Foreign trade in services, quarter 2 2026
Services exports strengthen the trade balance
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-09-02 8.00
After a period of stronger growth in services imports, services exports show broader and stronger growth in the second quarter.
Trade in services continues to grow
The value of both exports and imports of services grew during the second quarter of 2026. Exports of services increased by 9 percent compared with the same quarter last year, while imports increased by 2 percent at current prices.
Sweden’s exports of services were valued at SEK 351 billion in the second quarter of 2026, while imports were valued at SEK 364 billion. This resulted in a deficit of SEK 13 billion. The corresponding figure for the same quarter last year was a deficit of just under SEK 34 billion.
The services trade is measured in Swedish krona (SEK) and reported at current prices, which means no adjustments have been made for exchange rate effects or inflation.
Exports and imports by service item, quarter 2 2026
| Exports | Imports | |||||
| Value | Share | Change | Value | Share | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 350 503 | 100.0 | 9.0 | 363 860 | 100.0 | 2.2 |
| Manufacturing services | 10 200 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 11 043 | 3.0 | -3.6 |
| Maintenance and repair services | 1 550 | 0.4 | 45.3 | 2 688 | 0.7 | -2.9 |
| Transport | 38 563 | 11.0 | -0.3 | 45 884 | 12.6 | 5.9 |
| Travel | 33 386 | 9.5 | 9.0 | 39 624 | 10.9 | 3.6 |
| Construction | 3 466 | 1.0 | 32.2 | 7 019 | 1.9 | 9.3 |
| Insurance and pension services | 2 703 | 0.8 | 36.2 | 2 073 | 0.6 | -0.5 |
| Financial services | 15 366 | 4.4 | 7.4 | 6 486 | 1.8 | -0.8 |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property | 32 517 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 47 527 | 13.1 | 22.5 |
| Telecommunications, computer, and information services | 66 018 | 18.8 | 3.5 | 62 529 | 17.2 | 9.9 |
| Other business services | 112 919 | 32.2 | 17.6 | 127 922 | 35.2 | -8.4 |
| Personal, cultural, and recreational services | 32 500 | 9.3 | 4.9 | 10 291 | 2.8 | 25.5 |
| Government goods and services | 1 316 | 0.4 | 9.2 | 775 | 0.2 | 13.3 |
Broad growth in exports, more mixed development in imports
Within exports, most service items increased compared with the second quarter of last year. Other business services recorded the largest increase in value and accounted for more than half of the total growth in exports. Other business services also accounted for the largest increase in imports. However, overall import growth was dampened by a substantial decline in charges for the use of intellectual property.
Breaking down other business services
It is no coincidence that other business services play a major role in the overall development, given that it is a large aggregate encompassing several types of services. It is divided into four subcategories:
- Research and development services
- Professional and management consulting services
- Marketing services
- Technical, trade-related and other business services
More information on what is included in each category can be found here: Clarification of service items.
Technical, trade-related and other business services is by far the largest of the four subcategories in both services exports and imports. This is largely driven by the ”other business services” component. A comparison of the subcategories also shows that marketing services account for a larger share of imports than exports. Research and development services, together with professional and management consulting services, account for nearly equal shares of exports and imports.[1]
[1] The comparison is based on quarter 2 2026, but the shares follow a similar pattern in previous quarters as well.
Technical, trade-related and other business services dominate exports of other business services
Marketing services account for a larger share of Swedish imports than of exports.
Revisions
The period 2025Q1 to 2026Q1 has been revised in accordance with the regular revision schedule. Revisions for each respective quarter is presented in the table below.
Revisions, 2025Q1 to 2026Q1
|
2025Q1 | 2025Q2 | 2025Q3 | 2025Q4 | 2026Q1 |
| Exports | -337 mn | -966 mn | -284 mn | +286 mn | +855 mn |
| Imports | +572 mn | -195 mn | +1.3 bn | +1.5 bn | +911 mn |
| Net | -909 mn | -771 mn | -1.6 bn | -1.2 bn | -57 mn |
The foreign trade in services statistics are revised according to a regular schedule. In connection with each quarterly publication, the current and preceding year are revised. If necessary, revisions may also be made outside the regular schedule. Revisions are mainly a result of late submissions or corrected data from respondents, but may also result from changes in statistical models.
The data should be regarded as preliminary until it is revised according to the regular revision schedule.
Definitions and explanations
What is foreign trade in services?
The statistics on foreign trade in services is a presentation of all Swedish transactions related to trade in services with the rest of the world. These statistics are reported quarterly and form the basis for both the National Accounts and the current account in Balance of Payments. The section More information contains an explanation on why trade in services in the National Accounts and the Balance of Payments sometimes differ from this statistic.
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