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Sweden

Monthly Updates

January 2023 | Far-right politician burns Quran

Rasmus Paludan, leader of the Danish far-right Stram Kurs (Hard Line) party, burned a copy of the Quran at a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm. Paludan is a citizen of both Sweden and Denmark. The Swedish Security Service has warned that Sweden may be vulnerable to increased security threats in response to the Quran burning. Paludan had earlier organized Quran-burning provocations in 2022, sparking riots, as well as protests by the Swedish Muslim community.

November 2022 | Controversial espionage law passed in parliament

A new espionage law, which creates offences of “foreign espionage,” “aggravated foreign espionage” and “disclosing secret information in international cooperation,” has passed with a large majority in Sweden’s Parliament. The law will require changes in Sweden’s press and freedom of expression legislation. Disclosing secret information in specific situations related to Sweden’s international cooperation that could harm the country’s relationship with international organizations or other countries, could be a punishable crime. Jessica Wetterling, a Left Party Member of Parliament, argued that the new law will lead to uncertainty, self-censorship and will impact whistleblowing. 

October 2022 | Sweden parliament elects new PM

Following the results of the 2022 parliamentary election, Sweden’s parliament has elected Moderate Party’s Ulf Kristersson as Prime Minister. Although Kristersson’s party came in as the third largest vote winner in the election, his government – consisting of three centre-right coalition members – was formed with the agreement and support of the Sweden Democrats, a far-right anti-immigration party that came second in the election. The right-wing block will have 176 seats in Parliament, as opposed to the 173 seats of the left-wing.

September 2022 | Right wing block secures more seats in Swedish parliamentary election

Although the Social Democrats won the largest share of votes (30.3 per cent) in the Swedish parliamentary election of 11 September, the party and its allies did not secure enough votes to form a government, opening the door to a right-wing coalition government. The Sweden Democrats, considered a far-right party, went from a 5.7 per cent vote share in 2010 to 20.5 per cent vote share in 2022, becoming the second largest party in Sweden. This has moved the centre-right Moderates from the second to the third largest party in Sweden, as they received 19.1 per cent of the votes. As a result, the right-wing block will have 176 seats in parliament, as opposed to the 173 seats of the left-wing block. This has been considered a victory of the far-right movement in Sweden, as the Sweden Democrats have been regarded a populist and conservative party that mainly promotes a far-right anti-immigrant rhetoric. The voter turnout was 84.2 per cent.

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GSoD Indices Data 2012-2021

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
10 415 810
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (since 2022)
Head of government party
Moderate Party (M)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
46.4%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
5.79
Head of state
King Carl XVI Gustaf
Selection process for head of state
Hereditary or election by hereditary state rulers
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
27/01/2020
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
71.33%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
No Action
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
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Attributes Over Time

Representative government neutral Representative Government
Dec 2022
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2023
Representative government neutral Fundamental rights
Dec 2022
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2023
Representative government neutral Checks on government
Dec 2022
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2023
Representative government neutral Impartial administration
Dec 2022
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2023
Representative government neutral Participatory engagement
Dec 2022
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May 2023

GSoD Indices

Regime type
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