In the previous post, we saw that the prevalence of worry and anxiety has increased over time in Sweden among people who are 16-84 years old. The increase in mental health problems since the mid-1980s has also been reported among children who were 13-15 years old (1). That is based on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, and their open data browser lets us observe the increase in the prevalence of “feeling low” between 2014 and 2022 in all 11, 13, and 15 years old boys and girls (2).

Figure 1: Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2023), Data browser (findings from the 2021/22 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org.

In addition to these mental health problems, the high suicide rate, especially among older age males, has been a long-time concern in Sweden (3). In this post, I will take a brief look at Swedish policies regarding mental health problems.

In 2025, the National Strategy for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention was published by the government, which the Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare developed (4). The strategy is for the next 10 years to reduce suicide and mental health problems. Alongside, Standing together – a national strategy to tackle loneliness, was also developed by the Public Health Agency (5).

For the work to prevent suicide and mental health problems, the Public Health Agency plays a pivotal role. They coordinate work across the state, regions, municipalities, governmental agencies, and relevant stakeholders. They also monitor the suicide rate and mental health problems by their annual survey (Health on equal terms) as well as register data administered by the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Sweden has also been involved in international collaborations to tackle suicide and mental health problems through different EU collaborations. Currently, Sweden participates in the EU-financed Joint Action MENTOR (Mental Health Together). The Public Health Agency harnesses its work by being inspired by other EU countries’ policies and programs for suicide and mental health.

In 2020, the government commissioned the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and the Assessment of Social Services to evaluate efforts to promote mental health among children and young people (2022: Främjande av psykiskt vällbefinnande hos barn och ungdomer). In 2024, the government set aside SEK 1.56 billion for SKR’s work with mental health and suicide prevention.

Looking at this work over the past years, much effort and cost have been invested to reduce the burden of mental disorders on the population. Notably, their work is quite organized, including national guidelines, international cooperation, and evaluation of policies and programs.

References

  1. Folkhälsomyndigheten. Mental health – The Public Health Agency of Sweden [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Aug 1]. Available from: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/living-conditions-and-lifestyle/mental-health/
  2. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children. HBSC. 2025 [cited 2025 Aug 2]. HBSC Data Browser. Available from: https://data-browser.hbsc.org/
  3. Karolinska Institutet. Suicides in Sweden | Karolinska Institutet [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Aug 1]. Available from: https://ki.se/en/nasp/statistics/suicide-in-sweden
  4. Folkhälsomyndigheten. Suicide prevention – The Public Health Agency of Sweden [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Aug 1]. Available from: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency-of-sweden/living-conditions-and-lifestyle/mental-health/suicide-prevention/
  5. Folkhälsomyndigheten. Standing together – A national strategy to tackle loneliness [Internet]. 2025 [cited 2025 Aug 1]. Available from: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/publikationer-och-material/publikationsarkiv/s/standing-together-a-national-strategy-to-tackle-loneliness/