Sweden
A combined view of Sweden's UN General Assembly speeches, treaty commitments, and voting record.
The narrative paragraphs below are AI-generated syntheses of the data shown — the tables and figures themselves come directly from the underlying records, not from the AI.
Compare with another country →Speech history
Sweden's General Assembly rhetoric has remained consistently multilateralist (averaging 85 across 20 years) while fluctuating notably in emotional intensity and self-accountability. Early speeches (2006-2010) struck a measured, institutionally grounded tone backed by concrete peacekeeping and development commitments. The 2011-2017 period saw a gradual shift toward greater emotional resonance and self-accountability, particularly around gender equality, refugees, and climate—with the 2017 address reaching a peak of 96 in multilateralism. More recently, speeches have grown more pointed on geopolitical threats (especially Russia's invasion from 2022 onward) while emotional intensity and concrete Swedish commitments have diverged: the 2025 speech registered the highest emotional intensity (82) but the lowest self-accountability (42), suggesting an increasingly values-driven rather than pledge-driven rhetorical stance.
| Session | Multilateralism | Emotional intensity | Concreteness | Self-accountability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Very High | Low | High | Medium |
| 2009 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2010 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2011 | High | High | High | High |
| 2014 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2015 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2016 | Very High | High | Medium | Medium |
| 2017 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2019 | Very High | High | High | High |
| 2020 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2021 | Very High | Medium | High | High |
| 2022 | High | High | High | High |
| 2023 | High | Medium | High | Medium |
| 2024 | High | Medium | High | Medium |
| 2025 | High | Very High | Medium | Medium |
Treaty status
Full treaty record →Sweden demonstrates near-complete treaty engagement, having ratified 23 of 24 tracked instruments across all major thematic areas. Its strongest commitment is to environmental governance, with ratification of all 9 tracked environmental treaties including the Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, and all major chemical and biodiversity conventions. Sweden has equally ratified all tracked human rights instruments (5), arms control treaties (3 of 4), and trade-governance instruments (3), reflecting broad institutional alignment with international law. The sole abstention—the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons—reflects Sweden's NATO alignment rather than environmental or humanitarian hesitation.
Arms control & security
- Arms Trade TreatyRatified
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban TreatyRatified
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their DestructionRatified
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear WeaponsNo action
Environment & climate
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their DisposalRatified
- Convention on Biological DiversityRatified
- Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
- Minamata Convention on MercuryRatified
- Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone LayerRatified
- Paris AgreementRatified
- Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International TradeRatified
- Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic PollutantsRatified
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in AfricaRatified
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeRatified
Human rights
- Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentRatified
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against WomenRatified
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesRatified
- Convention on the Rights of the ChildRatified
- International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsRatified
International justice
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal CourtRatified
Trade & governance
- United Nations Convention against CorruptionRatified
- United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized CrimeRatified
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaRatified
Voting record
Full voting record →Sweden votes with consensus on the vast majority of General Assembly resolutions (66% yes votes among 5,687 recorded votes), with an abstention rate of 24% suggesting selective engagement on contentious issues rather than systematic opposition. Its notable dissents are rare (5 recorded no votes out of thousands) and cluster around development and rural rights resolutions that achieved 92-94% support—suggesting Sweden's abstentions and sparse dissents reflect principled reservations about specific formulations rather than broader alignment shifts. This voting profile reinforces Sweden's identity as a measured, consensus-building multilateralist that votes yes strategically rather than reflexively.
Notable dissents from consensus
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-12-17 · voted N · 94% voted yes
The right to development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2017-12-19 · voted N · 93% voted yes
The right to development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2018-12-17 · voted N · 93% voted yes
Future Operation of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
2004-12-23 · voted N · 93% voted yes
The right to development : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
1999-12-17 · voted N · 92% voted yes
Human development
Full HDI record →Human Development Index: 0.959 (Very High), ranked #5 globally in 2023.
Combines life expectancy, education, and income into one comparable score, 0 to 1. Source: UNDP Human Development Report 2025 — deterministic figures, not AI-generated.
1990–2023