Riksdag

The Riksdag ( or , ) is the parliament and the supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportionally and serving, since 1994, fixed four-year terms. The 2026 Swedish general election is the most recent general election.

The constitutional mandates of the Riksdag are enumerated in the Instrument of Government (), and its internal workings are specified in greater detail in the Riksdag Act ().Instrument of Government, as of 2012. Retrieved on 16 November 2012. The Riksdag Act, as of 2012. Retrieved on 16 November 2012. The seat of the Riksdag is at Parliament House (), on the island of Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm, in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm. The Riksdag has its institutional roots in the feudal Riksdag of the Estates, traditionally thought to have first assembled in Arboga in 1435. In 1866, following reforms of the 1809 Instrument of Government, that body was transformed into a bicameral legislature with an upper chamber () and a lower chamber ().

Name

The Swedish word , in definite form , is a general term for "parliament" or "assembly", but it is typically only used for Sweden's legislature and certain related institutions. In addition to Sweden's parliament, it is also used for the Parliament of Finland and the Estonian Riigikogu, as well as the historical German and the Danish . In Swedish use, is usually not capitalised. derives from the genitive of , referring to royal power, and , meaning diet or conference; the German word and the Danish are cognate. The Oxford English Dictionary traces English use of the term "Riksdag" in reference to the Swedish assembly back to 1855.

History

The roots of the modern Riksdag can be found in a 1435 meeting in the city of Arboga; however, only three of the estates were probably present: the nobility, the clergy and the burghers. This informal organization was modified in 1527 by the first modern Swedish king, Gustav I Vasa, to include representatives from all the four social estates: the nobility, the clergy, the burghers (property-owning commoners in the towns such as merchants etc.), and the yeomanry (freehold farmers). This form of Ständestaat representation lasted until 1866, when representation by estate was abolished and the modern bicameral parliament established. Effectively, however, it did not become a parliament in the modern sense until parliamentary principles were established in the political system in Sweden in 1917.

On 22 June 1866, the Riksdag decided to reconstitute itself as a bicameral legislature, consisting of or the First Chamber, with 155 members and Andra kammaren or the Second Chamber with 233 members. The First Chamber was indirectly elected by county and city councillors, while the Second Chamber was directly elected by universal suffrage. This reform was a result of great discontent with the old Estates, which, following the changes brought by the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution, was no longer able to provide representation for large segments of the population.

By an amendment to the 1809 Instrument of Government, the general election of 1970 was the first to a unicameral assembly with 350 seats. The following general election to the unicameral Riksdag in 1973 gave the Government the support of only 175 members, while the opposition could mobilize an equal force of 175 members. In a number of cases a tied vote ensued, and the final decision had to be determined by lot. To avoid any recurrence of this unstable situation, the number of seats in the Riksdag was reduced to 349, from 1976 onwards.

Powers and structure

The Riksdag performs the normal functions of a legislature in a parliamentary democracy. It enacts laws, amends the constitution and appoints a government. In most parliamentary democracies, the head of state commissions a politician to form a government. Under the new Instrument of GovernmentThe Swedish Constitution, Riksdagen (one of the four fundamental laws of the Constitution) enacted in 1974, that task was removed from the monarch of Sweden and given to the speaker of the Riksdag. To make changes to the Constitution under the new Instrument of Government, amendments must be approved twice, in two successive electoral periods with a regular general election held in between.

There are 15 parliamentary committees in the Riksdag.

Membership

As of September 2022, 163 members, or 46.7% of the 349 members are women. Five parties have a majority representation of female MPs as of 2022: the Left Party (17 of 24, 70.8%), the Green Party (12 of 18, 66.7%), the Liberals (9 of 16, 56.3%), the Centre Party (13 of 24, 54.2%), and the Social Democratic Party (55 of 107, 51.4%). The party with the lowest share of female MPs is the Sweden Democrats (18 of 73, 24.7%).

Members of the Riksdag are full-time legislators with a base remuneration of per month, as of 1 January 2026. Committee chairs receive an additional 20% and deputy chairs receive an additional 15%.

According to a survey investigation by the sociologist Jenny Hansson, Members of the Riksdag have an average work week of 66 hours, including side responsibilities. Hansson's investigation further reports that the average member sleeps 6.5 hours per night.

Presidium The presidium consists of a speaker and three deputy speakers. They are elected for a 4-year term. The speaker is not allowed to vote, but the three deputies are allowed to vote.

