2025
Significantly improved results for the local government sector in 2025
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-03-03 8.00
The annual net income for the local government sector – municipalities and regions combined – amounted to SEK 40.3 billion in 2025, which means an increase of SEK 34.2 billion. The improved result is mainly due to increased tax revenues. The annual net income for municipalities amounted to SEK 32.0 billion and for regions to SEK 8.3 billion in 2025. The regions are thereby reporting a profit this year, after two years with deficits.
Income statement, local government sector 2023 - 2025, SEK billion
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operational revenues | 264.2 | 266.6 | 277.8 |
| Operational expenditures | -1 312.0 | -1 370.5 | -1 375.1 |
| Depreciation and impairment | -51.5 | -55.9 | -61.5 |
| Net operational expenditures | -1 099.3 | -1 159.8 | -1 158.7 |
| Tax revenues | 902.2 | 924.6 | 963.0 |
| Economic equalisation and general grants from central government | 213.1 | 243.3 | 236.7 |
| Net operational income | 15.9 | 8.1 | 41.0 |
| Financial revenues | 37.8 | 46.1 | 35.0 |
| Financial expenditures | -40.5 | -48.2 | -35.8 |
| Income statement before extraordinary items | 13.2 | 6.1 | 40.1 |
| Extraordinary items | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Annual net income | 14.3 | 6.0 | 40.3 |
In 2025 the tax revenues amounted to a total of SEK 963.0 billion, which means an increase by SEK 38.4 billion compared with last year. This is the single most important explanation to the significantly improved results for the local government sector. General government grants and economic equalisation decreased with SEK 6.7 billion and amounted to SEK 236.7 billion in 2025.
Net operational income also increased because of the increased tax revenues and amounted to SEK 41.0 billion. This represents an increase of just over 400 per cent compared to the previous year. For municipalities, the net operational income increased by SEK 21.2 billion and amounted to SEK 32.1 billion in 2025, compared with SEK 10.9 billion in 2024. Net operational income for regions went from SEK -2.8 billion in 2024 to SEK 8.8 billion in 2025.
The net financial income amounted to SEK -0.8 billion, which is an improvement compared with the previous year when net financial income was SEK -2.1 billion. Both regions and municipalities report a negative financial income in 2025. The municipalities’ net financial income amounted to SEK- 0.3 billion in 2025 compared to SEK 4.8 billion in 2024. For regions, it went from SEK -6.9 billion to SEK -0.5 billion during the corresponding period.
Municipalities
Income statement, municipalities 2023 - 2025, SEK billion
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operational revenues | 174.1 | 178.7 | 185.8 |
| Operational expenditures | -828.3 | -865.1 | -869.1 |
| Depreciation and impairment | -36.5 | -39.9 | -44.3 |
| Net operational expenditures | -690.6 | -726.2 | -727.7 |
| Tax revenues | 576.7 | 589.6 | 613.7 |
| Economic equalisation and general grants from central government | 134.1 | 147.6 | 146.1 |
| Net operational income | 20.2 | 10.9 | 32.1 |
| Financial revenues | 26.2 | 31.0 | 24.4 |
| Financial expenditures | -21.4 | -26.2 | -24.7 |
| Income statement before extraordinary items | 25.0 | 15.7 | 31.8 |
| Extraordinary items | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Annual net income | 26.0 | 15.7 | 32.0 |
The net operational income for municipalities increased by as much as SEK 21.2 billion – corresponding to 195 per cent – between 2024 and 2025 and amounted to SEK 32.1 billion in 2025. The increase can be explained by the fact that tax revenues increased significantly more than net operational expenditures. In total, tax revenues increased by SEK 24.2 billion in 2025, while general government grants and economic equalisation decreased by SEK 1.5 billion.
The net financial income for municipalities was negative 2025 and amounted to SEK -0.3 billion. This is the second time since 1998 that the municipalities’ net financial income showed a deficit, the latest time was in 2022. The annual net income amounted to SEK 32.0 billion in 2025, an increase of SEK 16.2 billion compared with 2024.
