Sweden

Region: Europe and North America
 

Classification of economies by geographic region is based on that of the United Nations Statistics Division.

High Income
 

Based on the income levels set out by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in its Global Competitiveness Report. However, the groupings are slightly different due to the numbers of economies covered. For GEM, the low income group contains both those classified as low income and lower middle by WEF, and the middle income group has those that WEF groups as upper middle. High income is the same for both GEM and WEF.

Population: 10 million (2018)
 

Population data is from the World Bank, except Palestinian Territories World Population Review and Taiwan Worldometers

GDP Growth: 2.3% (2018)
 

GDP growth data is from the World Economic Outlook Database, except Palestinian Territories Worldometers

GDP Per Capita: $52,924 (2017)
 

GDP per capita data is from the World Economic Outlook Database, except Palestinian Territories Worldometers

Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Attitudes

Most recent data: 2021
  • Sweden 2021
  • Sweden 2020
  • Global Average
  • Regional Average
  • Income Level Average

Self-Perceptions

  • 1
     
    Perceived Opportunities Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population (individuals involved in any stage of entrepreneurial activity excluded) who see good opportunities to start a firm in the area where they live
  • 2
     
    Perceived Capabilities Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population (individuals involved in any stage of entrepreneurial activity excluded) who believe they have the required skills and knowledge to start a business
  • 3
     
    Fear of Failure Rate*:Percentage of the 18–64 population who agree that they see good opportunities but would not start a business for fear it might fail. NOTE: this is a percentage of those seeing good opportunities, and not the total adult population
  • 4
     
    Entrepreneurial Intentions Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population (individuals involved in any stage of entrepreneurial activity excluded) who are latent entrepreneurs and who intend to start a business within three years
  • 1. Perceived Opportunities Rate
  • 2. Perceived Capabilities Rate
  • 3. Fear of Failure Rate*
  • 4. Entrepreneurial Intentations Rate:

Activity

  • 1
     
    Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA):Percentage of 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business
  • 2
     
    Established Business Ownership Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population who are currently an owner-manager of an established business, i.e., owning and managing a running business that has paid salaries, wages, or any other payments to the owners for more than 42 months
  • 3
     
    Entrepreneurial Employee Activity Rate:Rate of involvement of employees in entrepreneurial activities, such as developing or launching new goods or services, or setting up a new business unit, a new establishment or subsidiary
  • 1. Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA)
  • 2. Established Business Ownership Rate
  • 3. Entrepreneurial Employee Activity Rate

Motivations

  • 1
     
    Motivational Index:Percentage of those involved in TEA that are improvement-driven opportunity motivated, divided by the percentage of TEA that is necessity-motivated
  • 1. Motivational Index

Gender Equity

  • 1
     
    Female/Male TEA Ratio:Percentage of female 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a 'new business', divided by the equivalent percentage for their male counterparts
  • 2
     
    Female/Male Opportunity-Driven TEA Ratio:Percentage of those females involved in TEA who (i) claim to be driven by opportunity as opposed to finding no other option for work; and (ii) who indicate the main driver for being involved in this opportunity is being independent or increasing their income, rather than just maintaining their income, divided by the equivalent percentage for their male counterparts
  • 1. Female/Male TEA Ratio
  • 2. Female/Male Opportunity-Driven TEA Ratio

Impact

  • 1
     
    High Job Creation Expectation Rate:Percentage of those involved in TEA who expect to create 6 or more jobs in 5 years
  • 2
     
    Innovation Rate:Percentage of those involved in TEA who indicate that their product or service is new to at least some customers AND that few/no businesses offer the same product
  • 3
     
    Business Services Sector Rate:Percentage of those involved in TEA in the 'Business Services' sector - Information and Communication, Financial Intermediation and Real Estate, Professional Services or Administrative Services, as defined by the ISIC 4.0 Business Type Codebook
  • 1. High Job Creation Expectation Rate
  • 2. Innovation Rate
  • 3. Business Services Sector Rate

Societal Values

  • 1
     
    High Status to Successful Entrepreneurs Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population who agree with the statement that in their country, successful entrepreneurs receive high status
  • 2
     
    Entrepreneurship as a Good Career Choice Rate:Percentage of 18-64 population who agree with the statement that in their country, most people consider starting a business as a desirable career choice
  • 1. High Status to Successful Entrepreneurs Rate
  • 2. Entrepreneurship as a Good Career Choice Rate

Entrepreneurial Framework Conditions

Most recent data: 2021

Expert Ratings: 1 = highly insufficient, 5 = highly sufficient

  • Sweden 2021
  • Sweden 2020
  • Regional Average
  • Income Level Average
  • Global Average
  • Sweden 2021
  • Sweden 2020
  • Regional Average
  • Income Level Average
  • Global Average

2021 Entrepreneurial Activity Review

In 2021, Sweden recovered some of its entrepreneurial confidence lost to the pandemic. This is most evident in the number of Swedes pursuing early-stage entrepreneurship: the country’s TEA rate increased to 9.0% in 2021, from 7.3% in 2020. These entrepreneurs were also more positive in their assessment of Sweden’s business conditions. Only 18.6% of TEA respondents said they thought it was more difficult to start a business now than in the previous year, a decrease from 24.4% in the 2020 survey. Additionally, 38.6% of these respondents said they saw new opportunities as a result of COVID-19, reflecting an acknowledgement by many entrepreneurs of the new business realities generated by the pandemic.

