Overall construction activity
Swedish GDP grew by 1.2% in 2019. The GDP slowdown was to some extent due to decreasing residential construction. Total construction investment also fell by 2% in 2019. In terms of employment, 2019 was quite a strong year with construction employment growing by 3.5%.
Housebuilding
Total investment in housebuilding fell by 6% in 2019 compared to 2018. Decreasing investment in both one- and two person dwellings and multi-family dwellings was the main factor for decline in the segment. For newly constructed buildings there were 48.600 dwelling starts in 2019. In terms of investment this signifies a decrease by 10% in 2019. Investment in rehabilitation and maintenance increased by 3% in 2019. The main reason for this was increased investment from private and public property owners regarding renovation of rental properties.
GDP 2019
BILLION
POPULATION 2019
Total investment in construction in 2019
BILLION
Non-residential construction
The market-oriented construction of non-residential buildings increased by 4% in 2019 thanks to the booming economy in 2018. All segments contributed to growth with increasing investment in the commercial and real estate sector having the largest impact. Public investment in non-residential buildings fell by 4% in 2019. According to local authorities and regions, Swedish municipalities intend to build 250 sport facilities, 400 schools and 750 pre-schools between 2018-2021.
Civil engineering
Overall investment in civil engineering rose by 5% in 2019. Private investment in energy networks, waterworks, transport and telecommunications gave the main impetus in this segment. Also, public investment in civil engineering grew in 2019 thanks to increased investment in railways.
| Per cent variation of investment in real terms on previous year | |||||||
| investment Mln. € fixed prices | |||||||
| Sectors | 2019a | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019a | 2020b | |
| 1. | Building | 42,041 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 1.1 | -3.2 | NA |
| 1.1. Housebuilding | 24,068 | 10.9 | 7.9 | -3.8 | -5.8 | NA | |
| 1.1.1. New | 13,132 | 20.5 | 9.3 | -7.5 | -10.4 | NA | |
| 1.1.2. R&M | 10,937 | -0.4 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | NA | |
| 1.2. Non residential (c) | 17,973 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 9.2 | 0.4 | NA | |
| 1.2.1. Private | 10,934 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 8.1 | 3.7 | NA | |
| 1.2.2. Public | 7,038 | 11.5 | 14.8 | 10.8 | -4.3 | NA | |
| 2. | Civil Engineering | 9,778 | -3.5 | -0.2 | 5.3 | 5.1 | NA |
| (1 + 2) | Total Construction | 51,819 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 1.8 | -1.8 | NA |
| a: estimate - b: forecast - c: incl. R&M | |||||||
| Number of building permits in residential construction | |||||||
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019a | 2020b | |||
| single dwelling | 14,652 | 14,045 | 11,542 | 11,419 | NA | ||
| collective dwelling | 45,378 | 51,053 | 42,436 | 37,862 | NA | ||
| other types of dwelling | 6,288 | 7,556 | 8,631 | 6,406 | NA | ||
| Total | 66,318 | 72,654 | 62,609 | 55,687 | NA | ||
| (Collective dwellings and other types of buildings: in number of flats) | |||||||
