Freedom in the World 2001 - Sweden

2001 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.0
Civil Liberties: 1
Political Rights: 1

Overview

Since 1998, Prime Minister Goran Persson has led a left-of-center coalition including his Social Democratic Party (SDP), the former Communist Left Party, and the Green Party. In 2000 the minority government saw its support slip, partly over issues of tax cuts and welfare reform. With general elections scheduled for 2002, the prospect of an early election gained ground during the year.

In June, the International Monetary Fund urged Sweden to cut taxes, which amount to 52.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product, the highest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Sweden administers one of the world's most extensive welfare systems. Criticism of the Persson government mounted during the year, with charges that high taxes make Sweden less competitive and encourage a "brain drain" of young, educated professionals.

Sweden is faced with the difficult decision of whether to join the European Monetary Union (EMU). A referendum on the issue may be held in 2001. While the country joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, it did so grudgingly. The SDP's two coalition partners oppose joining the EMU and are unenthusiastic about Sweden's having joined the EU. After Denmark's decision in September 2000 not to adopt the common European currency, Prime Minister Persson, a proponent of the euro, faced a greater task in convincing his countrymen of the currency's benefits.

Although it has been nonaligned and neutral since World War I, in November Prime Minister Persson announced his intention to end Sweden's policy of military neutrality, declaring the stance irrelevant in the post-cold-war era. The announcement raised some concern among political opponents that Sweden would necessarily have to initiate a process of forward planning in the event of having to form alliances in wartime, as well as identify potential enemies. While continuing to rule out NATO membership, Persson insisted that non-neutrality would place Sweden in a better position to address post-cold-war issues such as disarmament, nuclear nonproliferation, and European stability. Instability in the Balkans during the 1990s led to an increase of immigrants to Sweden from Yugoslavia, sparking intolerance and nationalist and extremist violence. Sweden is an active member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program.

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty parliamentary democracy. After monarchical alliances with Finland, Denmark, and Norway between the eleventh and nineteenth centuries, Sweden emerged as a modern democracy.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Swedes can change their government democratically. The 310-member, unicameral Riksdag (parliament) is elected every four years through universal suffrage. To ensure absolute proportionality for all parties that secure more than four percent of the vote, an additional 39 representatives are selected from a national pool of candidates. Single-party majority governments are rare.

Citizens abroad are entitled to vote by absentee ballot in national elections, and non-nationals in residence for three years may vote in local elections. The Saami (Lapp) community elects its own local parliament with significant powers over education and culture. The Saami parliament serves as an advisory body to the government. The role of King Carl Gustaf XVI, who was crowned in 1973, is ceremonial. The prime minister is appointed by the speaker of the house and confirmed by the Riksdag.

The media are independent. Most newspapers and periodicals are privately owned. The government subsidizes daily newspapers regardless of their political affiliation. The ethnic press is entitled to the same kind of subsidies as the Swedish press. The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation and the Swedish Television Company broadcast weekly radio and television programs in several immigrant languages. In recent years, new satellite- and ground-based commercial television channels and radio stations ended the government monopoly on broadcasting. Internet penetration rates in Sweden are among the highest in the world, with more than half the population online.

Citizens may freely express their ideas and criticize their government. The government is empowered to prevent publication of information related to national security. A quasi-government body censors extremely graphic violence from film, video, and television.

International human rights groups have criticized Sweden for its immigration policies, which have severely limited the number of refugees admitted annually. Nordic immigrants may become citizens after two years, while others must wait a minimum of five years. Critics charge that the country does not systematically provide asylum seekers with adequate legal counsel or access to an appeals process. The jobless rate among non-Nordic immigrants is close to 20 percent, whereas among the general population it is about 6 percent. Immigrants, half of whom are from other Nordic countries, make up about 12 percent of the Swedish population.

Dozens of violent incidents with anti-immigrant or racist overtones are reported annually, and the government supports volunteer groups that oppose racism. The Nationalsocialistick Front, the leading neo-Nazi group in Sweden, has an estimated 1,500 members and was recently permitted to register as a political party. Although the country's 17,000 Saami enjoy some political autonomy, Sweden was the last Nordic country to approve a parliament for its Lappic population.

Religious freedom is constitutionally guaranteed. Approximately 85 percent of the population is Lutheran. On January 1, 2000, Sweden officially disestablished the Church of Sweden from the state, following the norm in Western Europe of severing ties between the state and an official religion. The move effectively reduced the once substantial subsidies to the church and redirected them to other religious institutions, including those associated with Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Jews. The growing numbers of non-Lutherans in Sweden prompted the move. There are approximately 200,000 Muslims, 160,000 Roman Catholics, 100,000 Orthodox Christians, and 16,000 Jews in Sweden.

Freedom of assembly and association is guaranteed, as are the rights to strike and participate in unions. Strong and well-organized trade union federations represent 90 percent of the labor force. Despite historic ties with the SDP, the labor movement has become increasingly independent.

The country's independent judiciary includes 6 courts of appeal, 100 district courts, a supreme court, and a parallel system of administrative courts.

Women constitute approximately 45 percent of the labor force, but their wage levels lag behind those of men. Sweden has the highest proportion of female politicians in the world. More than 40 percent of the country's members of parliament are women, along with half the cabinet.