Sweden

Last update: February, 2024

The Swedish Constitution (grundlagen) consists of four Fundamental Laws; the Instrument of Government (Regeringsformen), the Act of Succession (Successionsordningen), the Freedom of the Press Act (Tryck­frihets­förordningen), and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (Yttrandefrihets­grund­lagen). The central provisions on how the state is to be governed are contained in the Instrument of Government. However, all of the fundamental laws except the Act of Succession (regulating the succession of the Swedish monarchy) contain regulations directly relevant to the field of arts and culture. 

Article 2, Chapter 1 of the Instrument of Government (1974:152) concerns the basic principles of government: 

Public power shall be exercised with respect to the equal worth of all, and the liberty and dignity of the private person. The personal, economic and cultural welfare of the private person shall be a fundamental aim of public activity. In particular, it shall be incumbent upon the public institutions to secure the right to health, employment, housing and education, and to promote social care, and social security. Public institutions shall promote sustainable development leading to a good environment for present and future generations. Public institutions shall promote the ideals of democracy as guidelines in all sectors of society and protect the private and family lives of private persons. Public institutions shall promote the opportunity for all to attain participation and equality in society. The public institutions shall combat discrimination of persons on grounds of gender, colour, national or ethnic origin, linguistic or religious affiliation, functional disability, sexual orientation, age or other circumstance affecting the private person. Opportunities should be promoted for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities to preserve and develop a cultural and social life of their own. 

These regulations also regard cultural policy, which is often considered a part of the welfare state, and sometimes - especially in the case of heritage policy – as a part of its environmental policy, promoting a “sustainable development leading to a good environment for present and future generations”. Sweden has a tradition of viewing cultural policy as a democratizing force in society, guaranteeing equal access to culture, thus promoting “the opportunity for all to attain participation and equality in society”. The last sentence of the paragraph quoted above relates to minority culture: “Opportunities should be promoted for ethnic, linguistic, and religious minorities to preserve and develop a cultural and social life of their own.”

In addition to articles on fundamental democratic rights and freedom of expression, information, religion, and assembly, there is a special Article 19 in Chapter 1 of the Instrument of Government concerning artists and artistic copyrights: ”Authors, artists and photographers shall own the rights to their works in accordance with rules laid down in law“. These issues are further regulated in special copyright legislation.

The Freedom of the Press Act (1766) is the oldest existing law on freedom of speech in the world, and in some ways the first. It regulates the principle of openness in government administration, as well as freedom of speech in written media. The corresponding freedom of expression on radio, television and other transmissions, as well as in films, video recordings, sound recordings, and other recordings are further regulated in the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991). 

Last update: February, 2024

The allocation of public funds to arts and culture is not typically regulated by law in Sweden. National public funds are instead determined on a yearly basis by the parliament in the national budget. The only major exception to this rule has long been Public Service broadcasting, which is funded by a special tax (previously a TV license fee) and regulated in law. Some regulations regarding the Culture Cooperation Model (see chapters 1.2.3 and 1.2.6) are, furthermore, regulated in the law on certain government grants to regional cultural activities (2010:1919). When the government appointed re-evaluation of this model presented its report in 2023, it recommended the introduction of a new law on collaboration between state, region, and municipality in the cultural field, simplifying the processes within the model, and guaranteeing artistic freedom in the regional and municipal activities funded through the model (SOU 2023:58). This could be seen as a part of a larger trend towards increasing uses of legislation in Swedish cultural policy.

A lack of specific legislation has long been a characteristic feature of the Swedish model of cultural policy. Objectives are decided either by parliament decision (as with the general cultural policy goals), or in the specific instructions given either in the national budget (by annual parliament decision), or by the government. The majority of cultural policy is implemented by government agencies, and similar bodies, which are constitutionally separated from the government ministries, and only subjected to decisions and regulations made by the government collectively, or by parliament. The powers of a government minister are thus severely limited, but in practice include the power to make propositions to the government concerning instructions to government agencies, appointments of their directors and board members, and concerning the government bill on the national budget (see also chapters 1.1, and 1.3).

Last update: February, 2024

There is no comprehensive legal framework for artists in Sweden, instead the general principles for social security and taxes apply. There are several artists' unions representing their members in labour market negotiations, which are central to the Swedish labour market model. These also function as lobbying groups with the government and the public authorities.

