| SWEDEN Kingdom of Sweden Konungariket Sverige Joined United Nations: 19 November 1946 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Updated 21 March 2013 |
Chapter 2. Fundamental rights and freedoms
Art. 1. Every citizen shall be guaranteed the following rights and freedoms in his relations with the public institutions:
1. freedom of expression: that is, the freedom to communicate information and express thoughts, opinions and sentiments, whether orally,
pictorially, in writing, or in any other way;
2. freedom of information: that is, the freedom to procure and receive information and otherwise acquaint oneself with the utterances of
others;
3. freedom of assembly: that is, the freedom to organise or attend a meeting for the purposes of information or the expression of opinion
or for any other similar purpose, or for the purpose of presenting artistic work;
4. freedom to demonstrate: that is, the freedom to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place;
5. freedom of association: that is, the freedom to associate with others for public or private purposes;
6. freedom of worship: that is, the freedom to practise one’s religion alone or in the company of others.
The provisions of the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression shall apply concerning the freedom
of the press and the corresponding freedom of expression on sound radio, television and certain like transmissions, as well as in films,
video recordings, sound recordings and other technical recordings.
The Freedom of the Press Act also contains provisions concerning the right of access to official documents.
Art. 2. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any coercion to divulge an opinion in a political,
religious, cultural or other such connection. He shall furthermore be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any
coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion, or to belong to a
political association, religious community or other association for opinion referred to in sentence one.
Art. 3. No record in a public register concerning a citizen may be based without his consent solely on his political opinions.
Every citizen shall be protected, to the extent set out in more detail in law, against any violation of personal integrity resulting from the
registration of personal information by means of automatic data processing.
Art. 4. There shall be no capital punishment.
Art. 5. Every citizen shall be protected against corporal punishment. He shall likewise be protected against any torture or medical influence
aimed at extorting or suppressing statements.
Art. 6. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any physical violation also in cases other than
cases under Articles 4 and 5. He shall likewise be protected against body searches, house searches and other such invasions of privacy,
against examination of mail or other confidential correspondence, and against eavesdropping and the recording of telephone conversations
or other confidential communications.
Art. 7. No citizen may be deported from or refused entry into the Realm.
No citizen who is domiciled in the Realm or who has previously been domiciled in the Realm may be deprived of his citizenship unless he
becomes at the same time a citizen of another state, either with his own express consent or because he has taken up employment in the
public service. The foregoing notwithstanding, it may however be laid down that children under the age of eighteen shall have the same
nationality as their parents or as one parent. It may further be laid down that, in pursuance of an agreement with another state, a person
who has been a citizen also of the other state from birth, and who has his permanent domicile there, shall forfeit his Swedish nationality at
or after the age of eighteen.
Art. 8. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against deprivation of personal liberty. He shall also in
other respects be guaranteed freedom of movement within the Realm and freedom to depart the Realm.
Art. 9. If a public authority other than a court of law has deprived a citizen of his liberty on account of a criminal act or because he is
suspected of having committed such an act, he shall be entitled to have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay.
This shall not, however, apply where the question relates to the transfer to the Realm of responsibility for executing a penal sanction
involving deprivation of liberty which has been imposed in another state.
If, for reasons other than those specified in paragraph one, a citizen has been taken forcibly into custody, he shall likewise be entitled to
have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay. In such a case, examination before a tribunal shall be equated with
examination before a court of law, provided the composition of the tribunal has been laid down in law and it is stipulated that the chairman
of the tribunal shall be currently, or shall have been previously, a permanent salaried judge.
If examination under paragraph one or two has not been referred to an authority which is competent under the provisions laid down
therein, such examination shall take place before a court of general jurisdiction.
Art. 10. No penalty or penal sanction may be imposed in respect of an act which was not subject to a penal sanction at the time it was
committed. Nor may any penal sanction be imposed which is more severe than that which was in force when the act was committed.
The provisions thus laid down with respect to penal sanctions apply in like manner to forfeiture and other special legal effects attaching to
a criminal act.
