The situation of young people in Sweden

Most young people in Sweden live in good conditions and a majority of young people are optimistic about their future. There are, however, considerable disparities within the group. This is a short summary of young people´s situation in Sweden.

Education
The proportion of those achieving the goals (in all subjects) of year 9 of compulsory school (15-16-year-olds) has increased somewhat, but almost one in five do not achieve the goals and around one in ten lack eligibility for the national programmes of upper secondary school.

There are large differences in the knowledge goals achieved and eligibility between pupils with a Swedish background and those with a foreign background, but also between the sexes and between counties and municipalities.

As a rule, the proportion of young people achieving the knowledge goals is higher for those who have a Swedish background and for girls than for pupils with a foreign background and for boys. The same trends concerning sex are seen in the proportion of those receiving basic education at higher education institutions.

On the other hand, the proportion of young people with a foreign background who transfer to a higher education institution within three years of completing upper secondary school is higher than that of young people with a Swedish background.

Degrading treatment
The proportion of pupils who consider that their school does a great deal to prevent bullying and other degrading treatment has increased markedly since the mid-1990s, but the proportion who feel bullied or harassed by other pupils or teachers remains largely at the same level over the equivalent period.

Experiencing degrading treatment and risky alcohol consumption are the health risks that the largest proportion of young people mention. Girls feel more often than boys that they have experienced degrading treatment.

Participation
The proportion of pupils in schools who consider that they can participate in determining what they have to learn has increased. At the same time, the proportion of pupils who wish to take part and influence is considerably higher than the proportion of pupils experiencing that they are actually able to take part and influence.

Opportunities for young people to exercise influence have shown a positive trend in recent years. Electoral participation increased at the most recent parliamentary elections.

There is also an increasing proportion of nominated and elected young people in decision-making bodies. However, the proportion of young people is still low compared with their share in the population as a whole. Young people are underrepresented both in the party system and in associations in general.

Half of those aged 16–25 consider that their opportunities to put forward ideas to decision-makers in their municipality are small or non-existent.

Associations continue to play a major role among young people, but trends indicate that participation in associations is declining. Young women with a foreign background are members of associations to a lesser extent than other young people.

Economy
Young peoples’ financial situation is generally not as good as for older people. Unemployment among young people in Sweden is markedly higher than among the labour force in general.

In the past few years, the cost of living for students has exceeded study support. Young people are overrepresented when it comes to applications for orders to pay to the Swedish Enforcement Authority. A larger proportion of young people are also evicted from their flats compared with other age groups.




Reference: The report "Ung idag 2009" - En beskrivning av ungdomars villkor (Young people today 2009, a description of young people´s living conditions) by the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs.