Public employment in Sweden

Sweden: Public employment was 5,356 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5,356
Change on year
down 2.0%
World rank
15th
of 47 countries
All-time high
5,466
in 2023
All-time low
4,239
in 2005
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Public employment in Sweden, 2005–2024

02.0k4.0k6.0k2005201420242005: 4.2k2006: 4.3k2007: 4.4k2008: 4.6k2009: 4.5k2010: 4.5k2011: 4.6k2012: 4.6k2013: 4.7k2014: 4.7k2015: 4.8k2016: 4.9k2017: 5.0k2018: 5.0k2019: 5.2k2020: 5.2k2021: 5.2k2022: 5.4k2023: 5.5k2024: 5.4k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Sweden recorded 5,356 for public employment in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.0% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, public employment in Sweden peaked at 5,466 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 4,239, in 2005.

Sweden ranks 15th of 47 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Public employment in Sweden, year by year

Annual values for Public employment in Sweden, 2005 to 2024.
Year Value Change
2005 4,239
2006 4,308 +1.6%
2007 4,415 +2.5%
2008 4,565 +3.4%
2009 4,455 -2.4%
2010 4,498 +1.0%
2011 4,594 +2.1%
2012 4,627 +0.7%
2013 4,672 +1.0%
2014 4,737 +1.4%
2015 4,808 +1.5%
2016 4,896 +1.9%
2017 4,959 +1.3%
2018 5,039 +1.6%
2019 5,219 +3.6%
2020 5,153 -1.3%
2021 5,218 +1.3%
2022 5,400 +3.5%
2023 5,466 +1.2%
2024 5,356 -2.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4,396 4,239 4,565 5
2010s 4,805 4,498 5,219 10
2020s 5,318 5,153 5,466 5

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 12 Romania 8,627 compare
  2. 13 Chile 8,217 compare
  3. 14 Switzerland 5,561 compare
  4. 16 Belgium 5,096 compare
  5. 17 Greece 5,044 compare
  6. 18 Hungary 4,764 compare

See the full ranking of 47 places →

More work & labour data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is public employment in Sweden?
Public employment in Sweden was 5,356 in 2024, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest public employment recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 5,466 in 2023.
What is the lowest public employment recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 4,239 in 2005.
How does Sweden rank for public employment?
Sweden ranks 15th out of 47 countries with data for 2024.
Is public employment rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Public employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Public employment in Sweden. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/public-employment/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Public employment
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
47 places, 681 data points, 1975–2024
Last refreshed

With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. For time series comparability, it includes countries that have implemented the 19th ICLS standards, for which data are also available in the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database. The total public sector employment covers all employment of general government sector as defined in System of National Accounts 1993 plus employment of publicly owned enterprises and companies, resident and operating at central, state (or regional) and local levels of government. It covers all persons employed directly by those institutions, without regard for the particular type of employment contract. See the working paper: Statistics on Public Sector Employment: Methodology, Structures and Trends. For more information, refer to the Labour Force Statistics (LFS and STLFS) database description.