Voting rights and who may vote
In Riksdag elections, the right to vote belongs to anyone who is a Swedish citizen, is or turns 18 by election day at the latest, and is or has been registered as a resident (folkbokförd) in Sweden. The right to vote in Riksdag elections is thus tied to Swedish citizenship. Different rules apply in municipal and regional elections: there you do not need to be a Swedish citizen to vote, but you must usually have been registered as a resident in Sweden for at least three years. Citizens of an EU country, or of Iceland and Norway, gain the right to vote in municipal and regional elections as soon as they register as residents in Sweden, with no three-year requirement.
How often, and what you vote on
Elections to the Riksdag, the regions and the municipalities are held at the same time every four years, on the second Sunday in September. Elections to the European Parliament are instead held every five years. The Riksdag election decides which parties will sit in parliament and, in turn, which government the country gets, while regional and municipal elections concern matters such as healthcare, schools and local services.
Proportional elections and the four percent threshold
Sweden has a proportional electoral system. This means each party receives roughly the same share of seats (mandat) in the Riksdag as the share of votes it received in the election — if a party gets, say, 20 percent of the votes, it gets roughly 20 percent of the seats. It is therefore not winner-takes-all, as in some other countries' electoral systems.
To enter the Riksdag, however, a party must receive at least 4 percent of the votes nationwide (there is also a way to gain a seat by receiving at least 12 percent in a single constituency). This threshold exists to avoid too many small parties in the Riksdag, which could otherwise make it harder to form a stable government.
The parties in the Riksdag
After the 2022 election, eight parties held seats in Sweden's Riksdag: the Centre Party (Centerpartiet, C), the Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna, KD), the Liberals (Liberalerna, L), the Green Party (Miljöpartiet, MP), the Moderate Party (Moderaterna, M), the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna, S), the Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna, SD) and the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet, V). The parties have different policies on issues such as taxes, welfare, the environment and migration, and it is the voters who, through their votes, decide which parties are represented in the Riksdag and how the seats are distributed among them.
Referendums
In addition to general elections, Sweden can hold referendums on specific issues. A well-known referendum was held in 2003, when the Swedish people voted on whether Sweden should switch from the Swedish krona to the euro as its currency. A majority voted no, and Sweden therefore still uses the krona. Referendums in Sweden are advisory, meaning the Riksdag formally makes the final decision, but in practice the result carries significant political weight.
Why this matters for the citizenship test
Questions about elections and parties are a recurring feature of the civics section of the citizenship test, since a functioning democracy relies on citizens understanding how they can have an influence by voting. By practicing questions about voting rights, the electoral system and parties at CitizenPrep, you can feel more confident going into the test. Remember that CitizenPrep is study material, not an official government service, and that practicing here cannot guarantee you will pass the real test — but it is a good way to strengthen your civics knowledge ahead of Sweden's citizenship test.