The average income in arts and culture is significantly lower than among persons with comparable education in other professions. Self-employed artists – who form an increasingly large part of those active in the arts and culture sector – have specific problems vis-à-vis public health insurance, pensions, and unemployment insurance, since the Swedish social security model is better adapted to employees and larger employers, than to small businesses and the self-employed. Many national, regional, and private art grants and stipends to individual artists are not taxable, and thus not included in the life- income that forms the basis of an individual’s pension. Together with a labour market that makes certain categories of employees in the arts and culture unemployed on a regular basis (for example between seasonal employments, or work with projects), this makes many of those working in arts and culture financially vulnerable. This situation was part of the background for government support for intermediary employment centres within the fields of theatre, music, photography and film, for data banks, and for training facilities for professional dancers and actors during periods between job contracts.

In 2018, a government commission submitted a report on policy for artists, Konstnär – oavsett vilkor? (“Artist – regardless terms?”, SOU 2018: 23). The report describes the current conditions for professionally active artists in Sweden. According to this study, artists are increasingly working as freelancers, combining different types of projects, employment, and other sources of income, within and outside of the arts and culture sector. It concludes that current social security is not adapted to these new conditions in the arts and culture labor market. It also highlights the problem that persons with different backgrounds do not have the same opportunities to become artists, and that bias in recruitment to artistic education starts at a young age. Another issue discussed in the report is the concentration of artists to urban areas – especially the Stockholm area – making it near impossible to make an artistic career in large parts of the country. In 2023, a government commission report on the system for compensating employees on sick leave made specific investigations on conditions in the arts and culture sector, making recommendations on how to better integrate these in the system, e.g. by including artistic stipends in the income qualifying for compensation (SOU 2023:30).

Last update: February, 2024

The general tax system also applies to artists, when employed, the self-employed, or owning businesses. This means – among other things - that all costs incurred in order to earn an income are tax deductible, if the income is generated from professional activities. Self-employed artists face a number of problems within the current tax system: for example, basic pensions are calculated on the taxable income generated over their lifetime, and as most scholarships or grants are not taxable, they are not included in the overall total of lifetime income. For non-profit organizations, including foundations, taxation rules are beneficial, as long as the purpose of the organization is for the common good, which includes purposes relating to arts and culture.

One of the few special regulations that exist for arts and culture is that of value added tax on books; in 2001, the 25 percent VAT rate on books was lowered to 6 percent by the Parliament.

The issue of corporate sponsorship in the arts has been under much debate in recent years, both in the media and in political fora. Culture and Business (Kultur och näringsliv) is a forum especially created to further debate, obtain contacts and experiences from joint projects, and to source financial contributions from the market.

Enabling tax deductions for donations to culture, science, and other forms of public good have been discussed, especially under the centre-right government 2006-2014. The Government Commission on Cultural Policy (SOU 2009:16) concluded that such measures would greatly benefit arts and culture. It should be noted that the Commission's expert from the Ministry of Finance publicly advised against this conclusion. The Commission for Incentives for Gifts, which published its report (SOU 2009:59) in 2009, was, furthermore, sceptical of such reforms in favour of any area, and entirely ignored all issues relating to arts or culture.

Last update: February, 2024

There are no special labour law regulations for arts and culture. Instead, the general legislation on labour is in force also when it comes to these areas. However, some special conditions may be in force, since Swedish labour law to a high degree relies on the agreements made between trade unions and employer representatives. This also gives a special small business character to the subfields of arts and culture where a large portion of the professional work force is self-employed.

The following list of labour laws are relevant to the field of culture, whether on a national or local level, with regard to private persons, cultural institutions, free theatre groups or similar companies:

• Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life because of Sexual Orientation Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1999:133);
• Prohibition of Discrimination in Working Life of People with a Disability Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1999:132);
• Measures to Counteract Ethnic Discrimination in Working Life Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1999:130);
• Parental Leave Act (Swedish Code of Statutes1995:584);
• Public Employment Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1994:260);
• The Equal Opportunities Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1991:433);
• Working Hours Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1982:673);
• Employment Protection Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1982:80);
• Work Environment Ordinance (Swedish Code of Statutes 1977:1166);
• Work Environment Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1977:1160);
• Annual Leave Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1977:480);
• Employment (Co-Determination in the Workplace) Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1976:580); and
• Employee's Right to Educational Leave Act (Swedish Code of Statutes 1974:1981).

