Sweden

EuropeCapital city: StockholmCapital metro: StockholmMonarch: Carl XVI GustafPrime Minister: Ulf Kristersson

a monarch.

2026 population
10.6M
Rank #91 globally
Area
450k km² (174k sq mi)
Metros tracked
53
71% of population in metros
Composite score
101.7
Rank #26 globally

population: Monthly national estimate (30 May 2026) · indicators as of 5 Sep 2026 · 53 metros tracked

🗺️ Geography53 metros

Sweden metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.

Loading map…
53 polygons

Select a metro for its rank and a link to its page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.

🏙️ 53 tracked metros
53 metros
#53Stockholm★ Capital▲ Largest
Stockholm · 2.4M · Major Metro
43.5
Västra Götaland · 1.1M · Regional Hub
16.0
#237Malmo
Skåne · 757K · Regional Hub
11.9
Uppsala · 280K · Established Metro
7.6
#744Umeå
Västerbotten · 131K · Emerging Metro
2.7
Östergötland · 166K · Emerging Metro
2.5
Västmanland · 157K · Emerging Metro
1.6
Östergötland · 144K · Emerging Metro
1.4
#1335Borås
Västra Götaland · 114K · Emerging Metro
1.0
Halland · 105K · Emerging Metro
1.0
#1361Kalmar
Kalmar · 71K · Emerging Metro
1.0
Blekinge · 18K · Emerging Metro
1.0
🗂️ Counties

21 entries listed under Sweden. Select any to see its metros and footprint.

21 total
📋 At a glance
Official language
Swedish
Government
Representative democracy
Legislature
Parliament of Sweden
Demonym
Swedish
Time zone
UTC+01:00
Driving side
Right
Calling code
+46
Internet TLD
.se
ISO 3166
SE
Established
900
Highest point
Kebnekaise (2,097 m (6,880 ft))
National anthem
Du gamla, du fria

Facts via Wikidata.

🗣️ Languages of Sweden

Swedish first; 2 languages share the country; 1 official.

LanguageShareStatus
Swedish95%Official
English86%None
Finnish2.2%Regional
Meänkieli0.6%None
North Saami0.3%None
Tavringer Romani0.1%None

Shares count first and second language, so they overlap and can add past 100%.

English reach
86%
Tier 3 country
Effective languages
1.0
Official-language gap
5%
Swedish is spoken by 95%

Sweden on the languages board · Language power

📰 In the news2 stories
Every story in the latest digest →
💹 Economy and developmentHigh income
Human Dev. Index
★ #6 / 191
0.959
UNDP · 2023
GDP
#25 / 193
$669.0B
World Bank · 2025
GDP per capita
#14 / 193
$63.1k
World Bank · 2025
GDP/capita (PPP)
#20 / 190
$72.5k
World Bank · 2025
GNI/capita (Atlas)
#13 / 192
$63.0k
World Bank · 2025
Life expectancy
★ #7 / 194
84.1 yrs
World Bank · 2024
Median age
39.9 yrs
UN WPP · 2023
Urban population
#21 / 194
89%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. growth
0.3%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. density
#159 / 193
26/km² (67/mi²)
World Bank · 2023
Foreign-born
#26 / 193
21.4%
World Bank · 2024
Rule of law
★ #5 / 175
0.99
V-Dem · 2025
Gini index
#26 / 166
29.3
World Bank · 2023
Internet users
#21 / 193
96%
World Bank · 2025
Inflation
#28 / 185
0.7%
World Bank · 2025
CO₂ per capita
#110 / 192
3.6 t
Global Carbon Budget · 2024
Renewable electricity
#46 / 186
71%
Ember · 2025

Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.

🔮 What happens next

Our forecasts, frozen before the result and scored after it.

LA28 Olympics · resolves 30 Jul 2028

How many gold medals does Sweden win at LA28?

4 gold medals80% range 1 gold medals to 8 gold medals

How the model worksTrack record

LA28 Olympics · resolves 30 Jul 2028

How many medals in all does Sweden win at LA28?

11 medals80% range 6 medals to 22 medals

How the model worksTrack record

Alliances & Organisations5 full memberships

Security

Political & Economic

Subregional

Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer

🏛️ Leadership History62 leaders · click to expand

marks a monarch.

