The Swedish forest industry underpins the Swedish economy and Sweden’s climate policy. We are one of the world’s largest exporters of pulp, paper and sawn timber, contributing to employment throughout Sweden and global climate benefit. This is how we have the strength to make a difference.
Recent figures from Statistics Sweden (SCB) reveal that the forest industry provides employment for approximately 140,000 people in Sweden. These jobs are often in rural areas and throughout the country. The sector provides a wide range of services that require a variety of educational qualifications.
And that’s not all. The forest industry has far-reaching impacts and is often vital to local communities. Tax revenue from people employed in the forestry industry is sufficient to finance the equivalent of 30,000 jobs in healthcare, education and social care. Just one forest industry job has significance for an entire town.
Today, approximately 80 per cent of Sweden’s forest sector products are exported, generating revenues of some SEK 184 billion (EUR 16 billion) in 2023. This is a major contribution to Sweden’s trade balance and makes Sweden one of the world’s largest exporters of pulp, paper and sawn wood products. Exports create jobs and income that underpin Sweden’s prosperity and climate benefits. Sweden’s forests provide Europe with virgin fibres that enable the recycling of cardboard, for example, and makes climate-neutral construction in wood possible even in countries without their own access to wood.
When the Swedish forest industry invests, it shows. Between 2021 and 2023, the sector invested an impressive SEK 42 billion (EUR 3.66 billion) in cutting-edge technologies, equipment and new facilities.
In strength lies responsibility
Although the Swedish forestry industry is important for Sweden as a whole and has historically made a key contribution to prosperity, the forest industry also has a crucial role to play in efforts to avert global climate change. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Sweden’s emissions of greenhouse gases amounted to 44 million tonnes of CO2e in 2023. At the same time, the Swedish forest industry contributed climate benefits of 93 million tonnes of CO2e – more than twice as much. This is possible because wood-based products such as paper, cardboard and boards continue to store the carbon that the trees they are made from have sequestered during their growth phase.
Furthermore, bark, shavings, chips, branches and tops that cannot be used for timber, is used to heat a large number of Swedish homes. Sixty-six per cent of Sweden’s district heating is powered by forest fuels, thus providing the lion’s share of Sweden’s fossil-free energy production.
In 2023, more than 400,000,000 forest saplings were planted, and Sweden is today a country rich in forests. Three per cent of Sweden’s surface area is built-up, while nearly 70 per cent is forest. But this has not always been the case. Industrialisation drove high demand for timber, which in turn resulted in extensive felling. Today, thanks to active forestry practices and replanting legislation, there is now twice as much wood in Swedish forests as there was one hundred years ago. Today’s saplings grow better, and trees are denser and grow faster. Developing forestry methods based on scientific evidence is a key ingredient for success, and at a time where climate change and extreme weather is creating new conditions, these efforts continue to be extremely important.
The exchange rate used is 11.48 SEK/EUR, which is the average rate for 2023.
The Swedish forest industries’ road to the future
The Swedish forest industry wants to accelerate a green transition that embraces sustainable development ecologically, economically and socially. This is the basis of the sector’s Road to the Future policy document that was published in 2023, and which is based on three central promises relating to circularity, climate, and biodiversity. Read more about the Swedish forest industries’ road to the future here.
