Sweden and the wider world

This chapter covers Sweden's cooperation with other countries, its security policy, and its long history of peace. Nordic cooperation happens mainly through the Nordic Council and the Nordic Council of Ministers together with Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway. Sweden has been a member of the EU since 1995, a cooperation that started after the Second World War for peace and stability. The cooperation makes it possible for people to study, move, work and sell goods freely between member states, what the material calls the four freedoms. Sweden is also a member of the Council of Europe, founded in 1949, which works for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, including through the European Court of Human Rights.

At the global level, Sweden is a member of the UN, which almost every country in the world belongs to and which was founded in 1945 after the Second World War to preserve peace and security, resolve conflicts, and work for the equal worth and human rights of all people. Sweden also contributes to international development work through the agency Sida, which supports other countries on democracy, equality, the economy and sustainability.

A separate section describes Sweden's security policy and long period of peace. Sweden has not fought a war against another state since the early 1800s. In the war against Russia 1808 to 1809, Sweden lost Finland, which had then been part of Sweden for nearly 700 years, and shortly afterward Norway was forced into a union with Sweden, which was later dissolved peacefully in 1905. During the Cold War, Sweden remained neutral and did not join NATO, unlike Denmark and Norway. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and EU membership in 1995, Sweden became more integrated into European cooperation. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Sweden, together with Finland, applied for NATO membership, and Sweden became a member in 2024.

The chapter also describes the Swedish defence system, covering both a military defence, the Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) with the army, navy and air force, and a civil defence meant to keep critical functions like schools and healthcare running during a crisis or war. Everyone between 16 and 70 can be subject to total defence duty, and Sweden has universal conscription for men and women from age 18, though only some of those who are assessed go on to complete military training. Given the clear dates, such as 1949, 1995, 2022 and 2024, that is likely the kind of fact the test can test.