A key player on the global scene with thriving trade

A relatively small country of 10.4 million, Sweden is prosperous, with an open, highly-interconnected and complex economy.[44] It's a strong trade nation: despite ranking 88th in the world based on population, it sits in 32nd place for exports and 31st place for imports by value, and ranks 8th in the world for economic complexity—characterised by diverse productive capabilities and strong competitiveness. As a result, Sweden is highly trade-dependent and export-intensive: in 2019, trade as a percentage of GDP reached 91% [45] and the export of goods and services as a percentage of GDP was roughly 48%. [46] With strong trade partners in Europe, such as Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also in the Middle East, China and the United States, Sweden's reach extends around the globe.

Exporting valuable products like vehicles and car parts, packaged medicaments, refined petroleum, and broadcasting equipment. [47] By weight, its exports amount to 89.6 million tonnes, primarily composed of biomass (pulp, paper and sawn timber) at 28.2 million tonnes, fossil fuels at 20.4 million tonnes and metal ores at 18.2 million tonnes. The export footprint, however—meaning the embodied weight of all materials used to create final export products—is significantly larger at 137.9 million tonnes. We know Swedish domestic extraction per capita is among the world's highest—yet the majority of what's extracted is eventually exported. For example, the extraction of metal ores primarily satisfies foreign demand, with 78% of these materials being embodied in products for export. Contrastingly, the majority of biomass (51%) and non-metallic minerals (66%) extracted are used to meet domestic demand.

Conversely, of Sweden's 90.3 million tonnes of imported goods, the majority are fossil fuels (39 million tonnes), followed by biomass (25.9 million tonnes) and minerals (13.1 million tonnes). The small import weight of minerals does not underscore their importance: over half (54%) of Sweden's material footprint is fed by mineral extraction—and while this mainly occurs domestically, imports from China and Finland are also significant. It is also important to consider that the RMEs—the weight of all the materials used to create final products—of Swedish imports can substantially inflate import figures. Sweden’s total import footprint—the resources extracted (together with the waste and emissions released) abroad to satisfy Swedish demand—stands at 130.1 million tonnes. This represents about 49% of the country's total consumption: approximately half of its material footprint is embodied in imports, such as crude and refined petroleum, machinery and manufactured goods. The total import footprint of minerals, for example, is five times the weight of what is imported into Sweden, at 66.7 million tonnes, while the import footprint is nearly equal for biomass (25.8 million tonnes) and lower for fossil fuels (23.6 million tonnes).[48] Its status as a large importer is a key determinant of its low Circularity Metric—the circularity of imports is difficult to control, and large quantities of waste are often generated abroad in the production of the final products Sweden enjoys.