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Population, Midyear 2022: 10,549,347
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 25.90
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 83.51
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 11,007,228
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 20.25%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 21.84%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 24.76%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.

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Percent of Adults aged 65 and over rating their own health as fair, poor or very poor, 2019: 37.4%
People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population (2021): 18.7
Projected Number of People With Dementia Per 1,000 Population in 2050: 27.7
Long-Term Care Workers Per 100 Population Aged 65 And Over (2019): 12
Long-Term Care Beds In Institutions and Hospitals Per 1,000 Population Aged 65 And Over (2019): 68.1
Long-Term Care Spending as a Share of GDP (%) (2019): 3.4%

Source: OECD (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.

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Formal Long-Term Care Workers (Nurses and Personal Carers) (FTE) (2020): 182,935
Formal Long-Term Care Workers (FTE) Per 100 Population Aged 65 Years and Older (2020): 8.9
Long-Term Care Recipients In Institutions Other Than Hospitals (2020): 114,174
Long-Term Care Recipients At Home (2020): 370,856

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed Jan. 4, 2023.

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“In 2006, the proportion of older people (65 years and older) receiving home-help services was 8.9% and the proportion living in special housing was 6.2%. The total proportion of older people receiving help either in their home or in special housing has remained fairly stable during the period 2002–2006 but there has been a shift from special housing towards home-help services. The definition of home-help changed in 2006, which makes comparison between the period before and after 2006 difficult. It has however gradually become less likely that a person will receive home-help services over the past two decades due to tougher prioritization of municipal resources and this has led to more help by informal carers.

“The proportion receiving help, according to the new definition, was stable during 2007–2009 and amounted to 18.4% in 2009, where home-help services accounted for 5.7% (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2011a). This reflects the main concept guiding care for older people in Sweden today, namely that older people should be enabled to continue living in their own homes for as long as possible. More than 90% of people aged 65 and over reside in their ordinary homes. Home-based care is possible since a great majority of older people in Sweden enjoy good health in older age, and because of modern housing standards and flexibility in services. Although the proportion receiving help has remained stable during the past few years, the number of people aged 65 years and over receiving help has increased. In 2009, some 301 200 older people received help, of whom 205 800 were granted home-help services in ordinary housing. The total number of hours allocated to home-based services and services in special housing amounted to 4.5 million in 2009 compared to 3.8 million in 2002 (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2011a).”

Source: Anell A, Glenngård AH, Merkur S. Sweden: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2012, 14(5):1–159.

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“The responsibility for means testing, and the financing and organization of long-term care services for older people and providing support to people with disabilities lies with the municipalities in Sweden. However, the medical responsibility rests with the county councils. The 1992 ÄDEL reform shifted the responsibility for care for older people from the county councils to the municipalities. Municipalities are required to arrange care for dependants after acute and/or geriatric hospital treatment. The Social Services Act of 1980, revised in 2001, is a framework law emphasizing the right of individuals to receive municipal services. It specifies that older people have the right to receive public services and help at all stages of life. In addition, older and disabled people are normally entitled to subsidized transport to health care facilities. Problems with coordination of care for older people have been on the agenda for many years and several efforts towards solving this issue have been made (see section 6.1.3 Improved coordinated care for older people).

“The municipalities’ expenditures for long-term care for older people amounted to slightly more than SEK 89 billion (€10 billion) in 2006, of which 60% was for special housing (e.g. nursing homes), almost 39% for home-help services in ordinary housing and less than 2% was allocated to other services (öppna verksamheter) (National Board of Health and Welfare, 2011a). People with disabilities are entitled to support under the Social Services Act and under special legislation, namely the Act Concerning Support and Service for People with Certain Functional Impairments (1993). This Act includes support in the form of personal assistance, contact people and daily activities.”

Source: Anell A, Glenngård AH, Merkur S. Sweden: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2012, 14(5):1–159.

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“As in other EU countries, Sweden faces the challenge of responding to the growing health and long-term care needs of an ageing population in the coming decades. Budgetary pressures are projected to come not only from health care expenditure but also, and even more importantly, from long-term care expenditure. According to the latest projections from the European Commission’s Ageing Working Group, public spending on long-term care in Sweden may grow by 1.7 percentage points of GDP between 2016 and 2070, while public spending on health may grow by about 1 percentage point of GDP (European Commission-EPC, 2018). This highlights the challenge of responding efficiently to the growing needs of health and long-term care in the years ahead.”

Source: OECD/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (2019), Sweden: Country Health Profile 2019, State of Health in the EU, OECD Publishing, Paris/European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Brussels.

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World 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 September 16, 2023 by Doug McVay, Editor.