According to the survey “Income statement forecast” 66 municipalities forecasted a deficit for annual net income in 2025. There were 41 municipalities that went from forecasting a loss to reporting a profit, while 11 municipalities went from forecasting a profit to reporting a loss. In the end only 35 municipalities reported a deficit in annual net income for 2025. The income statement forecast is a separate survey where municipalities and regions submitted a forecast on the outcome of the income statement at the end of the financial year 2025 in the spring of 2025.
In 2025 there was also a substantially lower number of municipalities reporting a deficit in net operational income than the year before. Only 34 of the 290 municipalities reported a deficit in operational income for 2025, compared with 111 municipalities in 2024.
This year, all 290 municipalities have provided data ahead of the year’s first publication.
Regions
Income statement, regions 2023 - 2025, SEK billion
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operational revenues | 90.1 | 87.9 | 92.1 |
| Operational expenditures | -483.8 | -505.4 | -505.9 |
| Depreciation and impairment | -15.0 | -16.0 | -17.2 |
| Net operational expenditures | -408.7 | -433.5 | -431.1 |
| Tax revenues | 325.4 | 335.0 | 349.3 |
| Economic equalisation and general grants from central government | 79.0 | 95.7 | 90.6 |
| Net operational income | -4.3 | -2.8 | 8.8 |
| Financial revenues | 11.6 | 15.1 | 10.6 |
| Financial expenditures | -19.1 | -22.0 | -11.1 |
| Income statement before extraordinary items | -11.8 | -9.7 | 8.3 |
| Extraordinary items | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Annual net income | -11.8 | -9.7 | 8.3 |
After two particularly challenging years for the regions the economic situation finally improved during 2025. Operational revenues increased by nearly 5 per cent to a total of SEK 92.1 billion. Since operational expenditures only increased marginally, it led to a decrease of net operational expenditures with SEK 2.5 billion to 431.1 billion in 2025.
General government grants and economic equalisation decreased by just over 5 per cent to SEK 90.6 billion which still can be considered as a relatively high level compared to previous years. Tax revenues increased by SEK 14.3 billion to a total of SEK 349.3 billion which contributed to turning the previous negative result into a positive result. Net operational income amounted to SEK 8.8 billion which is an increase by SEK 11.6 billion compared with the previous year. In 2025 there was a deficit in net operational income in only 5 of 21 regions, which can be compared with 16 regions the previous year.
Both financial income and financial expenditures decreased during the year. Financial income decreased by SEK 4.5 billion and financial expenditures by SEK 10.9 billion. The net financial income was strengthened compared to last year but still there was a reported deficit with SEK -0.5 billion. Annual net income improved by as much as SEK 18.0 billion when it went from a negative result; SEK -9.7 billion in 2024 to a positive result; SEK 8.3 billion in 2025.
According to the survey “Income statement forecast” 10 regions forecasted a deficit in annual net income for 2025. Out of these 10 regions, 6 regions reported a deficit while the other 4 regions reported a profit in the end of 2025. One of the regions reported a profit in the forecast but ended up with a loss in annual net income.
All 21 regions have also provided data ahead of the year’s first publication.
Definitions and explanations
Region Gotland are responsible for municipal tasks as well as region tasks. This means that it is very difficult to compare data for the income statement and balance sheet for Region Gotland with other municipalities and regions in Sweden. Statistics Sweden has, in an attempt to create comparability, estimated that 65 percent of their total activity concerns municipal activities, while 35 percent concerns region activities. Statistic Sweden will however point out that this is an estimation and that comparisons with other municipalities and regions should be made with caution.
Extraordinary items refer to income and expenditures that do not originate from regular activities. Income before extraordinary items is not always comparable, since what is considered as extraordinary can differ.
The present figures are preliminary and can be revised.
The figures are in current prices.