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 2019, Sweden had the lowest number of hospital beds per capita in the EU, at 2.1 beds per 1,000 population (compared to the EU average of 5.4). This is partly because most hospital activities in Sweden focus on curative (acute) care, whereas most rehabilitation services and all long-term care are provided outside of hospitals. The average length of stay in hospital has come down over the past decade, and was about 25 % lower than the EU average in 2018 (5.7 versus 7.5 days).

“During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020, intensive care unit (ICU) beds in Sweden were nearing 80 % capacity due to the increasing number of COVID-19 patients, particularly in Stockholm. While hospitals could have increased the number of ICU beds further, an insufficient number of the necessary ICU specialist staff would have been available to support them (see Section 5.3).”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2021), Sweden: Country Health Profile 2021, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

“Both public and privately owned health care facilities are publicly funded in Sweden. Patients are covered by the same regulations and fees in both types of facilities. Public hospitals at the regional level provide most of the acute care, while university hospitals provide highly specialised care. Private hospitals also exist. After they were given the right to receive public funding just over a decade ago, the numbers of private primary care providers expanded rapidly. Public and private physicians (including hospital specialists) and other health workers are predominantly salaried employees.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2021), Sweden: Country Health Profile 2021, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Jan. 1, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.