Religion and faith communities: how Sweden believes and belongs
Short answer: The Church of Sweden had 5.37 million members at the end of 2025, 50.7 per cent of the population. In 2000, when church and state separated, the share was 82.9 per cent. The share varies widely between municipalities, from about three quarters in parts of Värmland, Västra Götaland and Norrbotten to under a third in Botkyrka. Just over six in ten people who die have a Church of Sweden funeral, but only four in ten newborns are baptised. Other faith communities can receive a state grant if they serve at least 2,500 people and meet the law's democracy conditions; for 2026, 66 million kronor went to 27 faith communities. Internationally, Sweden is among the countries where religion matters least in everyday life.
More on the site: how taxes are structured is on Taxes, immigration and the population's origins on Migration and Population, state grants to parties and associations and how democracy works on Democracy, and what municipalities spend their money on on Municipal finances.
The share of the population who are members of the Church of Sweden, since 1972.
Members on 31 December as a percentage of the population, from Church of Sweden statistics. No figure for 1981. Until 1996, children automatically became members if a parent was one; since then membership comes through baptism or by registering to join.
Membership has fallen every year since the early 1990s. The decline comes both from more people leaving than joining and from the shrinking older generations, in which nearly everyone is a member. At the same time the population grows through immigration from countries where few are members of the Church of Sweden, which lowers the share even when the number of members holds steady.
How many people leave and how many join the Church of Sweden each year.
Resignations and new members per year from Church of Sweden statistics. Joining does not count baptism, the most common way to become a member. For 1981 only the joiners are available. Peaks in resignations often follow a public debate or a fee increase, and one came in 2000 when church and state separated.
How many of life's milestones take place in the Church of Sweden.
Baptisms as a percentage of births, confirmations as a percentage of 15-year-olds, Church of Sweden weddings as a percentage of all weddings and Church of Sweden funerals as a percentage of all deaths, from Church of Sweden statistics. The peak in weddings in 1989 reflects a change in widow's pension rules at the turn of the year, so many married beforehand. The dip in 2020 and 2021 comes from pandemic limits on gatherings.
The funeral is the rite most people still choose to hold in the church, even among non-members. Baptism and confirmation have fallen fastest, since they depend on what young parents and teenagers choose today. Non-members can have a civil funeral or a funeral in another faith community, and everyone has the right to a grave regardless of belief.
The share of Church of Sweden members in every municipality.
Members and population on 31 December 2021, preliminary figures from the Church of Sweden's table by municipality, and 2019 from the same table for that year. The Church of Sweden has not published the municipal table for later years. Forshaga and Munkfors (*) share one row in the source and have the same value here. Click a heading to sort.
The largest of the faith communities eligible for a state grant.
| Faith community | People served 2024 |
|---|
People served are members and others who regularly take part in the activities, according to the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF). The 2024 figures were submitted under the new rules, with audited counts of people served who live in Sweden, and cannot be compared with earlier years. A faith community can be an umbrella body for several congregations. Names are given as in the source. Faith communities that do not apply for a grant are not included.
Besides the Church of Sweden, Sweden has Catholic, Orthodox and Oriental churches, free churches, and Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist communities, among others. No authority counts how many people belong to a given religion, since belief is not registered. The number of people served in grant applications is the closest there is, and only covers the communities that apply.
The conditions for state grants to faith communities.
A new law from 2025
Since 1 January 2025 the Act on state grants to faith communities applies. A faith community must serve at least 2,500 people living in Sweden, have been active here for at least five years and be funded mainly by people living here. The count of people served must be checked by an auditor. The Riksdag passed the law in June 2024.
Government bill 2023/24:119, committee report 2023/24:KrU7, SFS 2024:487
The democracy conditions
Grants may only go to a faith community that helps uphold and strengthen society's fundamental values. The law lists what breaches the condition, including the community or someone representing it using violence, coercion or threats, violating children's rights or discriminating. The condition also applies to those who represent the community, and grants already paid can be reclaimed.
A new agency from 2026
The Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities was closed at the turn of 2025/26, and MUCF has assessed the applications since. For 2026, MUCF granted 66 million kronor in organisational grants to 27 faith communities. Grants for premises, activities and security come on top.
MUCF, MUCF grants 66 million to faith communities (Swedish); about support to faith communities
Fees collected with tax
A registered faith community can get state help to collect fees from its members. The Swedish Tax Agency then deducts the fee the same way as tax, and the member must have consented. The Church of Sweden's church fee is collected the same way.
