Community pharmacies per 100,000 population, 2021: 14
Hospital beds per 1,000 population, 2021: 2.0
Average length of stay in hospital, 2021: 5.5 days
Average number of in-person doctor consultations per person, 2021: 2.3
CT scanners per million population, 2021: 23
MRI units per million population, 2021: 17
PET scanners per million population, 2021: 2
Share of adults aged 65 and over receiving long-term care, 2021: 15.7%
Long-term care beds in institutions and hospitals per 1,000 population aged 65 years and over, 2021
– Institutions: 63.9
Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.
Hospital Beds Per 1,000 Population (2020): 2.05
Doctors Consultations (In All Settings) (Number Per Capita) (2020): 2.2
Hospital Average Length of Stay (All Causes) (2020): 5.4 Days
Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed Jan. 1, 2023.
“In the years before the pandemic, Sweden had fewer hospital beds per population than any other EU country (2.1 hospital beds per 1,000 population in 2019 compared to EU average of 4.9 per 1,000), and this situation did not change during the pandemic. This is partly because most rehabilitation and long-term care beds are not located in hospitals. To address the sudden increase in demand for intensive care during the first year of the pandemic, Sweden increased its intensive care unit capacity mainly by redeploying existing beds and by postponing non-urgent hospital care to create a buffer of excess resources (beds, staff and equipment) while at the same time reducing the risk of hospital outbreaks (OECD, 2023b). As a result of these disruptions, hospital stays fell by 7% in 2020, although this reduction was much less pronounced than the EU average (Figure 23).
“Following recent national evaluations that concluded that the number of hospital beds in Sweden is insufficient, the government tasked the National Board of Health and Welfare to allocate SEK 2 billion (EUR 175 million) in performance-based payments to regions to increase the number of beds in 2023. In addition, the Board is developing a national plan to reduce current bed shortages.”
Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2023), Sweden: Country Health Profile 2023, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.
“Both public and privately owned healthcare facilities are publicly funded in Sweden. Public hospitals at the regional level provide acute care, while university hospitals provide highly specialised care. Private hospitals also exist. Patients are covered by the same regulations and fees in both types of facilities. Following the act on compulsory patient choice in primary care in 2010, the number of patients seeking care with private primary care providers expanded, including for online consultations.”
Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2023), Sweden: Country Health Profile 2023, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.
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Page last updated March 31, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.