No taxes or charges due the State may be exacted except inasmuch as this follows from provisions which were in force when the
circumstance arose which occasioned the liability for the tax or charge. Should the Riksdag find that special reasons so warrant, it may
however provide under an act of law that taxes or charges due the State shall be exacted even although no such act had entered into force
when the aforementioned circumstance arose, provided the Government, or a committee of the Riksdag, had submitted a proposal to this
effect to the Riksdag at the time concerned. A written communication from the Government to the Riksdag announcing the forthcoming
introduction of such a proposal is equated with a formal proposal. The Riksdag may furthermore prescribe that exceptions shall be made
to the provisions of sentence one if it considers that this is warranted on special grounds connected with war, the danger of war, or grave
economic crisis.
Art. 11. No court of law shall be established on account of an act already committed, or for a particular dispute or otherwise for a
particular case.
Proceedings in courts of law shall be open to the public.
Art. 12. The rights and freedoms referred to in Article 1, points 1 to 5, in Articles 6 and 8, and in Article 11, paragraph two, may be
restricted in law to the extent provided for in Articles 13 to 16. With authority in law, they may be restricted by other statute in cases
under Chapter 8, Article 7, paragraph one, point 7, and Article 10. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may similarly be
restricted also in cases under Article 14, paragraph one, sentence two.
The restrictions referred to in paragraph one may be imposed only to satisfy a purpose acceptable in a democratic society. The restriction
must never go beyond what is necessary having regard to the purpose which occasioned it, nor may it be carried so far as to constitute a
threat to the free formation of opinion as one of the fundamentals of democracy. No restriction may be imposed solely on grounds of a
political, religious, cultural or other such opinion.
A draft law under paragraph one, or a proposal for the amendment or ab-rogation of such a law, shall be held in abeyance, unless rejected
by the Riksdag, for a minimum of twelve months from the date on which the first Riksdag committee report on the proposal was
submitted to the Chamber, if so moved by at least ten members. This provision notwithstanding, the Riksdag may adopt the proposal,
provided it has the support of at least five sixths of those voting.
Paragraph three shall not apply to any draft law prolonging the life of a law for a period not exceeding two years. Nor shall it apply to any
draft law concerned only with:
1. prohibition of the disclosure of matters which have come to a person’s knowledge in the public service, or in the performance of
official duties, where secrecy is called for having regard to interests under Chapter 2, Article 2 of the Freedom of the Press Act;
2. house searches and similar invasions of privacy; or
3. deprivation of liberty as a penal sanction for a specific act.
The Committee on the Constitution determines on behalf of the Riksdag whether paragraph three applies in respect of a particular draft
law.
Art. 13. Freedom of expression and freedom of information may be restricted having regard to the security of the Realm, the national
supply of goods, public order and public safety, the good name of the individual, the sanctity of private life, and the prevention and
prosecution of crime. Freedom of expression may also be restricted in commercial activities. Freedom of expression and freedom of
information may otherwise be restricted only where particularly important grounds so warrant.
In judging what restrictions may be introduced by virtue of paragraph one, particular regard shall be had to the importance of the widest
possible freedom of expression and freedom of information in political, religious, professional, scientific and cultural matters.
The adoption of provisions which regulate in more detail a particular manner of disseminating or receiving information, without regard to
its content, shall not be deemed a restriction of the freedom of expression or the freedom of information.
Art. 14. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may be restricted in the interests of preserving public order and public safety
at a meeting or demonstration, or having regard to the circulation of traffic. These freedoms may otherwise be restricted only having
regard to the security of the Realm or in order to combat an epidemic.
Freedom of association may be restricted only in respect of organisations whose activities are of a military or quasimilitary nature, or
constitute persecution of a population group of a particular race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 15. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen because he belongs to a minority group by
reason of race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 16. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen on grounds of gender, unless the provision
forms part of efforts to promote equality between men and women or relates to compulsory military service or other analogous official
duties.
Art. 17. A trade union or an employer or employers’ association shall be entitled to take industrial action unless otherwise provided in an
act of law or under an agreement.
Art. 18. The property of every citizen shall be so guaranteed that none may be compelled by expropriation or other such disposition to
surrender property to the public institutions or to a private subject, or tolerate restriction by the public institutions of the use of land or
buildings, other than where necessary to satisfy pressing public interests.
A person who is compelled to surrender property by expropriation or other such disposition shall be guaranteed compensation for his loss.
