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Stockholm – the Venice of Scandinavia

Stockholm has a population of 978,770 (est. December 31st, 2020), and a density of population of 5,200/km2 (13,000/sq mi). The urban region has a population of 1,611,776 people, with a density of population of 4,200/km2 (11,000/sq mi). The metro region has a population of 2,415,139 people, with a density of population of 370/km2 (960/sq mi). Stockholm is divided into 11 municipalities.

Stockholm General Facts and Figures

Multifaceted and exciting

• More than 850 000 people of different origins live in the city.
• Around 40% of the city’s land consists of parks or recreational areas, and there are seven nature preserves.
• Around 525 000 people, of which 237 000 commutes from other cities, work at around 36 000 workplaces.
• Around 450 sports facilities, including 14 public indoor pools, are visited by almost 3 million people every year.
• More than 4.2 million books are borrowed from the city’s libraries, and more than 2.7 million people visit cultural activities.
• Almost 300 annual events occur at the Avicii Arena, attracting over 1.4 million visitors.

Innovative and growing

• The city’s accessibility will increase through expanded roads and public transportations in cooperation with other actors in the region.
• Stockholm is Sweden‘s most prominent business site, with close to a fourth of the country’s businesses.
• 100 000 new housing units are planned for the Stockholm region before 2030.
• The city will conduct active climate operations to counteract an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. 

The citizen’s Stockholm

• Almost 45 000 children attend pre-school, nearly 74 000 students attend elementary school, and 27 000 students attend upper secondary school.
• Home service for the elderly caters to more than 16 000 people.
• The city invests in lighting projects, graffiti clean-up, and tidying of common areas to maintain a beautiful and safe Stockholm.

Stockholm Region Facts and Figures

• The Stockholm region is one of Europe‘s most attractive and competitive regions. The region tops several rankings measuring purchasing power and the industry’s competitiveness; simultaneously, living expenses are relatively low. Stockholm is also one of the world’s most environment-oriented cities.
• The Stockholm region contains more than a fifth of Sweden’s total population. The region has more than 2.4 million inhabitants. The City of Stockholm is the most populated area with more than 978,770 inhabitants.
• The region is home to almost half of the country’s population growth, with significant levels of inward-migration from the rest of Sweden and abroad. The population is highly diverse.
• The population of the Stockholm region has grown, with over 200,000 people in the last ten years.
• The Stockholm region has Sweden’s most extensive housing stock, with over 1.4 million homes and the region’s highest level of new housing construction. Stockholm City has a housing stock with over 550,000 homes.

Economy of Stockholm

Stockholm is Sweden’s central commercial and economic capital, with many high-profile multi-national companies choosing to have their headquarters in the area. Technological and financial institutions are particularly prominent in this city. The biggest employers in Sweden are Securitas, Volvo, Ericsson, Skanska, Electrolux, SCA, and SKF.

Economic growth

• The European Regional Growth Index (E-REGI) ranks Stockholm as the most attractive Scandinavian Location for business and property investment. In all of Europe, Stockholm is ranked number five. E-REGI combines economic growth, the overall value of wealth, and measures of the relative attraction of the business environment.  
• The PWC ranking “Cities of Opportunity 2011” puts Stockholm in number four with New York, Toronto, and San Francisco. It is the highest-ranking city in Europe. 
• During 2019, over 250 qualified foreign direct investments were made in the Stockholm region, increasing 14 percent compared to 2015. The most attractive sectors were ICT, retail, business services, cleantech, and life science.

Stockholm growing

• Growth in Stockholm reaches new top rankings within several areas. The development of wages continues to increase, as do the starting rate of new companies, the number of work opportunities, the number of inhabitants, the number of visiting tourists, and the building rate of new apartments.
• Of the new businesses launched in the Stockholm region, almost 50 percent are limited companies, with 40 percent being started up solely or jointly by women. Almost 90 percent of the new businesses are within the service sector, of which almost 40 percent offer business services and 25 percent offer personal services.

Opening up a business in Stockholm

• It is easy to set up a new business in Stockholm. Corporate tax in Sweden is low by European comparisons, and costs for qualified staff are moderate.
• As an investment region, Stockholm has stepped up and now enjoys a leading position with regions like Paris and Berlin. Three knowledge intense business sectors are robust in Sweden: Financial Services, Business Services, and Electronics.
• One measure of business activity in a city is the amount of office space. In Stockholm, there about 20 million square meters of office space, more than Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki.
• Stockholm is the second-best European city in terms of quality of life for employees.
• Stockholm is Sweden’s most prominent labor market, with more than a million people.

International business life

• The Stockholm region’s business community has a strong international emphasis, with significant exports and operations abroad. More than 40 percent of the 680,000 private-sector employees work for companies that export their goods and services. The companies within the region own many Swedish companies’ foreign subsidiaries.
• Two-thirds of the Fortune 100 companies with Scandinavian head offices have chosen to have them in Stockholm. Fortune 100 is an annual ranking of companies rated high by employees.

