In 2015, the domestic material consumption in Sweden was 22.5 tonnes per person. This is an increase of about 3 tonnes since 2000. Consumption of metals in particular has increased (slightly more than 2 tonnes), although consumption of sand and gravel has also increased (slightly more than 1 tonne). However, consumption of fossil fuels decreased (down slightly more than 0.5 tonnes).

Comparing Sweden with the EU

In the EU, the average citizen consumes about 13 tonnes of materials every year, that is, about 9 tonnes less than the average Swedish citizen. One explanation for this difference is that Sweden has a higher consumption of biomass than the EU average due to an abundance of cultivated forests. Regarding fossil fuels, Sweden lies below the EU average, in part due to the use of fossil-free fuels in the heating of houses and buildings.

Sweden has a high level of consumption of metals as a result of the mining industry generates large amounts of material. Sand and gravel represent a large proportion of Swedish material consumption, and these materials are both extracted, and for the most part consumed, in Sweden, i.e., import and export levels of sand and gravel are relatively low.

Countries with a limited supply of natural resources import more goods. This often means that the size of domestic material consumption becomes lower, since the imported goods have already been processed, and therefore have a lower mass than the raw materials from which the goods are made. This could explain why the EU average is substantially lower compared with Sweden’s material consumption.

Another difference between Sweden and an average EU country is that Sweden has a large area relative to its population size. A larger area often means more natural resources, which in Sweden’s case means a higher extraction of natural resources per person. This should be compensated when exports are subtracted in the calculation of Sweden’s material consumption. However, this is not the case, probably since the exported goods, as in the case of imports described above, have been processed and therefore have a lower mass than the raw materials from which the goods are made.

Trade with other countries

Sweden has a positive physical trade balance, which means that the mass of exports is larger than the mass of imports. The surplus, about 7 million tonnes in 2015, mainly consisted of metals and biomass (forest raw materials). Over time, the physical trade balance has increased by 6 million tonnes in the period from 2000 to 2015. Metal exports are the main contributor to this increase.

Regarding imports, fossil fuels such as crude oil dominate imports. It is interesting to note that Sweden consumes half of the imported fossil fuels and exports the other half in the form of refined products such as petrol.