This Survey is published on the responsibility of the Economic and Development Review Committee (EDRC) of the OECD, which is charged with the examination of the economic situation of member countries.The economic situation and policies of Sweden were reviewed by the Committee on 5 December 2016. The draft report was then revised in the light of the discussions and given final approval as the agreed report of the whole Committee on 5 January 2017.The Secretariat’s draft report was prepared for the Committee by Christophe André and Jon Pareliussen, with contributions from Hugo Bourrousse and Per Olof Robling, under the supervision of Vincent Koen. Research assistance was provided by Thomas Chalaux and Hyunjeong Hwang. Secretarial assistance was provided by Mercedes Burgos and Sisse Nielsen.The previous Survey of Sweden was issued in March 2015.

Output has been lifted by an expanding labour force, investment and a recent pick-up in productivity. Unemployment is receding, although it remains relatively high for vulnerable groups, notably the foreign-born. Expansionary monetary policy is supporting growth and inflation is picking up. Macroprudential measures have been taken to cool the housing market. Even so, prices have reached high levels, boosted by rising income, low interest rates and supply shortages.

Sweden weathered the global financial and economic crisis with limited damage, thanks to strong macroeconomic, fiscal and financial fundamentals, as well as a competitive and diversified business sector. Output has grown faster than in most other OECD countries over recent years (, Panel A). Population increases, to a large part related to immigration, have contributed significantly to growth (). Even so, the country’s GDP per capita has expanded faster than in most OECD countries (Panel B). Sweden’s export performance has remained steady since the 2008 global downturn with large current account surpluses persisting (Panel C). In a weak global environment, growth has been primarily driven by strong domestic consumption and investment (Panel D). Although residential construction contributes heavily to the investment boom, business investment has also picked up (Panel E). This has contributed to reviving labour productivity, which is now increasing rapidly (Panel F). Growth is expected to remain solid over the coming years, even though it will slow somewhat as the economy is now operating near full capacity ().

This annex summarises key recommendations made in previous Economic Surveys and Environmental Performance Reviews, and actions taken since the OECDEconomic Survey on Sweden published in March 2015.