Sweden

Last update: September, 2026

Increasing cultural participation has been a central aim for Swedish cultural policy at least since the 1970’s. As such, it has been included in the instructions to every government agency dealing with arts and culture. In the words of the present objectives for Swedish cultural policy (see chapter 1.1), “Everyone should be able to participate in cultural life.” Historically, such programmes have focused on making arts and culture activities available throughout the country – which is the second least densely populated country in the EU – and on widening the audience in terms of class and educational background. In recent decades, increased emphasis has been placed on other factors, such as gender, functional disability, sexual orientation, and immigrant background, as well.

Within theatre/music, visual arts, and literature, there are organisations aiming at increasing cultural participation specifically supported by the government for such purposes. Cultural organisations are also involved in neighbourhood projects, and in finding new ways to promote culture to new groups of people. Skådebanan (theatre and music) provides information and tickets through special voluntary representatives at workplaces. The National Touring Theatre (Riksteatern) has long been active in making arts and culture available throughout the country. Konstfrämjandet (mainly visual arts) reach people in their working environment to promote purchasing of professional art, mainly graphic, and literature, at reduced prices so that quality art can be accessible to all. Public libraries exist in all municipalities. Every year a catalogue (Barnbokskatalogen) is distributed by the Swedish Arts Council listing all newly published children's literature. The catalogue is intended to spark an interest in reading by showcasing the new and exciting books that become available. The catalogue is free and is distributed to libraries, bookstores, and schools.

Policies intended to enhance the participation of citizens in cultural life and, particularly, in artistic activities, also focus on the availability of both in-school and out-of-school arts education. The Creative School programme (Skapande skola) is a government programme allowing municipalities and other school principals to apply for grants from the Swedish Arts Council for culture projects involving children in preschools and in the obligatory first ten years of school (ages 6-16 years old). Projects within the Creative School programme have been granted nearly SEK 220 million for grants in 2025. Voluntary municipal music schools also exist in most municipalities, providing after-school activities for schoolchildren. Since the 1990s, their activities have widened their focus from classical music to a broad selection of cultural expressions, including subjects such as music, dance, drama, theatre, and art, with music retaining its status as the most commonly offered subject.

The major recipients of government grants for cultural activities on the amateur level have long been the national study associations (studieförbund), but with the national budget proposed for 2024, their national funding is reduced for the first time in decades. To this are added varying sums from local and regional governments, as well as income from various fees. Statistics show that most of the activities organised by the study associations can be described as cultural activities, ranging from lectures and study circles on cultural matters to rock music and theatre groups rehearsing. Easily available music training and public facilities for rehearsals have often been pointed out as an explanation for Sweden's internationally successful music scene. Others have pointed to the prevalence of cultural group activities such as study circles and singing in choirs to explain the cohesiveness and high levels of trust in Swedish society.

Last update: September, 2026

In 2022, most Swedes under 65 years old were culturally active, in the sense of visiting at least one cultural institution per year (concert, film, library, museum, drama, art exhibition). During the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers were considerably lower, but now they appear to have recovered to pre-pandemic numbers in most fields. The general trend for many years has been for increasing numbers of older people to attend cultural events. Younger people have shown a decrease in activity in traditional activities in arts and cultural activities. In 2022, 40 per cent – more than before the pandemic – attended pop or rock concerts, 18 percent classical concerts or opera performances, 62 per cent visited historical sites, 50 visited museums, and 54 per cent visited public libraries, 20 per cent sang in choirs or played instruments, 78 per cent had read at least one book in the last year, and 95 per cent had listened to music, making this the most common cultural activity. Judging from these statistics, women generally appear to have a wider interest in the arts than men do (SCB 2023).

While younger people show less attendance at traditional cultural events than other age groups, they participate actively in cultural activities to a higher degree; this includes not only new activities but also established activities such as playing music and participating in amateur theatre. Young Swedes also access the Internet more than other age groups and are active users of a number of Internet services for publishing their own work. Internet use in Sweden is among the highest in the world. In 2025, 97 per cent of Swedes had access to the internet, and 93 per cent used it daily (Internetstiftelsen 2025). In 2020, 65 per cent used the internet to watch movies or TV series, and 69 per cent to listen to music. During the COVID-19 pandemic, internet use has become more central in people´s lives (SCB 2020), while fewer people attended live events. The trend in the use of social media appears to be towards more passive use. In contrast, many now converse regularly with Large Language Model (LLM) artificial intelligence (A.I.). In 2025, 37 per cent of the population (above 16 years old) had used generative A.I., about one in six had used A.I. to create images, and two thirds of students used A.I. in their studies (Internetstiftelsen 2025).

Reading trends among adults have remained stable since the 1990’s, but young people read less (at least when it comes to printed material), and men read less than women. While the reading of books has decreased somewhat, listening to audiobooks has increased in the last ten years, including among the young. In 2022, 36 percent red books every week, and 19 per cent listened to books every week (SCB 2023).

Table 3: People who participated in or attended a certain cultural activity during the last 12 months in Sweden, in % of the population, 2018-2024.

Table 4: People who have carried out artistic activities in Sweden in the last 12 months by type of activity, in per cent of total population, 2018-2024

N/A: data not available. No data present for this measure

Source: The SOM Institute, University of Gothenburg, https://www.gu.se/en/som-institute/the-som-surveys/method 

Data is based on a survey with a representative sample of Sweden’s population, 18-65 years old.

Based on the following items in Swedish: Writing - "Skrivit dagbok/poesi", Painting or drawing - "Tecknat/målat", Photography - "Fotograferat/filmat", Drama - "spelat teater/lajv", Dance and ballet - "Dansat", Playing an instrument - "Spelat musikinstrument", Singing in a choir - "Sjungit i kör".

Last update: September, 2026

Table 5: Household cultural expenditure by expenditure purpose, 2018-2019

Last update: September, 2026

In total, the voluntary cultural organisations cooperating in Ideell Kulturallians claim over a million members, and over 20 million personal visits annually. These organisations are, in most cases, organised in a way typical of Swedish NGOs, each dealing with amateur activities in a particular art form, or other cultural activity, e.g., choirs, music, theatre, traditional crafts, or local heritage. The largest of these organisations has long been the Swedish Local Heritage Federation (Svenska Hembygdsförbundet), which reports over 2000 clubs all over the country, and claims over 400,000 members. Large national associations organise national and ethnic minorities, organising many cultural activities in both Swedish and their native languages. While many organisations have high numbers of active members, their financial resources remain limited, and their activities to a high degree rely on volunteers. Civil society organisations in arts and culture have estimated that the total number of hours of voluntary work in their activities to nearly 16 million, or an average of 100 hours a year per volunteer. In addition, most state museums have a "friends of" association attached to them and these have, in many cases, provided significant financial contributions to the museum. Compared to volunteer work in other areas, volunteer work in arts and culture decreased from 7 per cent of all volunteer work in 2009 to 5 per cent in 2019 (von Essen 2020).

Most government funding for national associations in culture does not come via the Ministry of Culture or from its government agencies. Government funding for voluntary cultural organisations, as such, is relatively limited – on the national level, as well as on the regional and local levels. If such organisations receive government funding, they tend to receive funding designed for other purposes. Some of them are registered as youth organisations, and others are organisations for national or ethnic minorities, both of which are eligible to access special funding; both of which categories have access to specially designated government funds. Under the present government, there appears to be a tendency to further tighten control of funding for civil society organisations. In the national budget for 2024, the government removed the special support for ethnic organisations.

The major recipients of government grants for cultural amateur activities are the study associations. In spite of being repeatedly reduced in the last few years, their annual funding from the national government amounted to more than one billion SEK. To this are added varying sums from local and regional governments, as well as income from various fees. Statistics show that most of the activities organised by the study associations can be described as cultural activities, ranging from lectures and study circles on cultural matters to rock music and theatre groups rehearsing. Easily available music training and public facilities for rehearsals have often been pointed out as an explanation for Sweden's internationally successful music scene. Others have pointed to the prevalence of cultural group activities such as study circles and singing in choirs to explain the cohesiveness and high levels of trust in Swedish society.

Culture houses of various sorts are maintained by many Swedish municipalities. These often include public libraries (which exist in all Swedish municipalities), theatres and other local cultural institutions. Other cultural houses are maintained by the municipalities for leisure activities for young people (fritidsgårdar). New and larger cultural houses, concert halls, and art galleries have been built in recent decades by relatively large municipalities, such as Helsingborg and Karlstad, in small communities, like Hässleholm, Vara, Mariefred, and Skärhamn, as well as in suburbs of major cities, e.g., the Centre for Cultural Diversity in Botkyrka (Stockholm) and the Dream House in Rosengård (Malmö).

Three major national associations are supported by the national government to maintain cultural houses and other similar facilities throughout the country: Folkets Hus och Parker, Våra Gårdar and Bygdegårdarnas Riksförbund. All three have a background in the popular movements that arose in the late 19th century. The largest of the three is Folkets Hus och Parker, an organisation that maintains about 900 venues all over the country. It has close ties to other organisations sharing its origins in the labour movement.

Many cultural activities, e.g., choir singing, often take place within the framework of registered religious denominations. The largest of these is the Church of Sweden, with 5.5 million members. When analysing trends in the Swedish voluntary sector, it is worth noting that the Church of Sweden was separated from the state in 2000. It is thus now a part of the voluntary sector. Before 2000, it was, on the other hand, a public body. The size of the voluntary sector can thus be said to have increased significantly, regardless of any change in the habits of the population.

Studies indicate that the voluntary sector in Sweden is increasingly organised in non-profit associations with a more limited number of members and a large number of non-member supporters and volunteers, or with large numbers of passive members. It is possible that the younger generation is not, as has been suggested, sceptical towards the voluntary organisation as a form, but simply takes a more practical approach to it, placing the activity before the organisational form. It could also be that organisations of the old model are decreasing in importance and that cultural activities are increasingly organised in new ways. One should, however, not assume that the new modes of organisation are entirely different from the old ones. New movements and forms of culture are often cooperating with older organisations, even when they themselves are more informally organised. The organisational forms of new cultural expressions appear to still be an open issue.