Sweden

The Kingdom of Sweden is located in Northern Europe bordering Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Bothnia. Sweden is about double the size of Oregon and covers an area of 450,295 sq. kilometers.  The total population is 9 million and is growing at a rate of 0.18% with 85% living in urban areas.  The capital of Stockholm has a population of 809,000 with other main cities including Gothenburg (500,000) and Malmo (285,000). The people are governed by a constitutional monarchy, are predominately Lutheran, and the primary language is Swedish. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, however the public rejected the Euro as currency and currently use the Swedish Krona.

Sweden’s prolonged peace and neutrality throughout the past two decades has allowed it to enjoy a stable and successful economy and a high standard of living.  Sweden’s economy is heavily based in foreign trade and its main trade partners are Germany, Denmark, Norway, UK, Finland, US, Netherlands, France, Belgium, and China. Its primary imports are machinery, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, motor vehicles, iron and steel, foodstuffs, and clothing. Exports include machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, and chemicals. Sweden’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $399.4 billion and is growing at a real rate of 1.2% with an inflation rate of 0.9%. Sweden ranked 13th out of 185 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.  

Franchising Laws Overview 

 Disclosure laws: 

• Disclosure must be provided “in ample time before a franchise agreement is entered into.”

Relationship laws: 

• None.

Registration laws:

• None.

Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Sweden

Doing Business in Sweden (2010)

Reform of European Union Rules on Distribution (2010)

European Commission's New Block Exemption Rules Enter Into Force June 1 (2010)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).  

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org  

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise. 

International Franchising Opportunities

After you have finished researching the international markets, learning international expansion strategies and best practices, and understanding the basics of international franchising law, IFA provides numerous opportunities for franchising internationally.