{"id":44909,"date":"2026-08-24T18:49:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T15:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/?p=44909"},"modified":"2026-08-24T20:06:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:06:56","slug":"sweden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/sweden\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n\n \n
\n
\n

Ukraine & Sweden economic dialogue<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n

\n Sweden\u2013Ukraine economic relations remain modest in aggregate \r\nbut are concentrated in sectors of strategic importance:\u200b <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Goods: Sweden\u2019s \u20ac527 mln \r\ntrade surplus in 2025 was driven by high-value industrial exports, particularly machinery \r\nand nuclear fuel<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Services: Ukraine maintains \r\na services-trade surplus, with ICT accounting for 55% of Sweden\u2019s services imports from Ukraine<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

People: Ukrainians \r\nare increasingly settling \r\nin Sweden: 58% do not plan \r\nto return, although language barriers and skills mismatch remain substantial<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Capital: Swedish FDI in Ukraine reached \u20ac741 mln in 2024, while 405 Sweden-linked companies operate across trade, ICT, manufacturing and other sectors<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n

Centre for Economic Strategy (CES), an independent Ukrainian think tank that analyzes key public policies and promotes support for reforms.<\/p>\n

With donor support, CES has launched a series of studies on trade relations between Ukraine and the European Union countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
\n

Free movements of goods and services<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Goods: SWE runs a persistent surplus with UA; from \u20ac380 mln \r\nin 2021 to \u20ac527 mln in 2025<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Nuclear fuel is the most strategic trade link: in 2025, it accounted \r\nfor 26% of all SWE goods exports to UA and 67% of machinery exports. SWE\u2019s role has expanded as UA fully replaced russian nuclear fuel with Westinghouse supplies, including fuel produced \r\nin SWE<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Pre-war: SWE exports to UA machinery\/paper\/vehicles\/electrical equipment\/oils and fats<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

UA exports were smaller and more concentrated: machinery\/wood products\/furniture\/iron and steel\/textiles<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

By 2025: SWE exports remained industrial: machinery\/motor vehicles\/electrical equipment\/iron and steel<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

UA exports \u2014 narrower focus: wood products\/furniture\/textiles. Now fats too<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>\n

Services: SWE ran a deficit in 2024 (exports \u20ac71.5 mln, imports \u20ac98.1 mln). ICT #1, business services #2<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n

Trade Balance UA-SWE 2025<\/h2>\n
\n Top 5 goods in Sweden\u2013Ukraine bilateral trade, 2025 (\u20ac\u00a0mln)\u200b <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n
\n
\n \"\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
\n

Free movement of persons and capital<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n \n
\n
Pre war:<\/div>\n
~13k<\/div>\n

Ukrainians lived in Sweden<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

\n
Post-2022:<\/div>\n
\n \n
\n
~50k<\/div>\n

Ukrainians under temporary protection<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/div>\n\n \n

Labour-market profile: 88% Ukrainian active in the labour market, and 66% employed. Main sectors are cleaning services, construction, hospitality, and IT. Still, language remains a key barrier: 70% attend a Swedish language course<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n

\n
    \n
  • Swedish FDI in UA (2024) \u2013 \u20ac741\u00a0mln, a small but established\r\ninvestor<\/li>\n
  • 405 Sweden-linked firms operate in Ukraine, mainly in trade, ICT,\r\nmanufacturing, professional services and real estate<\/li>\n
  • 58 Sweden-linked companies have been registered since Feb 2022,\r\npointing to continued business activity during the war<\/li>\n
  • UA business links with Sweden are smaller, but visible in logistics\r\nand industry: Nova Post operates delivery links with Sweden, while\r\nInterpipe\u00a0and Metinvest provide a steady flow of steel and industrial\r\ncomponents into Swedish manufacturing<\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n \n \n
    \n

    Ukrainians in Sweden (in 000), 2026<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n \n
    \n
    \n \"\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n \n
    \n

    Tighter co-operation potential<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n\n
    \n
      \n
    • \n

      Build reconstruction co-operation around bankable Ukrainian \r\nprojects and qualified local suppliers, supported by standard procurement documentation, war-risk insurance and predictable payment mechanisms.\u200b<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

    • \n

      Expand commercially supplied reconstruction services, including engineering, project preparation, procurement support, compliance, digital services and project management.\u200b<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

    • \n

      Focus bilateral business co-operation on sectors where Swedish capabilities match Ukraine\u2019s needs: energy, transport, industrial production, water and waste management, ICT and critical materials.\u200b<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

    • \n

      Use Sweden\u2019s existing business presence and public investment instruments to move from trade and stated investor interest towards long-term investment, supplier development and participation \r\nin Ukrainian value chains.\u200b<\/p>\n <\/li>\n <\/ul>\n <\/div>\n \n \n

      \n

      Interesting fact<\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
      \n
      \n
      \n

      Sweden not only donates weapons but also finances direct procurement from Ukrainian defence producers (over SEK 1 bn,
      \nor around \u20ac90 mln, in 2025) while guaranteeing Swedish defence exports to Ukraine, thereby building a two-way industrial partnership.\u200b<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

      \n \"\" <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

      The brochure is produced\u00a0by\u00a0Centre for Economic Strategy\u00a0\u00a0with the support of the\u00a0Askold and Dir Fund\u00a0as a part of the\u00a0the Strong Civil Society of Ukraine \u2014 a Driver towards Reforms and Democracy project,\u00a0implemented by ISAR Ednannia,\u00a0funded by Norway and Sweden. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of\u00a0Centre for Economic Strategy\u00a0and can in no way be taken to reflect the views\u00a0the\u00a0Government of Norway, the Government of Sweden and ISAR Ednannia.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n \n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Ukrainians are increasingly settling
      \nin Sweden: 58% do not plan to return, although language barriers and skills mismatch remain substantial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":44925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-country-research.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[197],"tags":[660],"experts":[],"news_type":[140],"class_list":["post-44909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research-list-en","tag-eu-partnerships","news_type-researches"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44909"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44929,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44909\/revisions\/44929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44909"},{"taxonomy":"experts","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/experts?post=44909"},{"taxonomy":"news_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ces.org.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_type?post=44909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}