Swedish Tax Agency, fee to other faith communities
What members pay the church, and what everyone pays for funerals.
| Year | Church fee, average share of income | Burial fee, average share of income | Church fees, billion kronor | Burial fees, billion kronor |
|---|
Fee rates as a percentage of taxable earned income, unweighted national average, and revenue in current prices, from Church of Sweden statistics and financial reports.
Only members pay the church fee, and each parish sets its own part. Everyone registered in Sweden pays the burial fee, regardless of belief, since it funds cemeteries, cremation and burial for all. Since 2017 the burial fee has been the same across the country except in Stockholm and Tranås, which run burial services themselves. The Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency sets the rate each year.
The Church of Sweden's revenue was about 29 billion kronor in 2025, and about 83 per cent came from the church fee and the burial fee. The state also pays about 490 million kronor a year in heritage compensation to preserve churches and churchyards that are cultural heritage.
Sweden compared with other countries.
| Country | No religious affiliation 2010 | No religious affiliation 2020 | Religion important in life | Religion very important |
|---|
The share with no religious affiliation from Pew Research Center's estimates of religious composition by country in 2010 and 2020. How important religion is in life from the World Values Survey and European Values Study (Integrated Values Surveys) via Our World in Data, latest wave per country, mostly between 2017 and 2022. Countries are sorted by the share with no affiliation in 2020.
Sweden stands out less for how many have no affiliation than for how little religion matters in everyday life. Many are Church of Sweden members without seeing themselves as religious, and in the World Values Survey Sweden is among the countries where secular values and individual self-expression weigh most. The share with no affiliation rose between 2010 and 2020 in every country in the table.
How belief and church attendance differ between age groups, and how this has changed.
The share who believe in God and the share who attend a service at least once a month, as a percentage of people aged 16 to 85, from the SOM Institute's national surveys at the University of Gothenburg. The question on belief was not asked every year.
| Age | Believe in God 2010 | Believe in God 2019 | Service at least monthly 2019 | Church of Sweden member 2016 |
|---|
SOM Institute, Swedish religious trends 1986 to 2019. Percentage of respondents in each age group.
Belief in God is most common among the oldest, and the gap between age groups has persisted even as the share has fallen in every group. The latest survey points to a break in the trend among the youngest: according to the SOM Institute, 34 per cent of those aged 16 to 24 said they believe in God in 2025, the highest share in that age group since measurements began. Whether this marks a new direction cannot yet be said.
What the parties have proposed on the state grant to faith communities.
| Party | Proposal and position | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Moderates | Governing party, behind the new law with democracy conditions and the requirement of at least 2,500 people served. | Govt. bill 2023/24:119 |
| Christian Democrats | Governing party, behind the new law. One member wants the application reviewed, especially the requirement that each person served confirm their name, address and date of birth. | Govt. bill 2023/24:119, 2025/26:180 |
| Liberals | Governing party, behind the new law. | Govt. bill 2023/24:119 |
| Sweden Democrats | Voted for the law. Wants in time to abolish tax-funded grants not related to cultural heritage, scrutinise communities with international ties in particular and close the agency for support to faith communities. Members want the grant only to complement membership fees and Christianity to have a special position. | 2023/24:2531, 357 |
| Social Democrats | Wants an inquiry to quickly prepare a ban on foreign funding of faith communities with links to Islamism and extremism. | 2023/24:2686, KrU7, reservation 14 |
| Left Party | Wants to lower the threshold to 1,000 people served, clarify who counts as a representative, review the requirement of a democratic structure and follow up the law. | 2023/24:2869 |
| Centre Party | Wants so-called conversion therapy to breach the democracy conditions when aimed at any LGBTQI person, not only young people, and wants rules on reclaiming grants and follow-up. | 2023/24:2877 |
| Green Party | Wants to lower the threshold to 1,000 people served, define representatives more clearly, including international ones, and evaluate the law continuously together with civil society. | 2023/24:2875 |
A selection of motions and positions on the state grant to faith communities, from the Riksdag's open data, not the parties' full programmes. A proposal in an individual motion is the member's, not necessarily the party's.
Where the figures come from.
- Church of Sweden statistics: members 1972 to 2025, joiners and resignations, church rites 1970 to 2025, members by municipality 2019 and 2021, fees and finances.
- MUCF, faith communities and people served 2020 to 2024, and the decision on grants for 2026.
- Pew Research Center, Religious Composition by Country 2010 to 2020: the share with no religious affiliation.
- Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0), Integrated Values Surveys: how important religion is in life.
- SOM Institute at the University of Gothenburg: Swedish religious trends, Swedish trends 1986 to 2025 and Magnus Hagevi on belief among the young.
- Laws, proposals and motions: those linked in each section above.
The figures come from the Church of Sweden's tables and MUCF's register, plus hand-entered series with sources.