Large carnivores: the wolf, bear, lynx, wolverine and golden eagle
Short answer: In winter 2025/26 there were about 355 wolves in Sweden, and since August 2026 the reference value the government reports to the EU is 220. Bears were estimated in 2023 at about 2,450, lynx in winter 2025/26 at about 1,500 and wolverines in 2025 at about 700. The golden eagle had 612 occupied territories in 2025. The 2026 licensed wolf hunt was stopped by a court, and for 2027 the county administrative boards have decided on 72 wolves. Wolves accounted for 482 of the 566 domestic animals attacked in 2024. Since 2025 the wolf has weaker protection in both the Bern Convention and the EU Habitats Directive.
More on the site: The countryside on the population outside the cities, Farmers' conditions on the economics of farming, Animal husbandry on livestock and animal welfare, Sweden's environmental impact on nature and biodiversity, and EU on how the Union's laws are made.
How many large carnivores there are.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the county administrative boards survey the carnivores every year, but differently for each species. Wolves are counted per winter, and the year in the chart is the winter ending that year. Before 2018 there is only the Scandinavian series of family groups and territorial pairs. Bears are estimated from droppings collected county by county, so there are only occasional estimates. Lynx are counted in family groups, females with the year's young. Wolverines have been estimated from DNA since 2013, and golden eagles are counted in occupied territories. The dashed line is the reference value, where there is one.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, statistics pages on wolf, bear, lynx, wolverine and golden eagle, reviewed 2026. Wolf in Sweden: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, news item 2 June 2025, and the Scandinavian survey report for winter 2025/26. The wolverine DNA method changed in 2024/25, so the series has a break. The mean inbreeding coefficient in wolf family groups was 0.23 in 2025.
How small a population may be.
The reference value is the smallest population Sweden considers necessary for favourable conservation status, and it is reported to the EU under the Habitats Directive. County administrative boards may only decide on licensed hunting as long as the population is above the reference value. The minimum levels divide the reference value among the management areas and counties, and they appear in the county table further down.
| Species | Reference value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wolf | 220 individuals | Government, press release 31 July 2026; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 6 August 2026 |
| Brown bear | 1,400 individuals | Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, reported 2019 |
| Lynx | 870 individuals | Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, minimum levels 2024 to 2029 |
| Wolverine | 600 individuals | Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, minimum levels 2024 to 2029 |
| Golden eagle | None | The golden eagle is protected by the Birds Directive, which has no reference values |
2013: between 170 and 270
The Riksdag decided that the reference value for wolves should be between 170 and 270 individuals.
Bill 2012/13:191, committee report 2013/14:MJU7
2019: 300
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency reported 300 wolves to the EU.
Riksdag, answer to interpellation 2019/20:9
2022: the Riksdag wants it lower
The Riksdag stated that the reference value should be in the lower range, around 170. The decision passed by 158 votes to 140. M, SD, C and KD voted yes, S, V, L and MP no.
Committee report 2021/22:MJU24, vote of 18 May 2022
2025: 170
The government lowered the reference value from 300 to 170, with 270 as an interim target after the 2026 licensed hunt.
Government, press release 26 June 2025
2026: 220
The government raised it to 220 and commissioned an inquiry into a minimum viable population of 100 wolves in the Swedish part and a joint management plan with Norway and Finland. In October the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency set the minimum levels at 160 wolves in the central and 60 in the southern management area.
Government, press release 31 July 2026; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, minimum levels for wolves 1 October 2026
In March 2025 the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency reported what favourable conservation status requires at 170 to 270 wolves, without proposing a single value. The choice of number is the government's and the Riksdag's.
Licensed wolf hunting, year by year.
Licensed hunting is hunting the county administrative board decides on to keep the population at a certain level. Protective hunting is decided to prevent damage, usually of a single animal that has attacked livestock, and it is not compiled per year in any official series. The chart shows how many wolves the county administrative boards decided on and how many were shot. Where the line is missing, the hunt was stopped by a court or never decided.
