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Sweden’s economy has grown but its social insurance spending has fallen from 8.1 to 3.9 percent of GDP
Försäkringskassan’s payments took 3.9 percent of GDP in 2025, down from 8.1 percent in 1980, as the government moves to restrict newcomers’ access to benefits.
Sweden has grown richer, but it now devotes a smaller share of its economy to the social safety net. Social insurance spending has fallen from 8.1 percent of GDP in 1980 to 3.9 percent in 2025, while the government moves to restrict newcomers’ access to benefits and keeps blaming foreign-born residents for the weakening of Sweden’s welfare system.
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