Sorry, you need to enable JavaScript to visit this website.
Skip to main content
European Commission logo

YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Sweden

Sweden

7. Health and Well-Being

Last update: 28 November 2023

In general, young people in Sweden have good health, when measured by prevalence of diseases and hospital care or by public health surveys covering information on self-reported health. Mental health problems have though shown an increasing trend among young people in Sweden since mid-1980s. Therefore, the government has initiated a number of actions, in order to turn this negative trend. When it comes to healthy lifestyle, there is a trend of polarisation, where some are physically very active and have conscious eating habits, while others have sedentary lifestyle and suffer of over-weight or obesity.

The Swedish government’s national public health policy has the overarching objective

'To create social conditions to ensure good health, on equal terms, for the entire population'.

ANDT is one of the objective domains in the national public health policy. The government’s strategy for alcohol, narcotics, doping and tobacco (ANDT) for the period 2016–2020 is:

'To create conditions in society so that the entire population can enjoy good health on equal terms. The objective of alcohol, narcotics, doping and tobacco policy is a society free from narcotics and doping, with a reduction in medical harm caused by alcohol and a reduction in tobacco use.'

 

One of the priorities in the Swedish youth policy according to the Government Communication in March 2021 is increasing young people's mental health.