Distillers Sweden
A one-page guide to Sweden for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Stockholm
- Official languages
- Swedish
- Currency
- Swedish krona (SEK)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (CET); UTC+2 in summer
- Area
- 450,295 km²
People
- Population
- 10.7 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 0.3% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 89.1%
- Aged under 15
- 16.7%
- Aged 65 and over
- 20.9%
- Life expectancy
- 84.1 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$676.5 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$63,368 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.4% (2025)
- Inflation
- 2.6% (2025)
Climate
Mostly temperate with four seasons: July highs about 19-24 C and January highs about -9 to 3 C. The far south is mild in winter and the north is subarctic.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 20 at Systembolaget (retail monopoly); 18 in bars and restaurants; beer up to 2.25% ABV unrestricted; 'folkol' (2.25-3.5%) sold in ordinary shops at 18
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 8.7 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Business France - spirits in Sweden (2024 data); Wikipedia - Systembolaget; Wikipedia - Sweden (basics, climate); IMF DataMapper WEO (GDP, population, growth, inflation; retrieved 26 Oct 2026); UN Comtrade (HS 2208); WHO Global Health Observatory; Wikipedia - Legal drinking age; Wikipedia - Absolut Vodka. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.