The bear
In 2025 hunters were allowed to shoot 465 bears and 459 were shot. In 2026, 394 bears were decided in seven counties, most in Västerbotten, Jämtland and Gävleborg.
SVA, report on the licensed bear hunt 2025; Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, news item 19 August 2026
The lynx
In 2025, 87 lynx were decided. In 2026 the licensed hunt covered 153 lynx in 14 counties.
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, news item 27 February 2026
The 2026 wolf hunt was stopped
The county administrative boards decided on 48 wolves in five counties. The Administrative Court in Luleå overturned the decisions on 15 December 2025, and the Administrative Court of Appeal in Sundsvall rejected the appeals in January 2026. No wolf was shot.
Värmland County Administrative Board 7 November 2025; committee report 2025/26:MJU10
72 wolves 2027
In October 2026 the county administrative boards decided on 72 wolves, 66 in the central and 6 in the southern management area. With the hunt the population is expected to be about 362 in October 2027, without it about 472.
Värmland County Administrative Board, 15 October 2026
Decided and shot: Svensk Jakt, compilation of the licensed wolf hunt, checked against SVA reports 2021, 2024 and 2025. For 2016 other sources give 46 decided.
Attacks on livestock and what the state pays.
The SLU Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre compiles the attacks inspected by the county administrative boards. In 2024, 566 domestic animals and 30 dogs were attacked. Wolves accounted for 482 of the domestic animals, more than eight in ten, and most were sheep. The state pays both compensation for killed and injured animals and grants for predator fencing and other prevention.
Animals attacked 2024
Grants and compensation 2024, million kronor
Most goes to prevention
Grants for fencing and other prevention are almost three times as large as compensation for killed and injured animals.
SLU Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre, Wildlife damage statistics 2024, report 2025-3
Reindeer herding is compensated differently
Sami villages are compensated according to how many carnivores are born or present in the village's grazing area, not for each reindeer killed. The Sami Parliament pays the compensation.
Ordinance SFS 2024:671; Sami Parliament
Livestock and farms
How sheep and other livestock are kept is on Animal husbandry, and the farms' economics on Farmers' conditions.
Links on this site
SLU Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre, Wildlife damage statistics 2024, report 2025-3, figures as given by Jakt & Jägare 6 May 2025. The breakdown by county and by carnivore other than the wolf is in the report's tables.
Wolves, the bear hunt and minimum levels by county.
Wolves by county are the DNA estimate for winter 2025/26, and wolves in territories shared between two counties count half in each. The bear hunt is the number of bears the county was allowed to shoot in 2026. The minimum levels are the smallest number of bears and lynx that must be in the county 2024 to 2029. Click a heading to sort.
Wolves: Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and SLU, survey report for winter 2025/26, table 4. Bear hunt: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency 19 August 2026, where Västerbotten is 394 minus the other six counties. Minimum levels: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency decisions for 2024 to 2029.
The EU, the Bern Convention and the courts.
The large carnivores are protected by the Bern Convention, the Council of Europe's wildlife treaty, and by the EU Habitats Directive. The golden eagle is protected by the Birds Directive. How EU laws are made is on EU.
Bern Convention 2025
In December 2024 the Convention's Standing Committee moved the wolf from strictly protected to protected species. The change has applied since 7 March 2025.
Council of Europe, Bern Convention Appendices II and III
Habitats Directive 2025
The EU moved the wolf from Annex IV, strict protection, to Annex V, where hunting may be allowed if conservation status is favourable. The directive has applied since 14 July 2025 and must be transposed by 15 January 2027. Countries may keep the strict protection.
Directive (EU) 2025/1237
Commission case closed
In 2011 the European Commission opened an infringement case against Sweden's licensed wolf hunting. The case was closed on 11 December 2025.
European Commission, INFR(2010)4200
Tapiola 2019
The Court of Justice found that licensed wolf hunting requires precise reasoning, a scientific basis, consideration of alternatives and an assessment of conservation status both locally and nationally.
Court of Justice of the EU, case C-674/17, 10 October 2019
Tyrol and Castile 2024
Conservation status is to be assessed within the country, and data from neighbouring countries may only be used when national status is already favourable. A species with unfavourable status may not be hunted as an Annex V species.
