{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"se-average-salary","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/se-average-salary","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/se-average-salary/","title":"Average Annual Salary in Sweden (2025)","description":"Average annual wages in Sweden from 1990 to 2025, expressed in constant 2025 USD at purchasing power parity. At $61,443 in 2025, Sweden sits approximately 5.2% below the OECD average of $64,809. Source: OECD Average Annual Wages dataset.","domain":"labor","category":"Labour & Employment","keywords":["Labour & Employment","Wages & Earnings","Sweden","Macroeconomics","Purchasing Power Parity"],"publisher":"OECD — Centre for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs","frequency":"Annual","geography":"Sweden","temporal_coverage":"1990/2025","unit":"Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP)","last_updated":"2026-07-25","last_updated_text":"25 July 2026","data_as_of":"2025","variable_measured":"Mean gross annual wage of full-time full-year employees in Sweden","measurement_technique":"National accounts and labour force surveys, converted to constant 2025 USD at purchasing power parity","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"OECD Average Annual Wages — SDMX REST API endpoint","url":"https://sdmx.oecd.org/public/rest/data/OECD.ELS.SAE,DSD_EARNINGS@AV_AN_WAGE,1.0?format=csv"},{"name":"OECD — Average Wages indicator page","url":"https://www.oecd.org/en/data/indicators/average-wages.html"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"1990–2025"},{"label":"Observations","value":"36"},{"label":"Geography","value":"Sweden"},{"label":"Base period","value":"Constant 2025 USD at PPP"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"25 July 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"Sweden Avg. Wage (2025)","value":"$61,443","unit":"Constant 2025 USD, PPP","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+0.9% vs. 2024"}},{"label":"vs. OECD Average","value":"-5.2%","unit":"Below OECD avg. of $64,809","trend":{"direction":"down","value":"Sweden below OECD average"}},{"label":"10-Year Real Growth","value":"+3.2%","unit":"2015 to 2025","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"From $59,542 in 2015"}},{"label":"2022 Inflation Dip","value":"$61,819","unit":"Constant 2025 USD, PPP","trend":{"direction":"down","value":"-3.3% vs. 2021"}}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"Sweden Average Annual Wage (USD PPP, constant 2025)"}],"observation_count":36,"observations":[{"period":"1990","value":38220},{"period":"1991","value":36401},{"period":"1992","value":37541},{"period":"1993","value":37049},{"period":"1994","value":37944},{"period":"1995","value":38070},{"period":"1996","value":40269},{"period":"1997","value":41932},{"period":"1998","value":43325},{"period":"1999","value":44240},{"period":"2000","value":45863},{"period":"2001","value":46401},{"period":"2002","value":46984},{"period":"2003","value":47351},{"period":"2004","value":48891},{"period":"2005","value":50096},{"period":"2006","value":51516},{"period":"2007","value":53286},{"period":"2008","value":54402},{"period":"2009","value":54592},{"period":"2010","value":55267},{"period":"2011","value":56095},{"period":"2012","value":57350},{"period":"2013","value":58007},{"period":"2014","value":58722},{"period":"2015","value":59542},{"period":"2016","value":60388},{"period":"2017","value":60738},{"period":"2018","value":61009},{"period":"2019","value":61693},{"period":"2020","value":62495},{"period":"2021","value":63923},{"period":"2022","value":61819},{"period":"2023","value":60122},{"period":"2024","value":60905},{"period":"2025","value":61443}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"year","label":"Year"},{"key":"value","label":"Avg. Annual Wage (USD PPP)"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"YoY Change"}],"rows":[{"year":"1990","value":"38220","yoyChange":"n/a"},{"year":"1991","value":"36401","yoyChange":"-4.8%"},{"year":"1992","value":"37541","yoyChange":"+3.1%"},{"year":"1993","value":"37049","yoyChange":"-1.3%"},{"year":"1994","value":"37944","yoyChange":"+2.4%"},{"year":"1995","value":"38070","yoyChange":"+0.3%"},{"year":"1996","value":"40269","yoyChange":"+5.8%"},{"year":"1997","value":"41932","yoyChange":"+4.1%"},{"year":"1998","value":"43325","yoyChange":"+3.3%"},{"year":"1999","value":"44240","yoyChange":"+2.1%"},{"year":"2000","value":"45863","yoyChange":"+3.7%"},{"year":"2001","value":"46401","yoyChange":"+1.2%"},{"year":"2002","value":"46984","yoyChange":"+1.3%"},{"year":"2003","value":"47351","yoyChange":"+0.8%"},{"year":"2004","value":"48891","yoyChange":"+3.3%"},{"year":"2005","value":"50096","yoyChange":"+2.5%"},{"year":"2006","value":"51516","yoyChange":"+2.8%"},{"year":"2007","value":"53286","yoyChange":"+3.4%"},{"year":"2008","value":"54402","yoyChange":"+2.1%"},{"year":"2009","value":"54592","yoyChange":"+0.3%"},{"year":"2010","value":"55267","yoyChange":"+1.2%"},{"year":"2011","value":