Central government debt to GDP ratio in Sweden 2013-2023

The ratio of the Swedish central government debt to its gross domestic product (GDP) fell from 2014 to 2019, before increasing again in 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19. In 2023, the central government debt in Sweden made up 16 percent of the GDP. In 2022, the debt was over one trillion Swedish kronor.

Negative budget balance in 2020

The government debt is affected by the relationship between the central government’s expenditures and incomes. In 2021, the governments income was close to 1.2 trillion Swedish kronor, which was higher than the expenditures that amounted to just above 1.1 trillion Swedish kronor. Hence, the Swedish government had a budget balance of 80 billion Swedish kronor that year.  

Government expenditure

The expenditure of the Swedish central government increased sharply in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Support packages to hardly affected industries and laid off employees took a toll on the Swedish national budget. The largest post of expenditure was financial support to the local municipalities, amounting to 150 billion Swedish kronor in 2021. Health care and social care was the second highest post, followed by health- and social care.