New book examines perceptions of Sweden – what does research tell us about living conditions?

How has Sweden really changed since the 1960s? Is poverty increasing? Are people more lonely and experiencing poorer mental health? Has working life become more uncertain? And is it true that young men are falling behind on the labour market? In Välfärd & livsvillkor – Perspektiv på samtida samhällsbilder (Liber, 2026), 30 researchers, including researchers from the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University, examine these and many other questions.

The book is based on the Level-of-Living Survey (LNU), which has followed people’s living conditions in Sweden since 1968. The repeated surveys provide unique opportunities to track changes in welfare, work, health and social conditions.

“Many of the perceptions that shape public debate contain a grain of truth, but the findings often reveal a more complex reality than the one presented in public discussion,” says Katarina Boye, Associate Professor of Sociology and one of the book’s editors.

“Our starting point is to challenge the often gloomy picture of social development that emerges in the media and public discussion. At the same time, we ourselves have had to reconsider some of our preconceptions during the course of the work. The picture that emerges is that much has improved, while major inequalities persist and new problems have become more apparent,” says Johan Westerman, PhD in Sociology and one of the book’s editors.

The new book provides a broad picture of Swedish society and how it has changed over the past 50 years. The following are a selection of findings from some of the book’s chapters.

The book’s analyses show, among other things, that income inequality has increased, but that this does not mean that people with the lowest incomes have become worse off. All income groups have improved their situation, although the improvement has been greater in the middle and particularly strong at the top of the income distribution.

Material and economic hardship, that is, difficulties making ends meet in everyday life, has also declined substantially over time. Some forms of economic hardship have, however, increased somewhat during the 2020s. Child poverty is considerably more common among children with a foreign background and children of single parents than among other children.

Mental health problems have increased sharply among younger generations. The increase began among those who were young adults in the 1990s and 2000s and has partly followed them into middle age. Among older people, the proportion reporting mental health problems has instead declined. The age pattern has therefore reversed: half a century ago, mental health problems were most common among older people; today, they are most common among younger people. However, severe forms of social isolation and loneliness are uncommon in Sweden, and there is little evidence that they are increasing over time.

The book also provides a more nuanced picture of the labour market and its development. Employees stay with the same employer for a shorter period than in the past, and the share of fixed-term employment increased sharply during the 1990s. However, the trend towards greater insecurity in the labour market is not clear-cut. Since 2010, employment durations have remained unchanged, and fixed-term employment has not become more common for some time. People with higher education have the shortest employment durations, which may indicate that job changes in many cases can be career-oriented and voluntary.

Women have continued to strengthen their position in the labour market, and young women and men now work in occupations of similar prestige. At the same time, male-dominated occupations continue to be significantly better paid than female-dominated occupations, and men receive higher economic returns on their education.

These examples, together with the book’s other findings, show that several established perceptions of Swedish society need to be reconsidered. Some trends are clear, while others are more complex than the public debate might suggest.

The book is a research-based contribution to the debate on social development, while also highlighting areas where our knowledge is limited and further research is needed.

About the book

Välfärd & livsvillkor – Perspektiv på samtida samhällsbilder
Edited by Katarina Boye & Johan Westerman
Publisher: Liber | ISBN: 978-91-47-15832-4 | 384 pages

The book is suitable as course literature in sociology, but is also aimed at journalists, government officials, interest organisations and anyone interested in a research-based understanding of how welfare and living conditions are distributed in Sweden and how they have changed over time.

About the Level of Living Survey (LNU)

The Level of Living Survey is conducted at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI), Stockholm University. LNU has followed people’s living conditions in Sweden since 1968. Through repeated surveys, LNU provides unique knowledge about changes in welfare, work, health and living conditions over time.

Contact

Katarina Boye, Associate Professor of Sociology, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, katarina.boye@sofi.su.se

Johan Westerman, PhD in Sociology, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, johan.westerman@sofi.su.se

Publisher contact: Liber AB, 113 98 Stockholm | www.liber.se