STATISTICS

The Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities often receive questions regarding religious affiliation statistics. However, it is important to know that in Sweden the state is not allowed to register religious affiliation. The last census that included religious affiliation was published in 1930 by Statistics Sweden.

What statistics are available from the Agency?

Each year, the state-eligible communities report how many members they have enrolled in their registers. Furthermore, they also have the opportunity to also report how many regular, registered participants are present in the community's activities. For example, they can be participants in children and youth groups. These two groups (members plus participants) then form the basis for SST's calculation of the grant to each community.

As the Church of Sweden does not receive grants from the Agency, this organization does not report statistics here either. To know more in-depth about the membership and visitor statistics of the Swedish Church, we refer to the following page: The Church of Sweden Research Unit. External link, opens in new window.

To think about

It is important to note that in order to get a comprehensive picture of Sweden's religious map you cannot solely rely on the statistics presented here. One such factor is that there are many people who identify with a religious orientation without being a registered member of a religious community. Another is that, in addition to the state-eligible religious communities, there are a large number of other religious communities in Sweden - both at the national and local levels.