In Sweden, you are of legal age on the day you turn 18, which means that you get to decide on your own life and your own actions.
It is free to get married, vote and get a driver’s license and your parents no longer have to pay for you – unless you go to high school because then it is compulsory until you graduate.
You are also welcome to go out to the pub and can buy folk beer in the grocery store, but you cannot do one thing – shop at Systembolaget.
Then you can be ported from Systembolaget – can be valid for one year
Why is it 20 at Systembolaget?
So why is that?
The simple answer, which Systembolaget writes on its website, is that the government has decided that.
But you would like a little more explanation than that, and then two reasons are given as to why it is 20 at Systembolaget and 18 at the pub:
1. Prevent increased consumption among young people
The most common way for people under the age of 20 to get hold of alcohol is for siblings and friends to buy them out. If the age was lowered to 18, it would also mean that it would be easier for young people to obtain alcohol.
2. There is some control at the pub
If you buy alcohol and drink at home, no one is watching. At the pub, on the other hand, there are employees who must follow the alcohol law and thus not serve you if you are too drunk.
Then you must never shop at Systembolaget – the rule many miss