Such compensation shall also be guaranteed to a person whose use of land or buildings is restricted by the public institutions in such a
manner that ongoing land use in the affected part of the property is substantially impaired, or injury results which is significant in relation
to the value of that part of the property. Compensation shall be determined according to principles laid down in law.
There shall be access for all to the natural environment in accordance with the right of public access, notwithstanding the above
provisions.
Art. 19. Authors, artists and photographers shall own the rights to their works in accordance with rules laid down in law.
Art. 20. Restrictions affecting the right to trade or practise a profession may be introduced only in order to protect pressing public
interests and never solely in order to further the economic interests of a particular person or enterprise.
The right of the Sami population to practise reindeer husbandry is regulated in law.
Art. 21. All children covered by compulsory schooling shall be entitled to a free basic education at a public school. The public institutions
shall be responsible also for the provision of higher education.
Art. 22. A foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen in respect of
1. protection against coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion,
or to belong to a religious community or other association (Article 2, sentence two);
2. protection of personal integrity in connection with automatic data processing (Article 3, paragraph two);
3. protection against capital punishment, corporal punishment and torture, and against medical influence aimed at extorting or suppressing
statements (Articles 4 and 5);
4. the right to have a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having committed such an act examined before
a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs one and three);
5. protection against retroactive penal sanctions and other retroactive legal effects of criminal acts, and against retroactive taxes or
charges due the State (Article 10);
6. protection against the establishment of a court of law for a particular case (Article 11, paragraph one);
7. protection against unfavourable treatment on grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin, or on grounds of gender (Articles 15 and 16);
8. the right to industrial action (Article 17);
9. protection against expropriation or other such disposition and against restriction of the use of land or buildings (Article 18);
10. the right to an education (Article 21).
Unless it follows otherwise from special provisions of law, a foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen also in
respect of
1. freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of assembly, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of association and freedom of
worship (Article 1);
2. protection against coercion to divulge an opinion (Article 2, sentence one);
3. protection against physical violations also in cases other than cases under Articles 4 and 5, against body searches, house searches and
other such invasions of privacy, and against violations of confidential communications (Article 6);
4. protection against deprivation of liberty (Article 8, sentence one);
5. the right to have a deprivation of liberty other than a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having
committed such an act examined before a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs two and three);
6. public court proceedings (Article 11, paragraph two);
7. protection against interventions on grounds of opinion (Article 12, paragraph two, sentence three);
8. authors’, artists’ and photographers’ rights to their works (Article 19);
9. the right to trade or practise a profession (Article 20).
The provisions of Article 12, paragraph three; paragraph four, sentence one; and paragraph five shall apply with respect to the special
provisions of law referred to in paragraph two.
Art. 23. No act of law or other provision may be adopted which contravenes Sweden’s undertakings under the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Art. 1. Every citizen shall be guaranteed the following rights and freedoms in his relations with the public institutions:
1. freedom of expression: that is, the freedom to communicate information and express thoughts, opinions and sentiments, whether orally,
pictorially, in writing, or in any other way;
2. freedom of information: that is, the freedom to procure and receive information and otherwise acquaint oneself with the utterances of
others;
3. freedom of assembly: that is, the freedom to organise or attend a meeting for the purposes of information or the expression of opinion
or for any other similar purpose, or for the purpose of presenting artistic work;
4. freedom to demonstrate: that is, the freedom to organise or take part in a demonstration in a public place;
5. freedom of association: that is, the freedom to associate with others for public or private purposes;
6. freedom of worship: that is, the freedom to practise one’s religion alone or in the company of others.
The provisions of the Freedom of the Press Act and the Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression shall apply concerning the freedom
of the press and the corresponding freedom of expression on sound radio, television and certain like transmissions, as well as in films,
video recordings, sound recordings and other technical recordings.
The Freedom of the Press Act also contains provisions concerning the right of access to official documents.
Art. 2. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any coercion to divulge an opinion in a political,
religious, cultural or other such connection. He shall furthermore be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any
coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion, or to belong to a
political association, religious community or other association for opinion referred to in sentence one.
Art. 3. No record in a public register concerning a citizen may be based without his consent solely on his political opinions.
