Sweden Military - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Military and security forces

Swedish Armed Forces (Forsvarsmakten): Army, Navy, Air Force, Home Guard (2023)

Military expenditures

1.3% of GDP (2022 est.)

1.3% of GDP (2021)

1.2% of GDP (2020)

1.1% of GDP (2019)

1% of GDP (2018)

Military and security service personnel strengths

the SAF has about 46,000 military personnel: approximately 14,000 continuous service/full-time; approximately 11,000 temporary service; approximately 21,000 Home Guard (some on active duty) (2023)

note 1: SAF personnel are divided into continuously serving (full-time) and temporary service troops (part-timers who serve periodically and have another main employer or attend school); additional personnel have signed service agreements with the SAF and mostly serve in the Home Guard; the SAF also has about 9,000 civilian employees

note 2: in 2021, Sweden announced plans that increase the total size of the armed forces to about 100,000 personnel by 2030

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the SAF's inventory is comprised of domestically produced and imported Western weapons systems; in recent years, the US has been the leading supplier of military hardware to Sweden; Sweden's defense industry produces a range of air, land, and naval systems (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18-47 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; service obligation: 7.5 months (Army), 7-15 months (Navy), 8-12 months (Air Force); after completing initial service, soldiers have a reserve commitment until age 47; compulsory military service, abolished in 2010, was reinstated in January 2018; conscription is selective, includes both men and women (age 18), and requires 9-12 months of service (2023)

note 1: Sweden conscripts about 5,500 men and women each year; it plans to increase this number to 8,000 by 2025

note 2: as of 2021, women made up about 11% of the military's full-time personnel

Military deployments

approximately 200 Mali (MINUSMA) (2022)

Military - note

Sweden maintained a policy of military non-alignment for over 200 years before applying for NATO membership in May 2022; before then, Stockholm joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994 and contributed to NATO-led missions, including those in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo

the Swedish military cooperates closely with the military forces of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; areas of cooperation include armaments, education, human resources, training and exercises, and operations; NORDEFCO was established in 2009

Sweden is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy and contributes to CSDP missions and operations (2023)

NOTE: The information regarding Sweden on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Sweden 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Sweden 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.