Other

Ulf Kristersson✦ Current
Prime Minister · Moderate Party · 2022–present
2022–Present
Magdalena Andersson
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 2021–2022
2021–2022
Stefan Löfven
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 2014–2021
2014–2021
Fredrik Reinfeldt
Prime Minister · Moderate Party · 2006–2014
2006–2014
Göran Persson
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 1996–2006
1996–2006
Ingvar Carlsson
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 1994–1996
1994–1996
Carl Bildt
Prime Minister · Moderate Party · 1991–1994
1991–1994
Ingvar Carlsson
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 1986–1991
1986–1991
Olof Palme
Prime Minister · Social Democrats · 1982–1986
1982–1986
Thorbjörn Fälldin
Prime Minister · Centre Party · 1979–1982
1979–1982
Ola Ullsten
Prime Minister · People's Party · 1978–1979
1978–1979
Thorbjörn Fälldin
Prime Minister · Centre Party · 1976–1978
1976–1978

House of Bernadotte

Carl XVI Gustaf✦ Current
Monarch · 1973–present
1973–Present
Gustaf VI Adolf
Monarch · 1950–1973
1950–1973
Gustaf V
Monarch · 1907–1950
1907–1950

Kingdom of Sweden

Oscar II
Monarch · 35y 2m 20d
1872–1907
Charles XV
Monarch · 13y 2m 10d
1859–1872
Oscar I
Monarch · 15y 4m 0d
1844–1859
Charles XIV John
Monarch · 26y 1m 3d
1818–1844
Charles XIII
Monarch · 8y 7m 30d
1809–1818
Gustav IV Adolf
Monarch · 17y 0d
1792–1809
Gustav III
Monarch · 21y 1m 17d
1771–1792

Age of Liberty — House of Hesse/Holstein-Gottorp

Adolf Frederick
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Holstein-Gottorp · 20y 0d
1751–1771
Frederick I
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Hesse · 31y 0d
1720–1751
Ulrika Eleonora
Monarch · year-level backbone — abdicated in favour of her husband Frederick I, 1720 · 2y 0d
1718–1720

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken

Charles XII
Monarch · year-level backbone — killed at Fredriksten, 1718 · 21y 0d
1697–1718
Charles XI
Monarch · year-level backbone · 37y 0d
1660–1697
Charles X Gustav
Monarch · year-level backbone · 6y 0d
1654–1660

House of Vasa

Christina
Monarch · year-level backbone — abdicated 1654 · 22y 0d
1632–1654
Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus)
Monarch · year-level backbone — killed at the Battle of Lützen, 1632 · 21y 0d
1611–1632
Charles IX
Monarch · year-level backbone — regent 1599–1604, king from 1604 · 12y 0d
1599–1611
Sigismund
Monarch · year-level backbone — also King of Poland · 7y 0d
1592–1599
John III
Monarch · year-level backbone · 24y 0d
1568–1592
Eric XIV
Monarch · year-level backbone — deposed 1568 · 8y 0d
1560–1568
Gustav Vasa
Monarch · year-level backbone — elected king 6 June 1523 · 37y 0d
1523–1560
Gustav Vasa
Regent · year-level backbone — Regent — Protector of the Realm during the Swedish War of Liberation · 2y 0d
1521–1523

Kalmar Union

Christian II
Monarch · year-level backbone — also King of Denmark and Norway · 1y 0d
1520–1521
Sten Sture the Younger
Regent · year-level backbone — Regent (riksföreståndare) of Sweden · 8y 0d
1512–1520
Svante Nilsson (Sture)
Regent · year-level backbone — Regent (riksföreståndare) of Sweden · 9y 0d
1503–1512
Sten Sture the Elder
Regent · year-level backbone — Regent (riksföreståndare) of Sweden, second term · 2y 0d
1501–1503
Hans (John II)
Monarch · year-level backbone — also King of Denmark and Norway · 4y 0d
1497–1501
Sten Sture the Elder
Regent · year-level backbone — Regent (riksföreståndare) of Sweden, first term · 27y 0d
1470–1497
Charles VIII (Karl Knutsson Bonde)
Monarch · year-level backbone — third reign · 3y 0d
1467–1470
Charles VIII (Karl Knutsson Bonde)
Monarch · year-level backbone — second reign · 1y 0d
1464–1465
Christian I
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Oldenburg · 7y 0d
1457–1464
Charles VIII (Karl Knutsson Bonde)
Monarch · year-level backbone — native Swedish king, House of Bonde · 9y 0d
1448–1457
Christopher of Bavaria
Monarch · year-level backbone · 7y 0d
1441–1448
Eric of Pomerania
Monarch · year-level backbone — King of Sweden from 1396 as Margaret's co-sovereign · 27y 0d
1412–1439