Every citizen shall be protected, to the extent set out in more detail in law, against any violation of personal integrity resulting from the
registration of personal information by means of automatic data processing.
Art. 4. There shall be no capital punishment.
Art. 5. Every citizen shall be protected against corporal punishment. He shall likewise be protected against any torture or medical influence
aimed at extorting or suppressing statements.
Art. 6. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against any physical violation also in cases other than
cases under Articles 4 and 5. He shall likewise be protected against body searches, house searches and other such invasions of privacy,
against examination of mail or other confidential correspondence, and against eavesdropping and the recording of telephone conversations
or other confidential communications.
Art. 7. No citizen may be deported from or refused entry into the Realm.
No citizen who is domiciled in the Realm or who has previously been domiciled in the Realm may be deprived of his citizenship unless he
becomes at the same time a citizen of another state, either with his own express consent or because he has taken up employment in the
public service. The foregoing notwithstanding, it may however be laid down that children under the age of eighteen shall have the same
nationality as their parents or as one parent. It may further be laid down that, in pursuance of an agreement with another state, a person
who has been a citizen also of the other state from birth, and who has his permanent domicile there, shall forfeit his Swedish nationality at
or after the age of eighteen.
Art. 8. Every citizen shall be protected in his relations with the public institutions against deprivation of personal liberty. He shall also in
other respects be guaranteed freedom of movement within the Realm and freedom to depart the Realm.
Art. 9. If a public authority other than a court of law has deprived a citizen of his liberty on account of a criminal act or because he is
suspected of having committed such an act, he shall be entitled to have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay.
This shall not, however, apply where the question relates to the transfer to the Realm of responsibility for executing a penal sanction
involving deprivation of liberty which has been imposed in another state.
If, for reasons other than those specified in paragraph one, a citizen has been taken forcibly into custody, he shall likewise be entitled to
have the matter examined before a court of law without undue delay. In such a case, examination before a tribunal shall be equated with
examination before a court of law, provided the composition of the tribunal has been laid down in law and it is stipulated that the chairman
of the tribunal shall be currently, or shall have been previously, a permanent salaried judge.
If examination under paragraph one or two has not been referred to an authority which is competent under the provisions laid down
therein, such examination shall take place before a court of general jurisdiction.
Art. 10. No penalty or penal sanction may be imposed in respect of an act which was not subject to a penal sanction at the time it was
committed. Nor may any penal sanction be imposed which is more severe than that which was in force when the act was committed.
The provisions thus laid down with respect to penal sanctions apply in like manner to forfeiture and other special legal effects attaching to
a criminal act.
No taxes or charges due the State may be exacted except inasmuch as this follows from provisions which were in force when the
circumstance arose which occasioned the liability for the tax or charge. Should the Riksdag find that special reasons so warrant, it may
however provide under an act of law that taxes or charges due the State shall be exacted even although no such act had entered into force
when the aforementioned circumstance arose, provided the Government, or a committee of the Riksdag, had submitted a proposal to this
effect to the Riksdag at the time concerned. A written communication from the Government to the Riksdag announcing the forthcoming
introduction of such a proposal is equated with a formal proposal. The Riksdag may furthermore prescribe that exceptions shall be made
to the provisions of sentence one if it considers that this is warranted on special grounds connected with war, the danger of war, or grave
economic crisis.
Art. 11. No court of law shall be established on account of an act already committed, or for a particular dispute or otherwise for a
particular case.
Proceedings in courts of law shall be open to the public.
Art. 12. The rights and freedoms referred to in Article 1, points 1 to 5, in Articles 6 and 8, and in Article 11, paragraph two, may be
restricted in law to the extent provided for in Articles 13 to 16. With authority in law, they may be restricted by other statute in cases
under Chapter 8, Article 7, paragraph one, point 7, and Article 10. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may similarly be
restricted also in cases under Article 14, paragraph one, sentence two.
The restrictions referred to in paragraph one may be imposed only to satisfy a purpose acceptable in a democratic society. The restriction
must never go beyond what is necessary having regard to the purpose which occasioned it, nor may it be carried so far as to constitute a
threat to the free formation of opinion as one of the fundamentals of democracy. No restriction may be imposed solely on grounds of a
political, religious, cultural or other such opinion.
