During the fourth quarter of 2025, the market value of insurance and occupational pension companies' investment assets increased just under 1 percent to a new record level of SEK 8,262 billion. By year end holdings in equities surpassed SEK 6,000 billion for the first time.
Three years after completing their studies, just under six out of ten foreign doctoral graduates from the 2017–2020 cohort remained in Sweden. Among international students who completed a two-year master’s programme in Sweden in 2019, only around one third were still in the country three years later. For incoming students who completed a one-year master’s programme, retention was as low as 15 percent.
In January 2026, Swedish exports of goods amounted to SEK 161.7 billion, while imports of goods amounted to SEK 155.4 billion. As a result, the net trade balance was SEK 6.3 billion.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, exports of goods decreased by 2 percent in value, while they increased by 4 percent in volume compared with the same period a year ago. At the same time, imports of goods fell by 3 percent in value, while they rose by 2 percent in volume.
People in employment aged 15 to 74 numbered 5 187 000 in December in 2025. The number of employed increased by 19 000 people compared with December 2024. In the 20 to 65 age range, 285 000 people were unemployed. This equals a share of 5.6 percent expressed as a percentage of the labour force and a decrease of 0.1 percentage points compared with the same period of the previous year.