The civil society 2023
Improved financial situation for civil society organisations in 2023
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2025-06-03 8.00
The financial situation for non-profit organisations improved between 2022 and 2023 but the profit after financial income and expenses was still lower than in 2021. Operating income mainly consisted of contributions received from- and sales to the public sector.
In 2023, there were 265,700 organisations in the civil society, representing an increase of 0.2 percent compared with the previous year. The most common organisational form was non-profit associations, accounting for 62 percent of all organisations. The most common area of activity was Development and housing, where 31 percent were active. A total of 201,800 people were employed in civil society in 2023, corresponding to 3.8 percent of all employed individuals in Sweden. The majority of these were women.
Among non-profit organisations, which accounted for approximately 84 percent of the population in the civil society, detailed data on income and costs were collected. In 2023, the financial income increased while the financial costs decreased. This resulted in an increased reported profit of 16 percent, despite operating costs also increasing by 4 percent between 2022 and 2023.
Source: The Civil Society
Total operating income amounted to 155.8 SEK billion for non-profit organisations in 2023, most of which consisted of contributions received from- and sales to the public sector. During the Covid19 pandemic in 2021 contributions received from- and sales to the public sector accounted for approximately 41 percent of total income but has since decreased to 35 percent in 2022 and 2023. Dues amounted to 30.6 SEK billion in 2023, corresponding to a share of 20 percent. Income from sales increased from SEK 33.1 billion in 2021 to SEK 42.6 billion in 2023. Income from sales include, for example, advertising income and the sale of merchandise (such as kiosk sales at events), as well as participation fees and other charges from private individuals. These incomes were limited by restrictions during the Covid19 pandemic, which explains the increase in the last two years of the time series.
Operating expenses amounted to SEK 114 billion in 2023. The largest expense was staff costs, which totalled SEK 48 billion—an increase of 4 percent compared to 2022. Other external expenses, which include items such as premises rent, electricity/lighting, purchased services, and consumable equipment, increased by 13 percent between 2022 and 2023 to SEK 33.6 billion. This was followed by costs for raw materials and consumables, depreciation and impairment, and other operating expenses, which amounted to SEK 29.8 billion, SEK 2.4 billion, and SEK 0.2 billion respectively in 2023.
Definitions and explanations
The civil society is an arena, distinct from the state, the market, and the individual household, where people organise and act collectively in shared interests. This domain encompasses everything from networks and voluntary associations to registered religious communities, and more.
Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households is a survey that forms the foundation of the civil society and is therefore a subset of its total population. Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households includes detailed questions about income and expenses, which can be presented in the form of an income statement for non-profit organisations.
Operating profit comprises of income from primary business activities (for example dues, sales, gifts and contributions) minus operating costs (for example raw materials, consumables, external costs, staff costs and depreciation).
Profit after financial items is operating profit plus financial income (for example interests and dividends) minus financial costs (for example interests).
Publication
A more detailed report of this survey is published in the publication: The civil society 2023 (pdf, in Swedish)
Next publishing will be
The next statistical news in the series will be published on the 23rd of October 2025.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.