"56095","yoyChange":"+1.5%"},{"year":"2012","value":"57350","yoyChange":"+2.2%"},{"year":"2013","value":"58007","yoyChange":"+1.1%"},{"year":"2014","value":"58722","yoyChange":"+1.2%"},{"year":"2015","value":"59542","yoyChange":"+1.4%"},{"year":"2016","value":"60388","yoyChange":"+1.4%"},{"year":"2017","value":"60738","yoyChange":"+0.6%"},{"year":"2018","value":"61009","yoyChange":"+0.4%"},{"year":"2019","value":"61693","yoyChange":"+1.1%"},{"year":"2020","value":"62495","yoyChange":"+1.3%"},{"year":"2021","value":"63923","yoyChange":"+2.3%"},{"year":"2022","value":"61819","yoyChange":"-3.3%"},{"year":"2023","value":"60122","yoyChange":"-2.7%"},{"year":"2024","value":"60905","yoyChange":"+1.3%"},{"year":"2025","value":"61443","yoyChange":"+0.9%"}]},"qa":[{"question":"What is the average annual salary in Sweden?","answer":"In 2025, the average annual salary in Sweden was $61,443 in constant 2025 USD, adjusted for purchasing power parity. The figure covers mean gross wages for a full-time, full-year equivalent employee across the total economy, compiled by the OECD from national accounts and labour force surveys (series AV_AN_WAGE, measure WG, unit USD_PPP). The 2025 reading is up 0.9% from $60,905 in 2024, continuing a gradual recovery from the inflation-driven declines of 2022 and 2023."},{"question":"How does Sweden's average wage compare to the OECD average?","answer":"Sweden's 2025 average of $61,443 is approximately 5.2% below the OECD-wide average of $64,809 — a gap that widened from near parity in 2019 following the 2022–2023 inflation shock. Sweden typically sits close to the OECD centre rather than at the top. Within the Nordic group, Denmark and Norway generally record higher wages in this PPP-adjusted series, partly because Norway's oil-driven productivity level and Denmark's more compressed public-sector wage agreements produce different outcomes under OECD methodology. Sweden converged steadily from well below the OECD average in 1990, when it stood at $38,220 against an OECD average of $47,528, a gap of roughly 20%."},{"question":"Why did Swedish wages fall in 2022 and 2023?","answer":"Sweden's average annual wage dropped 3.3% in real PPP terms in 2022, from $63,923 to $61,819, and fell a further 2.7% in 2023 to $60,122. These are among the largest single-year declines in the 36-year dataset, surpassed only by the 4.8% drop recorded during the 1990–93 banking crisis (1991). Energy price spikes following the Russia-Ukraine war drove Swedish consumer inflation to multi-decade highs in 2022 and 2023. The Riksbank responded by raising the policy rate from 0% to 4.0% between 2022 and 2023, which amplified price pressures via a sharply weaker Swedish krona — Sweden imports much of its energy and many consumer goods, so currency depreciation feeds directly into inflation. Nominal wage settlements under Sweden's centralized industrial bargaining system (Industriavtalet) typically follow export-sector productivity norms and tend to lag sharp inflation spikes by one to two years. The 2024 recovery to $60,905 (+1.3%) and a further +0.9% gain in 2025 (to $61,443) reflect catch-up settlements across manufacturing and the public sector, though the series remains below its 2021 peak."},{"question":"What drove Sweden's strong wage growth from 1996 to 2007?","answer":"Between 1996 and 2007, Sweden's average annual wage rose from $40,269 to $53,286 in constant 2025 PPP terms — a cumulative real gain of 32.3% over eleven years. Several factors contributed. Sweden's 1990–93 banking crisis had compressed wages severely, so the subsequent recovery started from a suppressed base. The krona's managed float after the fixed-peg collapse in November 1992 made Swedish exports highly competitive, driving strong GDP and productivity growth through the late 1990s. Stockholm's emergence as a technology hub (Ericsson, Spotify's later precursors, a deep startup ecosystem) lifted wage levels in high-productivity sectors. The 1997 Industriavtalet (Industrial Agreement) also institutionalised a coordinated wage-setting model where export-sector norms anchor overall wage rounds — this typically delivers moderate, sustained real gains rather than sharp spikes, which the data broadly confirms."},{"question":"How has Sweden's wage position relative to the OECD changed since 1990?","answer":"In 1990 Sweden's average annual wage of $38,220 was roughly 20% below the OECD average of $47,528. By 2019 the gap had nearly closed to less than 1%, before the 2022–2023 inflation shock reopened it; by 2025, Sweden's $61,443 sat approximately 5.2% below the OECD's $64,809. Over 35 years, Swedish wages rose roughly 61% in constant PPP terms, outpacing most continental European peers. The convergence was not steady: the 1990–95 crisis years saw stagnation, the 1996–2007 period drove most of the catch-up, the 2010s brought Sweden to near parity with the OECD average, and the 2022–2023 inflation episode reopened a moderate gap that has only partially narrowed through 2024–2025."}]}