Facts & figures

Sweden’s forest industry in brief

Statistik på laptop

Economic significance

  • World's 4th largest exporter of pulp, paper and sawn timber
  • Export value 2022: SEK 186 billion (2021: 157 billion)
  • 82% of the products are exported
  • A little over SEK 15,8 billion was invested in 2022 (2021: 12,1 billion)

Production volumes, 2022

  • 11.8 million tonnes of pulp, of which 4.8 million tonnes market pulp
  • 8.5 million tonnes of paper
  • 19 million cubic metres of sawn timber

Employment

  • 115,000 employees in forest sector

Forests

  • 70% of Sweden is forest land.
  • 80% of the forest land is in active use.
  • 1% of the forest resource is felled annually.
  • Every year, at least 380 million trees are planted in Sweden
  • Over the past 100 years, Sweden's forest resource has doubled.

Energy

  • 96% of the heating energy used by the forest industry is bioenergy.
  • Electricity consumption: 20 TWh per year – just over 15% of Sweden's total electricity consumption.

Sustainability

  • Of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions, the forest industry accounts for around 1%.
  • Since the start of the 1980s, pulp and paper mills have reduced the organic materials they release into the water system by 90%. At the same time, pulp production has risen by 30%.
  • Since the start of the 1980s, pulp and paper mills have reduced the sulphur compounds they release into the air by 98%. At the same time, pulp production has risen by 30%.

Transport

  • Sweden's largest purchaser of transport services – SEK 25 billion annually

Research

  • Every year, Sweden invests SEK 2 billion in forest research at universities, colleges and institutes.
  • Forest industry companies annually invest SEK 2.3 billion in their own research.

Members of the Swedish Forest Industries Federation

  • 50 pulp and paper mills
  • 120 sawmills
  • 40 companies closely connected to the production of pulp, paper or timber goods