The majority of the public in the EU member states have a positive view of Sweden.
In two of our closest neighbors, however, a comparatively large part of the population has a more negative image of Sweden, shows a new report from the Swedish Institute.
A majority of respondents in all EU countries have a positive view of Sweden, in many countries the proportion is over 60 percent.
The highest proportion is in Croatia, where 80 percent have a favorable image of Sweden. Also in Latvia and Lithuania, a large proportion have a positive image, close to 75 percent – also in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania, about 70 percent.
At the other end are some countries – Denmark, Hungary and Finland – where a comparatively high proportion, around 10 percent, have an unfavorable image of Sweden.
“In some of these countries, the public states that they have seen, read or heard about crime and violence or migration linked to Sweden,” the Swedish Institute writes in its report.
“High quality of life”
A majority of those who answered state that the image of Sweden has not changed in the past year, but among those who have received a changed image, more have received a more positive than a more negative image.
The statement about Sweden that the respondents in the EU countries as a whole largely agree with is that Sweden is a “place with a high quality of life”. That opinion is shared by an average of 75 percent.
70 percent also agree that Sweden is a country with “positive relations with other countries” and that Sweden is “a safe place to live and visit”.
Does not stand out
The statement that the respondents as a whole to the least extent agree with is that Sweden excels in sports. Only 40 percent share that image.
The survey was conducted in connection with Sweden’s forthcoming EU presidency in the first half of 2023, and questions have also been asked about in which areas Sweden is considered to have relevant knowledge and experience to contribute to the Union. This is where health and social welfare end up at the top, followed by education and human rights.
“It is gratifying to see that the perception of Sweden is positive in a number of different areas and that Sweden is perceived as an actor that has relevant experience to contribute within the EU. Gaining knowledge about the image of Sweden in all EU countries provides important guidance for the EU Presidency, “says Madeleine Sjöstedt, Director General of the Swedish Institute, in a press release.
Facts
This is how the survey was done
The study is based on a web-based survey in all 27 EU countries where people were asked about their knowledge and perception of Sweden on the one hand, the EU and its institutions on the other. The survey factory has been responsible for the survey and data collection was carried out during December last year and January this year.
The results are based on survey responses from randomly selected respondents in each country who are 18 years or older. Most of the questions were multiple-choice questions with a five-point scale.
In total, the survey was answered by just over 25,000 people with around 1,000 respondents per country, except in Luxembourg, Cyprus and Malta, so the results for those countries should be interpreted with greater caution.
Source: Swedish Institute
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