Sweden 6.2

In 2022, most Swedes under 65 years old were culturally active, in the sense of visiting at least one cultural institution per year (concert, film, library, museum, drama, art exhibition). During the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers were considerably lower, but now they appear to have recovered to pre-pandemic numbers in most fields. The general trend for many years has been for increasing numbers of older people to attend cultural events. Younger people have shown a decrease in activity in traditional activities in arts and cultural activities. In 2022, 40 per cent – more than before the pandemic – attended pop or rock concerts, 18 percent classical concerts or opera performances, 62 per cent visited historical sites, 50 visited museums, and 54 per cent visited public libraries, 20 per cent sang in choirs or played instruments, 78 per cent had read at least one book in the last year, and 95 per cent had listened to music, making this the most common cultural activity. Judging from these statistics, women generally appear to have a wider interest in the arts than men do (SCB 2023).

While younger people show less attendance at traditional cultural events than other age groups, they participate actively in cultural activities to a higher degree; this includes not only new activities but also established activities such as playing music and participating in amateur theatre. Young Swedes also access the Internet more than other age groups and are active users of a number of Internet services for publishing their own work. Internet use in Sweden is among the highest in the world. In 2025, 97 per cent of Swedes had access to the internet, and 93 per cent used it daily (Internetstiftelsen 2025). In 2020, 65 per cent used the internet to watch movies or TV series, and 69 per cent to listen to music. During the COVID-19 pandemic, internet use has become more central in people´s lives (SCB 2020), while fewer people attended live events. The trend in the use of social media appears to be towards more passive use. In contrast, many now converse regularly with Large Language Model (LLM) artificial intelligence (A.I.). In 2025, 37 per cent of the population (above 16 years old) had used generative A.I., about one in six had used A.I. to create images, and two thirds of students used A.I. in their studies (Internetstiftelsen 2025).

Reading trends among adults have remained stable since the 1990’s, but young people read less (at least when it comes to printed material), and men read less than women. While the reading of books has decreased somewhat, listening to audiobooks has increased in the last ten years, including among the young. In 2022, 36 percent red books every week, and 19 per cent listened to books every week (SCB 2023).

Table 3: People who participated in or attended a certain cultural activity during the last 12 months in Sweden, in % of the population, 2018-2024.

Table 4: People who have carried out artistic activities in Sweden in the last 12 months by type of activity, in per cent of total population, 2018-2024

N/A: data not available. No data present for this measure

Source: The SOM Institute, University of Gothenburg, https://www.gu.se/en/som-institute/the-som-surveys/method 

Data is based on a survey with a representative sample of Sweden’s population, 18-65 years old.

Based on the following items in Swedish: Writing – “Skrivit dagbok/poesi”, Painting or drawing – “Tecknat/målat”, Photography – “Fotograferat/filmat”, Drama – “spelat teater/lajv”, Dance and ballet – “Dansat”, Playing an instrument – “Spelat musikinstrument”, Singing in a choir – “Sjungit i kör”.