Swedish public sector

Sweden's welfare system is largely supported by municipalities and regions. The Swedish municipalities (290) and regions (21) provide vital services to citizens, such as healthcare, housing, education and childcare.

Sweden has municipal self-government, which means that municipalities and regions are governed by elected politicians in municipal and regional councils, and municipalities and regions have a mandate to make their own decisions.

The right of municipalities to levy taxes is enshrined in the Swedish Constitution. This also applies to the Swedish equalisation system, which is the state's way of equalising differences and creating equal economic conditions between Sweden's municipalities and regions.

The Swedish Local Government Act states that a municipality cannot be declared bankrupt. Local authorities must maintain sound financial management and their budgets must be balanced. Any imbalances must be restored within three years. No municipality or region in Sweden has ever failed to make a payment in modern times.

By law, municipalities are only allowed to borrow money for investments. Typical investments in the local government sector include real estate and infrastructure, as well as investments in water, sewerage and energy.