Swedish Economy Shows Strong Broad-based Growth in August 2025
Sweden's economy grew broadly in August 2025, led by sharp increases in household consumption and business production, surpassing expectations.
- • Swedish GDP indicator increased by 2.4% year-on-year in August 2025, above forecasts.
- • Monthly economic growth was 1.1%, surpassing Bloomberg's consensus of zero growth.
- • Household consumption grew 0.4% from July and 2.5% year-on-year in inflation-adjusted terms.
- • Economists note the economic recovery is broader and faster than expected, affecting monetary policy considerations.
Key details
New data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) reveal that Sweden's economy expanded broadly in August 2025, with both household consumption and business production contributing to accelerated growth. The GDP indicator rose by 2.4 percent year-on-year, outperforming previous estimates and analysts' expectations. This growth figure was a significant upward revision from earlier assessments of 2.0 and 1.9 percent. On a monthly basis, the economy grew by 1.1 percent, well above Bloomberg's consensus forecast of no change, while July’s performance was revised down slightly to -0.3 percent from an initial -0.2 percent (source 95228).
Household consumption exhibited a positive trend for over a year following a negative period in early 2024, increasing by 0.4 percent from July and by 2.5 percent year-on-year when adjusted for inflation. Business production also showed marked improvement, reinforcing the broad-based nature of the economic recovery. Melker Pettersson Loberg, an economist at SCB, emphasized that both sectors were significant drivers of the August growth (sources 95228, 95224).
Johan Nyström, a statistician at SCB, highlighted the sustained upward trajectory in household consumption, signaling strengthening domestic demand. The unexpectedly strong GDP figures suggest the Swedish economy is gaining momentum faster than anticipated, which could influence monetary policy decisions. It was suggested that if these figures had been available earlier, the Riksbanken (Swedish central bank) might have reconsidered lowering interest rates (source 95224).
The GDP indicator used provides an early snapshot of economic developments ahead of the more detailed quarterly GDP updates. Overall, these assessments indicate a robust and broad-based recovery in the Swedish economy as of August 2025, with key consumption and production sectors showing healthy gains.