A draft law under paragraph one, or a proposal for the amendment or ab-rogation of such a law, shall be held in abeyance, unless rejected
by the Riksdag, for a minimum of twelve months from the date on which the first Riksdag committee report on the proposal was
submitted to the Chamber, if so moved by at least ten members. This provision notwithstanding, the Riksdag may adopt the proposal,
provided it has the support of at least five sixths of those voting.
Paragraph three shall not apply to any draft law prolonging the life of a law for a period not exceeding two years. Nor shall it apply to any
draft law concerned only with:
1. prohibition of the disclosure of matters which have come to a person’s knowledge in the public service, or in the performance of
official duties, where secrecy is called for having regard to interests under Chapter 2, Article 2 of the Freedom of the Press Act;
2. house searches and similar invasions of privacy; or
3. deprivation of liberty as a penal sanction for a specific act.
The Committee on the Constitution determines on behalf of the Riksdag whether paragraph three applies in respect of a particular draft
law.
Art. 13. Freedom of expression and freedom of information may be restricted having regard to the security of the Realm, the national
supply of goods, public order and public safety, the good name of the individual, the sanctity of private life, and the prevention and
prosecution of crime. Freedom of expression may also be restricted in commercial activities. Freedom of expression and freedom of
information may otherwise be restricted only where particularly important grounds so warrant.
In judging what restrictions may be introduced by virtue of paragraph one, particular regard shall be had to the importance of the widest
possible freedom of expression and freedom of information in political, religious, professional, scientific and cultural matters.
The adoption of provisions which regulate in more detail a particular manner of disseminating or receiving information, without regard to
its content, shall not be deemed a restriction of the freedom of expression or the freedom of information.
Art. 14. Freedom of assembly and freedom to demonstrate may be restricted in the interests of preserving public order and public safety
at a meeting or demonstration, or having regard to the circulation of traffic. These freedoms may otherwise be restricted only having
regard to the security of the Realm or in order to combat an epidemic.
Freedom of association may be restricted only in respect of organisations whose activities are of a military or quasimilitary nature, or
constitute persecution of a population group of a particular race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 15. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen because he belongs to a minority group by
reason of race, colour, or ethnic origin.
Art. 16. No act of law or other provision may imply the unfavourable treatment of a citizen on grounds of gender, unless the provision
forms part of efforts to promote equality between men and women or relates to compulsory military service or other analogous official
duties.
Art. 17. A trade union or an employer or employers’ association shall be entitled to take industrial action unless otherwise provided in an
act of law or under an agreement.
Art. 18. The property of every citizen shall be so guaranteed that none may be compelled by expropriation or other such disposition to
surrender property to the public institutions or to a private subject, or tolerate restriction by the public institutions of the use of land or
buildings, other than where necessary to satisfy pressing public interests.
A person who is compelled to surrender property by expropriation or other such disposition shall be guaranteed compensation for his loss.
Such compensation shall also be guaranteed to a person whose use of land or buildings is restricted by the public institutions in such a
manner that ongoing land use in the affected part of the property is substantially impaired, or injury results which is significant in relation
to the value of that part of the property. Compensation shall be determined according to principles laid down in law.
There shall be access for all to the natural environment in accordance with the right of public access, notwithstanding the above
provisions.
Art. 19. Authors, artists and photographers shall own the rights to their works in accordance with rules laid down in law.
Art. 20. Restrictions affecting the right to trade or practise a profession may be introduced only in order to protect pressing public
interests and never solely in order to further the economic interests of a particular person or enterprise.
The right of the Sami population to practise reindeer husbandry is regulated in law.
Art. 21. All children covered by compulsory schooling shall be entitled to a free basic education at a public school. The public institutions
shall be responsible also for the provision of higher education.