Infrastructure of Stockholm

Sweden has 231 airports (est. 2013). In Stockholm are two major international airports: Stockholm-Arlanda Airport and Stockholm-Skavsta Airport. The largest is Stockholm-Arlanda airport, which handles 25.6 million passengers annually (2019) and is the third-largest airport in the Nordic region. Most flights are to European countries, with several flights to global destinations like New York, Bangkok, and Beijing. From 2012-to 2019, passenger numbers steadily. However, the amount dropped to 6.5 million in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 2017 the number decreased by 4%, but then it bounced back up again, remaining stable until 2018, after which tickets fell by 6%.

The railway transportation system in Sweden is privatized, and the majority of services are operated and run by the Swedish Rail Administration. 15006.25 km of railways span the country (the 22nd largest in the world), and major routes are served by X2000 high-speed trains, which can travel up to 200 km/h (124mph), and allow quick and comfortable travel between Swedish cities. Modern buses run throughout Sweden and allow access to parts of the country that are not accessible by the railway network. The Eurolines bus company also connects Stockholm to other Nordic cities like Oslo and Helsinki.

Stockholm Infrastructure – Facts and Figures

• Stockholm is located in the heart of Scandinavia, with all of the region’s major cities within comfortable reach. The region has a highly developed transportation network with five airports, ferry connections to several countries around the Baltic Sea, high-speed trains to Sweden’s largest cities, and excellent regional and local public transportation. 
• The region’s road, rail and port capacity is continuously being developed.
• Stockholm’s two international airports are easily accessible from Stockholm Central station. You can reach all of northern Europe’s cities in less than two hours.
• Arlanda airport is the country’s largest airport, visited by over 25.6 million people each year. 
• Stockholm has an extensive and well-developed public transport system. More than 800,000 people travel by public transport every day, and during peak hours, 78 percent of all trips to the inner city are made by public transport. Stockholm County, SL, runs the local transport.
• In the last decade, Stockholm residents’ number of bicycle trips has increased thanks to the expansion of cycling paths and citizens’ growing interest in health and physical exercise. Many people find cycling an excellent and environmentally friendly way of transportation. 

Stockholm Environment

• Stockholm is a green city – surrounded by 219 nature reserves. The closest natural reserve is just a 10-minute subway ride from the city center. The city boasts over 1,000 parks, which make up approximately 30 percent of the city’s area.
• Stockholm has one of the cleanest environments among Europe’s capitals.
• The water is so clean that you can go fishing and swimming in the city center.
• Stockholm has the world’s most significant central heating and cooling network, with more than 30 years of track record in renewable energy.
• The government’s target is that Stockholm will be CO2-free before 2050.
• Stockholm’s Hammarby Sjöstad is a unique example of sustainable city development on an industrial scale. It holds 25,000 inhabitants, 95 percent of the waste is utilized, and 50 percent of the energy production is recovered from waste.

Stockholm Workforce

Sweden has a labor force of 5.029 million (est. 2020). Sweden’s unemployment rate was 6.78% (2019).

The official language is Swedish, with Finish being recognized and spoken by around 3% of the population. Other languages include Sami and Romani. The English language is widely spoken and understood by many Swedish nationals, partly because it is a compulsory subject that is taught in all schools.

Education and Research

Sweden has a strong education ethic; 7.8% of Sweden’s GDP (est. 2018) is re-invested back into the educational system. People must attend school until the age of 16, when they may choose to further their education in one of the many universities. The majority of primary and secondary schools are publicly funded and accessible to citizens of the country.

Stockholm is a region with a high profile in education and research. 31 Nobel Prizes have been given to Stockholmers over the years.

• Stockholm has Sweden’s best-educated inhabitants. More than 40 percent of Stockholmers aged over 20 hold a higher education.
• There are 21 universities and university colleges in the Stockholm region.
• According to the European innovation scoreboard, Sweden has received the top ranking for its innovation performance. 
• Swedish universities and colleges do not charge tuition fees, but the state finances the education system. 
•  KI (Karolinska Institutet) is one of Europe’s largest medical universities. It is also Sweden’s most prominent medical education center, accounting for approximately 30 percent of medical education and 40 percent of academic medical research carried out in Sweden.
• The Royal Institute of Technology and the Stockholm School of Business are highly regarded internationally for their top-class research and high quality of education.

Business Costs

The average office rental costs $59.29, roughly equivalent to office prices in Sydney and Dublin. Stockholm has the highest rates for office rentals in the country.

Sweden has a fixed competitive corporate tax rate of 20.6%.

Individual tax is levied on both a federal and municipal level, with each municipality controlling its tax rates. Personal taxes work on a progressive scale, but for high-income earners, they are some of the highest rates in the world. Any individual who earns more than Kr538,800 ($74,058) may be required to pay up to 59.17% tax on all income, depending on what municipality they reside in. VAT rates in Sweden are also amongst the highest in Europe, with a fixed 25% for most general items, a discounted rate of 12% for some foodstuffs, and 6% for newspapers and books.

You can find more about the Sweden Tax Rates here: Sweden.se

Wages are higher in Sweden than the European average, with the highest salaries being found in and around the capital city of Stockholm. Although the state sets no minimum wage, many laws in place protect employees and their rights. The average wage for December 2021 reached 183 SEK/Hour (around $14/h). The maximum rate was 184 SEK/Hour and minimum 134 SEK/Hour. On average, the minimum (un-official) wage in Sweden is over $3000/month.