Early Swedish kings

Albert of Mecklenburg
Monarch · year-level backbone — deposed after the Battle of Åsle, 1389 · 25y 0d
1364–1389
Magnus IV Eriksson
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Bjelbo · 45y 0d
1319–1364
Birger Magnusson
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Bjelbo · 28y 0d
1290–1318
Magnus III Ladulås
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Bjelbo · 15y 0d
1275–1290
Valdemar Birgersson
Monarch · year-level backbone — House of Bjelbo · 25y 0d
1250–1275
Eric IX (the Holy)
Monarch · year-level backbone — start approximate (c. 1156) · 4y 0d
1156–1160
Stenkil
Monarch · year-level backbone — dates approximate, House of Stenkil · 6y 0d
1060–1066
Emund the Old
Monarch · year-level backbone — dates approximate, House of Munsö · 10y 0d
1050–1060
Anund Jacob
Monarch · year-level backbone — dates approximate, House of Munsö · 28y 0d
1022–1050
Olof Skötkonung
Monarch · year-level backbone — dates approximate (c. 995 – c. 1022), House of Munsö · 27y 0d
995–1022
Eric the Victorious
Monarch · year-level backbone — dates approximate (c. 970 – c. 995), House of Munsö · 25y 0d
970–995
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
Today
Minor#29 · 0.7%
3%5%8%10%160017001800190019502000
Power (headline share)Latent (material mass)Recognised (standing)

The power line is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.

⚔️ Wars and conflicts38 interstate wars · click to expand
Combat deaths: 72–403
Combat deaths: —
Finnish War1808–1809
Combat deaths: —
Combat deaths: —
Combat deaths: —
Tripolitan War1801–1805
Tripolitania,Morocco (1802)
Combat deaths: —
Combat deaths: —
Theatre War1788–1789
Combat deaths: —
Pomeranian War1757–1762
Combat deaths: —

Bold = principal belligerent. Source: Wikipedia, “List of interstate wars since 1945.”

👥 Population over time
Population 2023
10.6m
#90 in the world
Since 1800
4.22×
from 2.5m
Peak
2023
at its largest now
Share of world
0.13%
0.25% in 1800
2.7m5.4m8.0m10.7m18001850190019502000

Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.

👥 To 2100

The UN’s probabilistic projection for Sweden: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.

Peak on the median
2079
11.4m on the UN median
2050
11.3m
95% band 9.6m to 13.4m
2100
11.4m
95% band 5.1m to 20.0m
2100 against 2025
1.07×
median falling from 2080
Deaths outnumber births
from 2026
on the UN medium path; migration decides the rest
5.3m10.5m15.8m21.0m1950197520002025205020752100
estimateUN median80% and 95% bandshigh and low fertilityzero migration

What drives it

Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.

1950
115k born · 70k died · +16k net migration
TFR 2.29 · life expectancy 71.1 · median age 33.2
1960
101k born · 75k died · +1k net migration
TFR 2.17 · life expectancy 73.0 · median age 35.1
1970
110k born · 80k died · +47k net migration
TFR 1.92 · life expectancy 74.7 · median age 34.4
1980
97k born · 92k died · +10k net migration
TFR 1.67 · life expectancy 75.7 · median age 35.1
1990
123k born · 95k died · +36k net migration
TFR 2.12 · life expectancy 77.6 · median age 37.4
2000
90k born · 93k died · +25k net migration
TFR 1.54 · life expectancy 79.7 · median age 38.4
2010
114k born · 91k died · +51k net migration
TFR 1.97 · life expectancy 81.5 · median age 39.7
2020
113k born · 98k died · +37k net migration
TFR 1.67 · life expectancy 82.4 · median age 39.6

Every country to 2100 →

Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.

💰 Billionaires51 · $223.0B combined · click to expand
#121Stefan Persson(inherited)
Fashion & Retail · H&M
$22.0B
Diversified · Diversified
$13.1B
Technology · Spotify
$12.8B
#283Finn Rausing(inherited)
Food & Beverage · Packaging
$11.8B
#284Jorn Rausing(inherited)
Food & Beverage · Packaging
$11.7B
#284Kirsten Rausing(inherited)
Food & Beverage · Packaging
$11.7B
Technology · Spotify
$11.7B
Finance & Investments · Investments
$10.2B
#363Fredrik Lundberg(inherited)
Real Estate · Real estate, investments
$9.9B
#535Frederik Paulsen(inherited)
Healthcare · Health care
$7.5B
#732Carl Douglas(inherited)
Diversified · Investments
$5.7B
#764Eric Douglas(inherited)
Diversified · Investments
$5.5B

Source: Forbes real-time billionaires (via the rtb-api project). Net worth as of the latest monthly snapshot.

🏆 National Teams

Sweden on the international stage. Select a card for the full record.

National Teams Champions

Every major championship won by Sweden's national teams, newest first. 7 in total.

2006· 2006-02-26
1999· 1999-06-15
1994· 1994-02-27
1990· 1990-03-10
Sweden
1984· 1984-05-27
1958· 1958-03-08
1954· 1954-01-17