Art. 22. A foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen in respect of
1. protection against coercion to participate in a meeting for the formation of opinion or a demonstration or other manifestation of opinion,
or to belong to a religious community or other association (Article 2, sentence two);
2. protection of personal integrity in connection with automatic data processing (Article 3, paragraph two);
3. protection against capital punishment, corporal punishment and torture, and against medical influence aimed at extorting or suppressing
statements (Articles 4 and 5);
4. the right to have a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having committed such an act examined before
a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs one and three);
5. protection against retroactive penal sanctions and other retroactive legal effects of criminal acts, and against retroactive taxes or
charges due the State (Article 10);
6. protection against the establishment of a court of law for a particular case (Article 11, paragraph one);
7. protection against unfavourable treatment on grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin, or on grounds of gender (Articles 15 and 16);
8. the right to industrial action (Article 17);
9. protection against expropriation or other such disposition and against restriction of the use of land or buildings (Article 18);
10. the right to an education (Article 21).
Unless it follows otherwise from special provisions of law, a foreign national within the Realm is equated with a Swedish citizen also in
respect of
1. freedom of expression, freedom of information, freedom of assembly, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of association and freedom of
worship (Article 1);
2. protection against coercion to divulge an opinion (Article 2, sentence one);
3. protection against physical violations also in cases other than cases under Articles 4 and 5, against body searches, house searches and
other such invasions of privacy, and against violations of confidential communications (Article 6);
4. protection against deprivation of liberty (Article 8, sentence one);
5. the right to have a deprivation of liberty other than a deprivation of liberty on account of a criminal act or on suspicion of having
committed such an act examined before a court of law (Article 9, paragraphs two and three);
6. public court proceedings (Article 11, paragraph two);
7. protection against interventions on grounds of opinion (Article 12, paragraph two, sentence three);
8. authors’, artists’ and photographers’ rights to their works (Article 19);
9. the right to trade or practise a profession (Article 20).
The provisions of Article 12, paragraph three; paragraph four, sentence one; and paragraph five shall apply with respect to the special
provisions of law referred to in paragraph two.
Art. 23. No act of law or other provision may be adopted which contravenes Sweden’s undertakings under the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Human migration into the region of Sweden occurred around 9,000 BCE with petroglyphs
emerging around 5000 BCE. Roman contact is documented around 100 CE, with notations
of the warfare center known as Svea Rike, from which Sweden derives its name. The first
Kingdom arose around 1000 with Christianity being gradually introduced in 1008 and power
consolidating in the 12th Century. The Kalmar Union united all of the Scandinavian countries
in 1397 but dissolved in the early 16th Century. Victory in wars against Denmark-Norway,
Russia and Poland shaped Sweden into a great power gave rise to the Swedish Empire in
1648 that crumbled by 1718. A period of parliamentary dominance was toppled through a
coup and the rise of an absolute monarchy in 1772 which yielded following the Napoleonic
Wars in 1809 when Sweden was forced to cede Norway to Russia. Union was established
with Norway in 1814 which helped modernize Sweden. The Union was peacefully dissolved
in 1905. Sweden remained neutral during both World Wars fueling economic prosperity
which continues today. The present constitution was adopted on 1 January 1975. It has
been amended most recently in 1994. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Chapter
Two (Fundamental rights and freedoms), conform with the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of which Sweden is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English
translation of Sweden's Constitution, click here.
emerging around 5000 BCE. Roman contact is documented around 100 CE, with notations
of the warfare center known as Svea Rike, from which Sweden derives its name. The first
Kingdom arose around 1000 with Christianity being gradually introduced in 1008 and power
consolidating in the 12th Century. The Kalmar Union united all of the Scandinavian countries
in 1397 but dissolved in the early 16th Century. Victory in wars against Denmark-Norway,
Russia and Poland shaped Sweden into a great power gave rise to the Swedish Empire in
1648 that crumbled by 1718. A period of parliamentary dominance was toppled through a
coup and the rise of an absolute monarchy in 1772 which yielded following the Napoleonic
Wars in 1809 when Sweden was forced to cede Norway to Russia. Union was established
with Norway in 1814 which helped modernize Sweden. The Union was peacefully dissolved
in 1905. Sweden remained neutral during both World Wars fueling economic prosperity
which continues today. The present constitution was adopted on 1 January 1975. It has
been amended most recently in 1994. Human rights are enumerated beginning with Chapter
Two (Fundamental rights and freedoms), conform with the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights of which Sweden is a signatory and are detailed below. For a full English
translation of Sweden's Constitution, click here.