The municipal debt

In the report series 'The Municipal Debt,' Kommuninvest tracks the development of the municipal sector's investments and indebtedness. The report is unique because both investments and debt are analyzed from a group perspective. This means that activities conducted in corporate form are also included in the report's data.

The group perspective is important for obtaining an accurate overall picture of a municipality's or region's economic and financial position because:

  • An increasing part of municipal activities is being corporatized. For example, more and more municipalities have transferred their service and operational facilities to subsidiaries in recent years.
  • Municipal sector companies account for about half of the sector's investments but for the majority of the external debt.

The data in this report is based on information obtained from the municipalities' and regions' own annual reports. This report lags by a year in the sense that the 2024 edition pertains to data from 2023. Information on investment levels and debt for all municipalities and regions is available for the years 2011–2023 on Kommuninvest's website.

Go to data sources (xlsx) xlsx, 917.2 kB.


Summary of the 2025 Report

The municipal sector’s debt increased by SEK 80 billion in 2024, corresponding to a growth rate of 9.1 percent, bringing the total to SEK 959 billion. The debt’s share of GDP rose to 15 percent (up from just over 14 percent in 2022–2023), and its share of the municipal sector’s turnover increased to 58 percent (from 55 percent in 2023). This means that the average debt per capita amounted to SEK 90,560 at the end of 2024. The increase in debt was driven primarily by continued high levels of investment with a low degree of self-financing, but also, to a lesser extent, by accounting-related effects associated with financial leasing.

The forecast for debt going forward indicates a clear shift in trend: the growth rate is expected to fall to 3 percent in 2025, before rising slightly to 3.5 percent in 2026–2027 and 4 percent in 2028. This is roughly half the growth rate observed during 2010–2024, when the average was close to 7 percent. As always, the forecast is subject to uncertainty, but expectations nevertheless point to a marked slowdown in growth as investment needs shift from new construction towards an increased focus on reinvestment, preparedness, and climate adaptation measures.