Last update: February, 2024

In Sweden, basic copyright provisions are similar to those of other continental European countries, although with some differences. The basic legal provision is the Swedish Copyright Law of Literary and Artistic Works (Upphovsrättslagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 1960:729). Important developments concerning authors' rights have been linked to the implementation of EU-directives within the copyright field, aimed at harmonizing and facilitating the single market. Sweden has implemented the following EU-directives:

• rental and lending rights;
• satellite broadcasting and cable retransmission; and
• harmonization of the duration of rights protection (70 years after the death of an author).

Legal measures against copyright infringement have been intensified in the last two decades. The digitalization of production, access and consumption of protected works and performances are continuously producing new possibilities and new problems. Since 1998, possessors of legal rights in the music field have been awarded copyright-based financial compensation for the losses that have been caused by private copying of phonograms, in a model originally intended to compensate for music being copied to blank cassette tapes. Revenue is allocated to creators and performers by their respective collecting societies. Reimbursement to composers and musicians has also been introduced for public lending of phonograms and to composers for public lending of sheet music.

For authors, translators, and illustrators, a system for reimbursement has existed since the 1950’s. Reimbursement for authors is allocated by the Swedish Authors' Fund (Författarfonden). Originators of literary works (authors, translators and illustrators) are compensated for lending in public libraries in accordance with the Government Statute on The Swedish Authors' Fund (1962:652). A portion of this compensation is given to the individual Originator in direct proportion to the number of public loans of his / her work, while another portion is transferred to the Swedish Authors' Fund, which awards grants and scholarships in support of authors, translators, playwrights, and journalists in the field of arts. Since 1985, the size of government funds allocated to the Swedish Authors’ Fund, i.e., the Library Fee, is decided in agreements between, on the one hand, the government and, on the other hand, the Swedish Writers 'Association, the Swedish Illustrators, and the Swedish Photographers' Association.

In 2023 an agreement was made for 2024 and 2025. The basic compensation for the lending of one Swedish original work was increased by SEK 0.08 to 2.12 for the year 2024, and by an additional SEK 0.08 for 2025. The parties also agreed on temporary extra funding to compensate for the negative impact of the Covid-19 restrictions on library lending. This amounts to a total library compensation of around SEK 190.5 million 2024 (an increase of SEK 2.0 million), and SEK 190.6 million 2025 (+0.1 million). Compensation for use of the authors' rights of visual artists in the context of exhibitions etc is regulated by a separate agreement (“MU avtalet”).  In April 2023, the government charged the Swedish Arts Council with the task of renegotiating this agreement with the relevant visual-artists' organizations. The renegotiated agreement aims to be clearer and easily applied for both exhibition organizers and artists.

Last update: February, 2024

Sweden has implemented the EU Data Protection Directive of 1995 (95/46) as the Personal Data Protection Law (Personuppgiftslagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 1998:4). This law relates directly to a general principle of the Swedish Fundamental Laws; that all information held by public authorities that is not explicitly made secret is automatically made public. Thus, all government archives are accessible to the public, except material that has been made secret. Among the more common reasons to declare information secret is when it is deemed personal. The amount of information thus protected has been increasing in the 21^st century.

Last update: February, 2024

Swedish was recognized as the official language of Sweden in 2009, with the new Language Law (Swedish Code of Statutes 2009:600), a law that also guarantees the use of Swedish as the language of Swedish government agencies and other public institutions, including universities and museums. Rules on the use of the Swedish language in the legislation on radio, TV, and in public administration have existed for a long time. According to the agreement between the centre-right government coalition and the Sweden Democrats party, knowledge of the Swedish language will be introduced as a requirement for citizenship, as well as included in various other regulations on government programmes relating to integration and support for immigrants.

In 1999, a law was made entitling individuals to use Sami, Finnish and Meänkieli in dealings with administrative authorities and courts of law in localities in which these languages continue to be used. The law also requires municipalities to offer pre-school activities, as well as care for the elderly, in national minority languages, i.e., Sami (all varieties), Finnish, Meänkieli, Yiddish, and Romani Chib. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was ratified by Sweden in January 2000 with regard to these minority languages. Sami, Finnish, and Meänkieli were also recognized as having further rights in specific regions of the country. Swedish sign language has also been declared an official language (SFS 2009:724).

