Sweden: Operating a Business

Legal Forms of Companies

The Aktiebolag or AB (private limited company): Number of partners: One or more.
Capital (max/min): Minimum SEK 25,000.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.
Public limited company: Number of partners: At least three directors
Capital (max/min): Minimum SEK 500,000
Shareholders and liability: Liability is limited to the amount of capital contributed.
The Enskild naringsidkare (individual company): Number of partners: Only one.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is unlimited.
The Handelsbolag or HB (partnership): Number of partners: 2 partners minimum.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: Liability is joint and unlimited regarding third parties.
The Kommanditbolag (limited partnership): Number of partners: 2 partners minimum.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital.
Shareholders and liability: Unlimited for active partners, limited for sleeping partners.

Setting Up a Company	Sweden	OECD
Procedures (number)	4.00	5.21
Time (days)	7.50	9.47

Source: The World Bank - Doing Business, Latest data available.

The Competent Organisation: Swedish Companies Registration Office.
For Further Information: Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in Sweden.
Swedish Companies Registration Office – Bolagsverket

Dun & Bradstreet - Worldwide directory with financial information on businesses

Kompass - Swedish business directory

Principle: Any recovery procedure begins with an injunction, by registered post, addressed to the debtor reminding him of his obligation to pay.

The creditor resorts to the accelerated procedure of the injunction to pay (Betalningsföreläggande) conducted by the Office of Seizures and can thus obtain a proof of debt rapidly, within about four months.
For further information, click here.

Insolvency can be declared by the debtor or the creditor. The court declares the insolvency and appoints an administrator. The decision must be published in the Official Gazette and in one or more newspapers circulating in the region.

Companies which appear to be viable in the long term but are in financial difficulty, can be reorganized. The application is made by the company itself and the court appoints an administrator to come to an arrangement with the creditors.

Debt restructuring means that all debts covered by the procedure are reduced or eliminated altogether. The creditors must be given the opportunity to comment on the proposal. The deciding authority will determine the proportion of the debt the debtor must pay and the repayment schedule (generally spread over 5 years).

For further information, consult the European Commission website.
Bankruptcy Laws: Bankruptcy Act (1987:672, Konkurslagen)
Reorganization and Rehabilitation Laws: Company Reorganization Act (1996:764)
Debt Restructuring Act (2006:548)

	2023	2024	2025
Labour Force	5,775,285	5,783,199	5,839,311

For Further Statistics: Swedish National Agency for Education
Sweden Statistics

Minimum Wage: Sweden does not have a statutory national minimum wage, as pay floors are determined solely through collective bargaining agreements between trade unions and employers.
Average Wage: According to Statistics Sweden, the average monthly salary was SEK 54,200 (approx. EUR 5,200) in 2024 for "Full-time non-manuel workers in mining, quarring and manufacturing".
Other Forms of Pay
Pay For Overtime: It is quite common for overtime to be paid 50% or 100% of the ordinary hourly rate according to when the overtime is worked.

The Areas Covered: Old age pension, health insurance, supplementary pension
Contributions: Contributions Paid By the Employer: Swedish social security contributions for employed personnel are payable by the employer at a rate of 31.42 percent of the gross salary. There are no upper limits in respect of employer contributions.
Contributions Paid By the Employee: Swedish social security contributions are payable by the employee at the rate of 7 percent of the net earned income with a cap at an annual income of SEK 572,970 (maximum contribution SEK 40,100).
Competent Organization: Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Forsakringskassan)

Recruitment Agencies: Public service for employment: AMS - Arbetsmarknadsstyrelsen and AMV - Arbetsmarknadsverket.
Recruitment agency: Juhlergroup, Sikta (in Swedish)
Recruitment Websites: Workinginsweden
Monster Sweden
English Speaking Jobs in Sweden
Expat in Sweden

Type of Contract: The work contract is governed by legal measures and to a lesser degree by collective agreements and individual negotiation.
The work contract is generally a permanent contract, but fixed-term contracts may be signed under certain conditions.

Labour Laws: Labor laws in English
Consult Doing Business Website, to obtain a summary of the labour regulations that apply to local entreprises.

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: Unions are quite powerful in Sweden. Collective agreements are very important in Sweden and they cover most workers. Social dialogue happens only between employers and employees. However, a Commission or a State may be a third party in the negotiations. If the two parties do not come to an agreement, it is the Commission or the State that will decide and this encourages the parties to find an agreement.
Unionisation Rate: 67.3%.
Labour Unions: LO (Landsorganisationen I Sverige) The Swedish Trade Union Confederation
TCO (Tjanstemannens Centralorganisation) (in English) The Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees

Any Comment About This Content? Report It to Us.