Court of Justice of the EU, case C-601/22, 11 July 2024, and C-436/22, 29 July 2024
Environmental organisations may appeal
The Supreme Administrative Court found that environmental organisations have the right to appeal decisions on licensed wolf hunting. That is why the hunt is often tried in court before it begins.
HFD 2015 ref. 79
EUR-Lex, Court of Justice case law on curia.europa.eu, the Council of Europe and lagen.nu. The summaries are abridged.
Town and country disagree.
The latest large survey of Swedes' views on wolves was carried out by SLU and published in 2013. It compared urban municipalities, municipalities with wolf territories, municipalities without wolves and rural municipalities. How rural areas otherwise differ from towns is on The countryside.
Near home
22 percent in Karlstad could not accept wolves near their home, against 51 percent in Årjäng, a municipality with a wolf territory.
SLU, Attitudes to wolves and wolf management, report 2013:1, as reported by Sveriges Radio
Trust
44 percent trusted the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency on the wolf issue, 37 percent the county administrative board and 27 percent the Riksdag.
SLU, report 2013:1
2002
In an earlier survey, 71 percent of the public wanted the number of wolves to increase.
SLU, Fakta skog 2002
No comparable national survey after 2013 has been found.
What the parties want for the wolf.
The Riksdag considered the motions on large carnivores in committee report 2025/26:MJU10. Only V, C and MP entered reservations on carnivore management. The table summarises the parties' motions in alphabetical order.
| Party | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Centre Party | The population is larger than the Riksdag's 170 to 270. Wants more local involvement, maps of vulnerable areas per county and that protective hunting decisions should not be open to appeal. | Motions 2025/26:2833 and 2025/26:828 |
| Christian Democrats | Motions from individual members for a smaller wolf population. | Motion 2025/26:651 |
| Liberals | No motion on wolves in 2024/25 or 2025/26. Voted against a lower reference value in 2022. | Vote of 18 May 2022 |
| Green Party | The wolf should have favourable conservation status, and the population is already weak. Wants to stop illegal hunting and ban carnivore trophies. | Motion 2024/25:1748, 2025/26:3426 and 2025/26:3412 |
| Moderates | Motions from individual members for a sharply reduced population, within 170 to 270. | Motion 2025/26:2341 |
| Social Democrats | No party motion on population size. Voted against a lower reference value in 2022, and an individual motion wants to reduce the population to 170 to 270. | Vote of 18 May 2022; motion 2024/25:838 |
| Sweden Democrats | A reference value of 170 and protective hunting even when the population is below the reference value. Faster decisions on protective hunting. | Motions 2024/25:1396 and 2025/26:103 |
| Left Party | A long-term strategy for favourable conservation status, more prevention, action against illegal hunting and research-based management. Protective hunting should still be available. | Motions 2025/26:2784 and 2025/26:2817 |
| The government (M, KD, L) | A reference value of 220, an inquiry into a minimum viable population of 100 and a joint management plan with Norway and Finland, to enable licensed hunting in the coming years. | Government, press release 31 July 2026 |
Riksdag open data, committee report 2025/26:MJU10 and the motions above.
Where the figures come from.
- Populations and reference values: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency statistics pages, news and decisions on minimum levels. Wolves by county: Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and SLU, survey report for winter 2025/26.
- Licensed hunting: the county administrative boards, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, SVA reports and Svensk Jakt's compilation.
- Attacks and compensation: SLU Swedish Wildlife Damage Centre, Wildlife damage statistics 2024. Reindeer herding: SFS 2024:671.
- The law: EUR-Lex, the Court of Justice of the EU, the Council of Europe and the Supreme Administrative Court.
- Opinion: SLU, report 2013:1 and Fakta skog 2002.
- Parties and government: Riksdag open data and regeringen.se.
The populations of lynx, wolverine, golden eagle and the Scandinavian wolf were retrieved in October 2026. Other figures are transferred by hand from the sources.