Last update: February, 2024

The right to culture, and to not be subjected to discrimination is expressed in the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which is ratified by Sweden, as well as in the Discrimination Act (SFS 2008:567), which together with the Equality Act (SFS 1991:433) forbids discrimination on the basis of gender, transgender identity, or expression, ethnicity, religion, or other belief, disability, sexual orientation, or age. These laws cover areas such as employment, education, and access to goods and services. The legislation thus has consequences not only for employment and education in arts and culture, but also areas such as access to cultural activities and institutions. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child became Swedish law in 2020 (SFS 2018:1197). Other groups whose rights are regulated in special legislation or in special cases are national minorities (SFS 2009:724) and persons with disabilities (prop. 2016/17:188).

Last update: February, 2024

There is very little overarching legislation in the cultural field. Apart from general legislation adopted by Parliament, there are however a great number of regulations issued by the government to guide central institutions on the use of Government funds for various cultural purposes. The legal foundation for these is typically parliament decisions, especially budgetary decisions, as opposed to legislation.

The laws listed below are general laws enacted by Parliament, which, together with parliamentary decisions such as the objectives for cultural policy, act as a framework for lower-level decisions.

Table 2: Legislation on culture

Several of the laws on this list refers to the media, which is also specifically covered by the Freedom of the Press Act (part of the Constitution), which regulates freedom of expression in print media. Others refer to the archives (also considered cultural heritage institutions) and to archiving procedures, and thus covered by that Fundamental law to the extent that they deal with access to public records. As the list shows, most of the main areas of cultural policy lacks specific legislation, except for the copyright legislation.

Apart from national legislation, international documents signed by Sweden may also have the force of law. The following conventions and other international legal instruments related to culture have been adopted by Sweden. Please note that this list includes some of the more important and relevant documents, not all international agreements in this field.

Table 2b: International legal instruments implemented by Sweden in the cultural field

Sources: SOU 2003:121, updated from various other sources, including the Swedish Agency for Cultural Policy Analysis, the Swedish Arts Council and the Ministry of Culture

Last update: February, 2024

The Heritage Commemoration Act (Kulturminneslagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 1988:950) contains regulations on ancient monuments, historic buildings, religious monuments and export and restoration of cultural objects etc. The Act stipulates that everyone in Sweden share responsibility for the cultural environment. Authorities, and individuals alike, shall show consideration and respect for the cultural environment.

The following government agencies and institutions have a special role in safeguarding the cultural environment, and in implementing this legislation:

• the National Heritage Board (Riksantikvarieämbetet) is the central administrative authority. At the national level, the Board has overall responsibility for disseminating knowledge about the cultural environment and for information campaigns and contact with the public;
• the County Administrative Boards (Länstyrelser) have responsibility for the cultural environment at the regional level. This means that they decide on matters related to the National Heritage Act within their regions, and are responsible for ensuring that protection of the cultural environment is taken into account in regional planning and development. The county administrative boards also allocate state funds for the restoration of historic buildings, ancient monuments and historic landscapes within their regions;
• at the local level, local government is responsible for the protection and development of the cultural heritage. This role is exercised, inter alia, with physical municipal planning and through the application of the Planning and Building Act (1987:10).

The most recent significant changes in Swedish heritage policy were introduced in Government Bill 2016/17:116, introducing a new museum law, and confirming existing objectives for heritage policy. The Museum Law (2017:563) regulates the primary roles of public, i.e. national, regional, and municipal, museums, defining a museums as “an institution that is open to the public, and which acquires, preserves, investigates, mediates, and exhibits material and intangible testimonies about mankind, and her environment” (Swedish Code of Statutes 2017:563, §2). It includes measures to protect their independence vis-à-vis political involvement. In the bill, the Government also discussed general issues concerning policies on heritage and the cultural environment, as well as clarifications regarding e.g., protection of vegetation on cemeteries, and regulations to protect national treasures by limiting the export of culturally and historically significant objects.

Last update: February, 2024

No specific legislation regulates the performing arts. Music is regulated by copyright legislation (see chapter 5.1.7). The Swedish Copyright Law (Swedish Code of Statutes 1960:729, chapter 3a, sections §42a–f) grants users (such as broadcasters) of works the right to use all works under a single contract with The Swedish Performing Rights Society (STIM). The collected fees depend on the size of the audience and are set by STIM. In order for a composer to have a share of the fees, STIM membership is required.

