Swedes’ affinity with the European Union has increased over time: report

Swedish voters’ affinity with the European Union has increased since the country formally entered the EU in 1994, a new study by Statistics Sweden has found.

Ahead of the European elections, Statistics Sweden examined the level of affinity among Swedish voters for the EU over time, and found that as of last year, support levels stood at 60%, which is double that of 1996.

Support levels have hovered around the 60% mark since 2019, the study found, which is a historic high – in May 1996, just over a year after Sweden formally joined the bloc, a majority (52%) of eligible voters were against EU membership.

However, since November 2001, the proportion for EU membership has been significantly greater than the proportion against.

The highest recorded support was in May 2022, when 64% of the electorate indicated they were in favour of EU membership.

Likelihood to vote

At the time of the last European elections, Statistics Sweden undertook a survey that found there was a correlation between those that were in favour of EU membership and their likelihood to vote in the elections.

In May 2019, 69% of those in favour of Sweden’s EU membership said they would vote, compared to 54% of those against EU membership.

This pattern has remained relatively consistent over time – in 2004, the proportion who voted in the European Parliament election was 10% higher among those who were in favour than among those who were against EU membership.

Historical background

On 13 November, 1994, the Swedish electorate voted yes in the referendum on whether Sweden should join the European Union. The result was relatively close: 52% voted yes, 47% voted no, and 1% voted blank.

The voter turnout was 83%, slightly lower than the parliamentary election held in September of the same year, where 87% voted.

In January 1995, Sweden became a member of the European Union. Almost a year after the referendum, on 17 September, Sweden held an election to appoint the first 22 candidates to the European Parliament.

At the time of Sweden’s accession to the EU, there were 14 countries in the bloc, as of now, that number has swelled to 28.

Read more: What EU country has the highest number of eligible voters in the European Elections?