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Sweden

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

May 2024

Parliament approves amendments criminalising genocide denial

On 22 May, Parliament passed amendments to the Criminal Code as well as to the Freedom of the Press Ordinance, part of Sweden’s Constitution, clarifying provisions on incitement against ethnic groups. The amendments explicitly criminalise the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. The Criminal Code previously criminalised incitement, threats or disrespect against a group of people based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity, and included a maximum penalty of two years in prison (maximum of four years for serious crimes in cases of particularly threatening or offensive content or distribution to a large number of people). The amendments clarify that these provisions apply to incitement to violence to reduce ambiguity in the application of the law. The provisions further extend protections to individuals belonging to protected groups, and provide the right to damages and status as injured parties. The amendments to the Criminal Code will enter into force on 1 July 2024. The constitutional amendments can only apply from 1 January 2027 after the next parliamentary elections, according to the Constitution.

Sources: SVD, Riksdagen (1), Riksdagen (2), Riksdagen (3), Riksdagen (4), Civil Rights Defenders 

April 2024

Controversial Police Act amendment allows the creation of ‘Security Zones’

On 10 April, Parliament approved an amendment to the Police Act, allowing the police to create so-called “Security zones.”  The security zones are temporary, geographically limited areas in which the police are allowed to conduct a body search or search a vehicle without concrete suspicion of crime. The decision to search a person or vehicle could instead be based on certain risk profiles, such as wearing clothing brands that are associated with gangs. The law's purpose is to make it easier for the police to find weapons or explosives and to combat rising gang violence. The law has been heavily criticized including by the Equality Ombudsman (DO) and the Swedish Institute for Human Rights, which each expressed strong concerns that the law can lead to ethnic profiling, that it is too extensive in terms of the power it gives the police, and that there is a risk of arbitrary use. The law entered into force on 25 April. 

Sources: The Equality Ombudsman, Institute for Human Rights, the Swedish Government, Svt Nyheter (1), Svt Nyheter (2), the Police Act 

Masked men attack anti-fascist meeting

A public meeting organized by the Left Party (V) and the Green Party (MP) was attacked by three masked men on 24 April. The meeting was about the growth of fascism and featured speakers from the anti-racist foundation, Expo as well as the Swedish journalist and activist, Mathias Wåg. The attackers deployed a smoke bomb and physically assaulted speakers and attendees. The Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, as well as leaders of the other major political parties, expressed their concern about such an attack on a political meeting. The attack comes as part of a longer trend of increased political violence, with a notable example being the murder that occurred during Almedalen Political Week in 2022.  

Sources: SVT, Reuters (1), Swedish Radio, Swedish Security Service, Euractiv, Reuters (2), Government Offices of Sweden 

Parliament approves legislation facilitating legal gender changes

On 17 April, Parliament passed a new law making it easier for people to change their legally recognized gender in Sweden’s population register. The law was introduced by the Health and Welfare parliamentary committee and passed with 234 votes in favour and 94 against. The legislation ensures that changing legal gender no longer requires a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria but means a shorter consultation with a doctor is sufficient. Additionally, the age limit for legal gender changes was lowered from 18 years to 16 years with a guardian’s approval. Proponents, such as the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights (Riksförbundet för homosexuellas, bisexuellas, transpersoners, queeras och intersexpersoners rättigheter - RFSL), say the law can contribute to improved personal safety for transgender people. The law will enter into force in July 2025.  

Sources: Sveriges Riksdag, RFSL, The Local (1), The Local (2), Svenska Dagbladet 

March 2024

Sweden officially joins NATO

On 7 March, Sweden officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the 32nd member of the alliance. Sweden applied for membership in NATO on 18 May 2022, at the same time as Finland, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s accession was drawn out by delayed ratification by existing members, Türkiye and Hungary, who respectively approved Sweden’s membership in January and February 2024. On entering NATO, Sweden leaves behind 200 years of military non-alignment. A long history of close cooperation with NATO and the changing security situation in Europe have led to broad political support for joining NATO, with 269 out of 349 members of the Swedish Parliament voting in favour of Sweden’s accession to NATO.

Sources: Government Offices of Sweden (1), Government Offices of Sweden (2), SVT News, Reuters

Citizens’ assembly on climate change kicks off
Watch flag

On 9 March, a representative sample of 60 Swedish participants convened for the opening of Sweden’s first national citizens’ assembly on climate change. The assembly will consider means for Sweden to lower greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet its international climate commitments. The assembly is run by Fairtrans, a research programme delivered by a consortium of Swedish universities and research institutes. The deliberations will be supported by climate experts who will weigh in with diverse areas of knowledge. The citizens’ assembly will vote on the final recommendations and present their findings on 19 May 2024, including to Swedish policymakers such as the climate policy spokespersons of the parliamentary groups. Participants were selected to be representative of Sweden’s population based on factors such as age, gender, income and political views.

Sources: Stockholm University, Buergerrat, Stockholm Resilience Center, Fairtrans, SVT, Dagens Nyheter

January 2024

Parliament passes amendments to the Aliens Act

As of 1 January, new legislation allows police to physically search people suspected of being illegal immigrants for identity documents (if they fail to provide the documents voluntarily) and retain the documents until their legal status is confirmed or they leave the country. The measures  were criticized by Civil Rights Defenders for the risk of ethnic profiling when they were proposed in 2022. On 1 March, further amendments to the Aliens Act will enter into force, allowing for the revocation of “alien passports” for security reasons. “Alien passports” are granted to residence permit holders who cannot safely obtain a home country passport. The changes also expand the grounds for revoking residence permits for individuals suspected of terrorism or state-sponsored industrial espionage. The Council on Legislation cautioned against the changes, due to loosely defined criteria for identifying involvement in terrorism, potentially resulting in arbitrary enforcement.

Sources: Riksdagen – decision (1), Civil Rights Defenders, The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, Riksdagen - decision (2)the Council on Legislation

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

Chevron
Representation
3/173
Rights
10/173
Rule of Law
9/173
Participation
11/173
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Basic Information

Chevron
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
46.7%
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

Chevron
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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Performance by category over the last 6 months

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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Representation
Representation
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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