Performances and celebrations, like all public gatherings, are regulated in the Law on Public Order (Ordningslagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 1993:1617). All public gatherings, such as performances, film viewings, festivals, markets, demonstrations, dance events, religious services etc. require permission from the police. Such permissions can be denied only when the public gathering is considered to threaten public order, or safety. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Law on Public Order was used to prohibit all gatherings larger than eight people.

Last update: February, 2024

Since 1997, a government statute (Swedish Code of Statutes 1996:1605) requires the state to pay individual compensation for public exposition of works of visual and applied art. Annual compensation in total amounts to about SEK 20 million. The system is administered by the Visual Arts Copyright Society of Sweden (BUS).

Last update: February, 2024

The Freedom of the Press Act (1766) is a constitutional law, which regulates the principle of openness in government administration, and guarantees freedom of speech in written media, including books and newspapers. It is the oldest existing law on freedom of speech in the world, and in some ways the first.

Originators of literary works (authors, translators, and illustrators) are compensated for lending in public libraries in accordance with the Government Statute on The Swedish Authors' Fund (1962:652). A portion of this compensation is given to the individual Originator in direct proportion to the number of public loans of his / her work, while another portion is transferred to the Swedish Authors' Fund, which awards grants and scholarships in support of authors, translators, playwrights, and journalists in the field of arts. Since 1985, the size of government funds allocated to the Swedish Authors’ Fund, i.e., the Library Fee, is decided in agreements between, on the one hand, the government and, on the other hand, the Swedish Writers 'Association, the Swedish Illustrators, and the Swedish Photographers' Association.

The Library Act (Bibliotekslagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 2013:801) obligates municipalities to maintain at least one public library, and to refrain from levying direct fees for its loans to members of the public. Municipalities and regions are also obligated to have politically decided library plans, covering the coordination of public libraries, including school libraries, in their territories. The law further establishes that “Libraries in the public library system shall work for the development of a democratic society by contributing to the dissemination of knowledge and the free formation of opinions. Libraries in the public library system shall promote the position of literature and the interest in education, enlightenment, education and research, as well as cultural activities in general. Library activities must be available to everyone” (Swedish Code of Statutes 2013:801, §2). Other than municipal libraries, this legislation also covers school libraries, university libraries, regional libraries, and all other publicly financed libraries.

Last update: February, 2024

Radio and TV transmission, other than via satellite, are subject to agreements between, on the one hand, the government and, on the other hand, the public service radio and TV companies, and TV4, a private company. The TV Authority, established in 1994, is responsible for regulations on commercial and satellite transmissions. It is also the licensing and registration authority for local and similar radio stations, temporary transmissions and distribution by cable and satellite companies, and collects fees from local radio and commercial TV transmissions within Sweden.The Radio and Television Act (Radiolagen, Swedish Code of Statutes 1966:755, 1978:476), applicable to television companies under Swedish jurisdiction, contains a provision equivalent to Articles 4 and 5 of the European Union Television Broadcasting Directive. This Act regulates that more than half of the annual broadcasting time, or at least 10 percent shall be of programmes of European origin, and that at least 10 percent of the annual broadcasting time, or at least 10 percent, of the programme budget shall refer to programmes of European origin, produced by independent producers. As large a proportion as possible of these programmes should have been produced in the preceding five years. The television companies should report annually to the Swedish Radio and TV Authority on how they have complied with these regulations.

The freedom of expression on radio, television and in other audiovisual modes of transmissions, as well as in films, video recordings, sound recordings, and other audiovisual recordings, are regulated and guaranteed in the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression (1991:1469). 

Until 2011, Sweden had a Law on Film Censorship, protecting the public from, e.g. overly violent content. Although this legislation was in force until recently, censorship was only seldom used. Following the recommendation of a government commission (SOU 2009:51) censorship for adults was abolished on 1 January 2011 (Government Bill 2009/10:228) and replaced by a Law on age limits for film that is to be shown publicly, (Swedish Code of Statutes 2010:1882). Similar objectives are now reached by The Swedish Media Council via age limits on films.

Last update: February, 2024

City planning is, according to the Instrument of Government, one of the Fundamental Laws of Sweden, a preserve of the municipalities (local government), although several specific laws regulate building construction and safety. Heritage legislation (see above) is also often relevant to architecture and city planning.