Total activities in the welfare sector increased with 5 percent or SEK 72 billion in current prices compared to previous year. Activities in the welfare sector carried out by private enterprises increased in line with the overall welfare sector.

The highest proportion of activities carried out by private enterprises was within social service where proportion of activities carried out by private enterprises amounted to 21 percent. Within health care 18 percent were carried out by private enterprises. The lowest proportion of activities carried out by private enterprises was within education where the proportion of activities carried out by private enterprises amounted to 15 percent.

In total, the public sector financed 75 percent of the activities carried out by private enterprises. The lowest share was within health care where private enterprises was financed by public funds to a degree of 61 percent. The highest share was within social service, where private enterprises was financed by public funds to a degree of 95 percent. Within education the comparable figure was 75 percent.

The share of purchases from private enterprises and foundations by municipalities and regions was highest in Stockholm County and lowest in Norrbotten County

On average at the national level, municipalities and regions purchased main activities of health care, education and social services from private enterprises and foundations for 13 percent of the total gross cost in 2024. The proportion was slightly higher in education, at 15 percent, than in health and social services, where 12 percent of the gross cost consisted of purchases of services from private enterprises and foundations.

There are, however, large regional differences. Stockholm County accounted by far for the highest proportion of purchased main activities, 22 percent of the total gross cost. Skåne County had the second highest proportion, 14 percent of the total gross cost. Norrbotten County accounted for the lowest proportion of purchased main activities, at just 5 percent.

59,000 kind-of-activity units in welfare sector

There were around 59,000 kind-of-activities in the business sector in the welfare sector in 2024, which was approximately the same number as previous year. The number of kind-of-activities increased slightly in education, while it decreased somewhat in health care and social services.

Within education there were 25,000 kind-of-activities, within health care there were 29,000 kind-of-activities and within social services there were 4,500 kind-of-activities.

The largest increase in employment was in social services

In 2024 the number of employed in welfare sector was around 1,413,000, an increase of around 28,000 compared to the previous year. This corresponds to an increase of approximately 2 percent. The increase in employment was primarily driven by social services, where employment rose by 5 percent, equivalent to an increase of just over 24,000 employed persons.

The welfare sector had the highest number of employed persons in education, where around 551,000 people were employed. In social services, almost 502,000 persons were employed, and in health care, almost 360,000 were employed.

20 percent of those employed in the welfare sector worked in private enterprises, while 77 percent were employed in the public sector. The remaining 3 percent were employed by non-profit organizations.

In year 2024 the proportion of employed women in the welfare sector was 76 percent. The highest proportion of women was in health care where 79 percent were women. In social services, the proportion of women was 76 percent, and in education, it was 74 percent.

Changes to data reporting

All data are available in the Statistical Database. All Excel files previously published on the product page have been removed, and the vast majority of the information is now available through the Statistical Database. As part of this transition, certain errors identified in the previous Excel files were corrected.