Government

The speaker of the Riksdag nominates a prime minister (, literally minister of state) after holding talks with leaders of the various party groups in the Riksdag. The nomination is then put to a vote. The nomination is rejected (meaning the speaker must find a new nominee) only if an absolute majority of the members (175 members) vote "no"; otherwise, it is confirmed. This means the Riksdag can consent to a prime minister without casting any "yes" votes.

After being elected the prime minister appoints the cabinet ministers and announces them to the Riksdag. The new Government takes office at a special council held at the Royal Palace before the monarch, at which the speaker of the Riksdag formally announces to the monarch that the Riksdag has elected a new prime minister and that the prime minister has chosen his cabinet ministers.

The Riksdag can cast a vote of no confidence against any single cabinet minister (), thus forcing a resignation. To succeed, a vote of no confidence must be supported by an absolute majority (175 members) or it has failed.

If a vote of no confidence is cast against the prime minister this means the entire government is rejected. A losing government has one week to call for a general election or else the procedure of nominating a new prime minister starts anew.

Parties

No party has won a single majority in the Riksdag since 1968. Political parties with similar agendas consequently cooperate on several issues, forming coalition governments or other formalized alliances.

Two major blocs existed in parliament until 2019, the socialist/green Red-Greens and the conservative/liberal Alliance. The latter—consisting of the Moderate Party, Liberals, Centre Party, and Christian Democrats—governed Sweden from 2006 through most of 2014 (after 2010 through a minority government). The Red-Greens combination disbanded on 26 October 2010 but continued to be considered the main opposition until the 2014 election, following which the Social Democrats and the Green Party formed a government with support from the Left Party.

In 2019, after the 2018 election in which neither bloc won a majority of seats, the Social Democrats and Green Party formed a government with support from the Liberals and Centre Party, breaking the center-right Alliance. In March 2019, the Christian Democrats and Moderate Party signaled a willingness to talk with the Sweden Democrats.

+Current party representation in the RiksdagParty Leaders Seats Seat share (%)Social Democratic PartyMagdalena Andersson9928.3Moderate PartyUlf Kristersson7020Sweden DemocratsJimmie Åkesson6217.7Left PartyNooshi Dadgostar308.6Centre PartyElisabeth Thand Ringqvist257.1Christian DemocratsEbba Busch226.3Green PartyAmanda Lind & Daniel Helldén226.3LiberalsSimona Mohamsson195.4Total 349 99.7

Elections

All 349 members of the Riksdag are elected in the general elections held every four years. All Swedish citizens who turn 18 years old no later than on the day of the election and have at one point been registered residents are eligible to vote. To stand for election, a candidate must be eligible to vote and be nominated by a political party. A minimum of 4% of the national vote is required for a party to enter the Riksdag, alternatively 12% or more within a constituency. Substitutes for each deputy are elected at the same time as each election, so by-elections are rare. In the event of a snap election, the newly elected members merely serve the remainder of the four-year term.

Constituencies and national apportionment of seats

The electoral system in Sweden is proportional. Of the 349 seats in the unicameral Riksdag, 310 are fixed constituency seats allocated to 29 multi-member constituencies in relation to the number of people entitled to vote in each constituency. The remaining 39 adjustment seats are used to correct the deviations from proportional national distribution that may arise when allocating the fixed constituency seats. There is a constraint in the system that means that only a party that has received at least four per cent of the votes in the whole country participates in the distribution of seats. However, a party that has received at least twelve per cent of the votes in a constituency participates in the distribution of the fixed constituency seats in that constituency.See e.g.: SOU 2008:125 En reformerad grundlag (Constitutional Reform) , Prime Ministers Office.

Latest election results

Historical composition Swedish parliamentary elections (since 1911) 1911 ___6410165 ___1914 ___737186 ___ 1914 ___875786 ___ 1917 ___1186126259 ___ 1920 ___775304771 ___1921 ___1393214162 ___1924 ___5104233365 ___1928 ___890273273 1321932 ___8104362458 ___1936 ___11112362744 ___1940 ___3134282342 ___1944 13015115352639 1001948 1208112305723 1101952 1155110265831 1151956 1126106195842 1191958 1165111323845 1151960 1195114344039 1131964 1218113364333 1121968 1283125393432 1051970 18017163715841 1701973 17519156903451 1751976 16917152863955 1801979 17420154643873 1751982 18620166562186 1631985 17819159445176 1711988 1772115620424466 1521991 154161383133802625 1701994 183221611827268015 1481998 190431311618178242 1592002 191301441722485533 1582006 171221301929289724 1782010 156191122523241071920 1732014 15921113252219841649 1412018 14428100163120702262 1432022 17324107182416681973 1762026 1763099222519702262 173

Riksdag

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