Healthcare & elder care — official time series

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

• Sweden spends about 11.2 % of GDP on healthcare (total expenditure, SCB Health Accounts 2024) — among the higher levels in the OECD, but below the US (≈ 17 %) and close to Germany and France.
• About 86 % of expenditure is publicly financed — among the OECD's highest shares. Out-of-pocket and private insurance make up the rest.
• Regions run health and medical care; municipalities run elderly care, home care and LSS. The split shapes how costs are reported and how reforms must be designed.
• Staff costs are around 60–70 % of care's operating costs. Wage developments therefore strongly influence cost growth.
• International comparisons require PPP adjustment (purchasing power parity) and harmonised definitions. OECD's System of Health Accounts (SHA) is used; SCB reports directly in SHA format.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Health and medical care

Activity under the Health and Medical Services Act (2017:30): measures to medically prevent, investigate and treat illness and injury. Includes dental care under the Dental Care Act.

Elderly care

Municipal care of elderly under the Social Services Act (2001:453): home care, special accommodation, day activities, short-term stays. Distinct from medical care even where individual actions overlap.

Primary care

First-line health and medical care: health centres, child health, maternity. Responsible for medical assessment, treatment and referral to specialist care.

Specialist care

Care requiring particular competence or equipment: hospital care, specialist clinics. Consists of outpatient (day visits) and inpatient (admitted) care.

Inpatient care

Care where the patient is admitted to hospital overnight. Measured in bed-days and load per bed. Among the most expensive forms of care per patient.

Outpatient care

Care without overnight stay: clinic visits, day surgery, dialysis. Its share has risen sharply since the 1990s alongside falling length of stay.

LSS

Act (1993:387) on support and service for certain disabled persons. Grants rights to services such as personal assistance, contact person, short-term stay. Split principalship: the state (personal assistance over 20 h/week) and the municipality (rest).

Home care

Municipal service in the home: personal care, cleaning, laundry, shopping. Decided after individual assessment under the Social Services Act.

Special accommodation

Municipal housing for elderly with substantial care needs. Also called retirement home or care/service home. The number of places has fallen since 2000.

Net cost

The municipality's/region's gross cost minus revenues for the same activity (fees, earmarked state grants). Equals what is financed by tax and general state grants.

Gross cost

Total cost before deduction for revenues. Used to gauge total resource use.

Cost per capita

Total cost ÷ population. Should be age-standardised in comparisons because demography drives care consumption.

Real / fixed prices

Prices recalculated to a base year using a price index (CPI or sector-specific deflator). Needed to see whether resource use actually rises.

CPI adjustment

Recalculation with the consumer price index. Under-adjusts for care because wages and materials in care have risen faster than CPI.

PPP

Purchasing power parity — an exchange rate that equalises the price level between countries. Required to compare care costs per capita between Sweden and e.g. the US.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed