Country Foundations

Sweden

Constitution in force since 1974, 13,635 words. Rights measured for 2023.

Read this profile with care. This country has no entrenched, codified bill of rights, so its declared scores are structurally low and its gap looks large and positive. That is a real finding about constitutional design — rights here are protected by statute, common law, or convention instead — not evidence that the country outperforms its peers.

Declared
67%
mean across compared rights
Practiced
88%
mean across compared rights
Gap
+21%
delivers more than promised
Executive respects constitution
79%
V-Dem, measured directly

The rights ledger

Each row compares what the constitution declares against what is measured in practice. The two values are always shown together — a gap on its own is easy to misread.

Declared in the constitutionPracticed (measured)Falls short / exceeds
0255075100Right to life — declared 0%, practiced 97%, gap +97%Right to life0%97%+97%Freedom from torture — declared 100%, practiced 99%, gap −1%Freedom from torture100%99%−1%Freedom from slavery and forced labour — declared 0%, practiced 93%, gap +93%Freedom from slavery and forced labour0%93%+93%Freedom from arbitrary detention (habeas corpus) — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Freedom from arbitrary detention (ha…100%85%−15%Right to a fair and public trial — declared 67%, practiced 86%, gap +19%Right to a fair and public trial67%86%+19%Presumption of innocence — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Presumption of innocenceno practice measure0%——Right to legal counsel — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to legal counselno practice measure0%——Protection from self-incrimination — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from self-incriminationno practice measure0%——Protection from double jeopardy — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Protection from double jeopardyno practice measure0%——Due process of law — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Due process of law100%86%−14%Trial by jury or lay participation — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Trial by jury or lay participationno practice measure0%——Freedom of expression — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom of expression100%89%−11%Freedom of the press — declared 0%, practiced 84%, gap +84%Freedom of the press0%84%+84%Freedom of thought and conscience — declared 100%, practiced 80%, gap −20%Freedom of thought and conscience100%80%−20%Freedom of religion — declared 100%, practiced 95%, gap −5%Freedom of religion100%95%−5%Separation of religion and state — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Separation of religion and stateno practice measure0%——Academic freedom — declared 0%, practiced 87%, gap +87%Academic freedom0%87%+87%Freedom of assembly — declared 100%, practiced 100%, gap ±0%Freedom of assembly100%100%±0%Freedom of association — declared 100%, practiced 86%, gap −14%Freedom of association100%86%−14%Right to petition government — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to petition governmentno practice measure0%——Right to form and join trade unions — declared 25%, practiced 74%, gap +49%Right to form and join trade unions25%74%+49%Right to vote and universal suffrage — declared 50%, practiced 93%, gap +43%Right to vote and universal suffrage50%93%+43%Right to privacy — declared 100%, practiced 98%, gap −2%Right to privacy100%98%−2%Freedom of movement — declared 100%, practiced 89%, gap −11%Freedom of movement100%89%−11%Right to asylum — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to asylumno practice measure0%——Right to own property — declared 50%, practiced 93%, gap +43%Right to own property50%93%+43%Equality before the law — declared 100%, practiced 90%, gap −10%Equality before the law100%90%−10%Right to education — declared 100%, practiced 72%, gap −28%Right to education100%72%−28%Right to health care — declared 0%, practiced 80%, gap +80%Right to health care0%80%+80%Right to shelter or housing — declared 100%, practiced 85%, gap −15%Right to shelter or housing100%85%−15%Independent judiciary — declared 50%, practiced 95%, gap +45%Independent judiciary50%95%+45%Right to bear arms — declared 0%, practiced — (no comparable practice measure)Right to bear armsno practice measure0%——decl.prac.gap

· marks a right with no provision in that country’s constitution. Scores run 0–100; practiced values are V-Dem indicators normalized across all country-years.

Promise and practice over time

The declared line steps when the constitution changes. The practiced line moves when behaviour does. The distance between those two moments is the part worth looking at.

Declared (the text)Practiced (measured)The text changed
05010019801990200020102020

Mean across the 23 rights measured on both sides, 1974–2023. Vertical marks show years when the constitutional text changed enough to move the declared score.

Promised, but not delivered

  • Freedom of thought and conscience −20%
  • Right to education −28%

Delivered, though never promised

  • Right to life +97%
  • Freedom from slavery and forced labour +93%
  • Freedom of the press +84%
  • Academic freedom +87%

Declared internationally

A constitution is only one place a country makes promises. These are the nine core UN human rights treaties.

Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR)ratified 1971
Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ICESCR)ratified 1971
Racial Discrimination (ICERD)ratified 1971
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)ratified 1980
Convention against Torture (CAT)ratified 1986
Rights of the Child (CRC)ratified 1990
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)ratified 2008
Enforced Disappearance (CPED)signed only
Migrant Workers (ICMW)no action

Compare with

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAngolaArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAzerbaijanBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBeninBhutanBoliviaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBrazilBulgariaBurkina FasoBurma/MyanmarBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusDemocratic Republic of the CongoDenmarkDjiboutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFijiFinlandFranceGabonGeorgiaGhanaGreeceGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyana

Data generated 2026-08-08.