Yet it was not just entrepreneurs themselves who appeared more confident in 2021. According to GEM results, 79.6% of Swedes see good opportunities to start a business where they live, second among GEM Level A economies. This is a significant improvement on the 62.5% of Swedes who agreed with this statement in 2020. Typically, Sweden scores quite high on this question, around 75–80%, so 2020 was a serious decline, likely in response to the pandemic. Perhaps as a result of this increased confidence, 13.4% of Swedish respondents plan to start a business in the next three years, up from 8% in 2020. Hopefully, this increase in entrepreneurial sentiment and activity in Sweden will result in more new businesses that can grow and sustain themselves for several years or longer. This will be necessary to replenish the country’s EBO levels, which declined to 4.3% in 2021, from 6.0% in 2020.

In recent years leading up to 2020, Sweden’s EBO rate was gradually increasing, so this year’s results likely reflect a delayed reaction to business constraints engendered by the pandemic. Policymakers should therefore look to capitalize on this year’s increase in early-stage entrepreneurship, by creating a more accommodating environment for new business growth in the form of tax breaks and reduced market regulation, in order to guide these new businesses into the established stage.

2021 Framework Conditions Review

Sweden does appear to be making improvements in its framework conditions, which should help foster new business growth. On the condition Entrepreneurial Finance, Sweden received a 6.4 score, placing it fifth among GEM Level A economies, while on Ease of Access to Entrepreneurial Finance, its 5.7 score also placed it fifth among this group. These high scores should help new businesses obtain the necessary funding to grow, as well as convincing some latent entrepreneurs to finally pursue their business intentions, knowing they will be able to get access to quality finance.

However, on some conditions, Sweden was given low scores compared to other GEM Level A economies, despite the country’s improvements over last year. This is particularly true among governancerelated conditions. On the condition Government Policy: Support and Relevance, Sweden received a 3.5 score, which was 18th among GEM Level A economies, while Government Policy: Taxes and Bureaucracy scored 4.7, 15th among this group, despite an improvement from 3.0 in 2020.

Sweden Reports

Name
Report information
pdf
  • Year of publication: 2022
  • Category: National Reports
  • Language: Swedish
  • Upload date: 2022-08-18

  • Entrepreneurship is on the rise in Sweden and the country sees its highest level since the GEM survey started. Entrepreneurship (TEA) clocks in at nine percent 2021. Despite that, established business is lagging behind and the extent of entrepreneurship is mediocre in an international perspective. Sweden still ranks in the lower half among comparable countries.
  • URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/50958
 GEM Sweden 2021/2022
Report information
pdf
  • Year of publication: 2021
  • Category: National Reports
  • Language: Swedish
  • Upload date: 2021-08-09

  • Entrepreneurship in Sweden is falling and the country now occupies a bottom position internationally. Despite measures and support packages initiated by the government, entrepreneurship fell from 8.3 percent in 2019 to 7.3 percent in 2020. 47 percent of new entrepreneurs believe that the government have had a sufficient response to the financial consequences of the pandemic. The corresponding figure for the established entrepreneurs is 40 percent. But crisis management seems to have come at the cost of reduced economic dynamism, shows this year’s national report of the world’s largest entrepreneurship survey Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, GEM.
  • URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/50714
 GEM Sweden 2020/2021
Report information
pdf
  • Year of publication: 2020
  • Category: National Reports
  • Language: Swedish
  • Upload date: 2021-08-09

  • Entrepreneurship is of the utmost importance in economic recovery. In light of the ongoing crisis, it is worrying that despite an increase from 6.8 percent in 2018 to 8.3 percent in 2019 - Swedish entrepreneurship is still low compared to other similar countries
  • URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/50716
 GEM Sweden 2019/2020
Report information
pdf
  • Year of publication: 2019
  • Category: National Reports
  • Language: Swedish
  • Upload date: 2019-09-25

  • In 2018, entrepreneurship again decreased in Sweden - 6.8 percent of the Swedish population is active at an early stage or operates a young company. The downward trend that began in 2013 appears to strengthen. The most dramatic change for Sweden between 2017 and 2018 is the change in women's entrepreneurship; the proportion fell by almost two percentage points or 30 percent, from just under six percent to four percent. At the same time, men's entrepreneurship increased, however not enough to counteract a total reduction in Swedish entrepreneurship. This year's GEM report devotes special attention to the gig economy. Individuals who participate in the gig economy often have a significantly higher ambition to start a company within a three-year period compared to others. Gig workers thus constitute an interesting pool of potential future entrepreneurs. Sweden needs a more in-depth analysis of both women's entrepreneurship and the emerging gig economy to devise a policy that can claim the potential welfare benefits that could arise if these sectors can grow.
  • URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/50309
 GEM Sweden 2018/2019
Report information
pdf
  • Year of publication: 2018
  • Category: National Reports
  • Language: Swedish
  • Upload date: 2018-06-19

  • In 2017, Swedish entrepreneurship decreased, 7.3 percent of the Swedish population is active at an early stage or operates a young company. Even the growth ambitions, as well as the level of innovation, have decreased according to the entrepreneurs. The decline in entrepreneurial activity depends solely on a decline in women's entrepreneurship. This year's GEM report devotes special attention to serial entrepreneurs, i.e. entrepreneurs with previous experience of entrepreneurship. Experience have a positive effect on almost all indicators in the report: perceived capabilities, fear of failure, job creation etc. The best school for entrepreneurship seems to be trying their own business. Entrepreneurial experiences enhances future entrepreneurial ventures and appears to lead to more high-performance entrepreneurs From a policy perspective, it stresses the importance of creating good conditions not only for starting businesses but also for opportunities for a second chance. The proportion of individuals claiming that fear of failure prevents them from starting a business has increased from 29 to 37 percent over the past decade. If reconstruction is made easier and cheaper and bankruptcy does not involve lifelong debt, it helps to establish more growth-oriented companies. It also signals how society values risk taking and entrepreneurship.
  • URL: https://www.gemconsortium.org/report/50050
 GEM Sweden 2017/2018
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