderate Party
Next Election Dates
Parliamentary: September 2026
Current Political Context
The latest general elections were held in Sweden on 11 September 2022. The Social Democratic Party received the most votes (30.3%), although the right-wing, anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats was the main winner of the elections, expanding its vote share from 5.7% in 2010 to 20.5%, becoming the second-largest party, just ahead of the liberal-conservative Moderate Party (19.1%). Despite her party receiving the most votes, Magdalena Andersson, the leader of the Social Democrats, decided to step down as prime minister. Following this decision, the parliament appointed the leader of the Moderate Party Ulf Kristersson as the new prime minister. Kristersson leads a right-wing government with the support of Christian Democrats, the Liberals and the far-right Sweden Democrats. Following the retirement of Foreign Minister Tobias Billström and the appointment of Jessika Roswall as European Commissioner, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reorganized the government in September 2024. Roswall was replaced as Minister of EU Affairs and Nordic Cooperation by Jessica Rosencrantz. Billström was replaced as Foreign Minister by Maria Malmer Stenergard. Johan Pehrson and Mats Persson also switched places as ministers of employment and education.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden abandoned its tradition of neutrality and applied to become a member of NATO, although there were tensions with Turkey over Sweden’s protection of Kurdish refugees. Finally, at the end of 2023, the Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee sent the request to the National Assembly for final approval. After another stall due to Hungary’s opposition, on 7 March 2024, Sweden finally became a full member of NATO.
Main Political Parties

A party must gain 4% of the national vote or 12% of a constituency vote to enter the single-chamber parliament. Coalitions and minority governments are widespread. Social Democratic Party and Moderate Party are the largest parties in the parliament.

  • Social Democratic Party (SAP): centre-left, oldest and largest political party in Sweden; supports social democracy; its electoral base is among blue collar workers.
  • Moderate Party (M): centre-right; liberal-conservatism.
  • Sweden Democrats (SD): right-wing; anti-immigration; advocates social conservatism.
  • Centre Party (C): centre-right; ideology described as "eco-humanism,”; focuses on agricultural, environmental, and rural issues.
  • Left Party (V): left-wing; socialist and feminist.
  • Christian Democratis (KD): centre-right; looks to improve care of the elderly and family values; seeks to decrease corporate regulation and lowering taxes.
  • Liberals (L): centre-right; pushes for free market economy; supports the Eurozone, yet more recently has focused on gender equality issues and improving education.
  • Green Party: centre-left, based on green ideology.
Executive Power
Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a hereditary monarch who serves as Head of State in a purely ceremonial role, with no political power. The Prime Minister, who holds executive authority as head of government, is nominated by the Speaker of the Riksdag after consulting party leaders and must be approved by Parliament. While the Prime Minister selects the Council of Ministers, there is no formal requirement for Parliament to approve individual ministers, though the government must maintain the confidence of the Riksdag. General elections determine the composition of Parliament, and the Prime Minister's term typically lasts four years, provided they retain parliamentary support.
Legislative Power
The Swedish legislative power is unicameral, vested in the Riksdag, a 349-seat Parliament whose members are elected every four years by universal suffrage through proportional representation. The government depends on the Riksdag's confidence, which can be expressed through votes of confidence. The Prime Minister has the authority to dissolve Parliament, even after a vote of no confidence, unless elections occurred within the past three months. Legislative power is shared between the government and Parliament, and Swedish citizens enjoy extensive political rights.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
3/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
1/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025