Until the mid-1970s, Sweden’s industrial production grew at a similar rate as the OECD-countries and the USA. After 1992, Sweden rapidly overtook the OECD.
During the 1960s, industrial production in the whole OECD area and within Sweden increased on average by around 6 percent per year. From the mid-1970s until the severe recession in the early 1990s, the growth rate of industrial production fell to around 2-3 percent per year in the OECD-countries.
The deep recession of the early 1990s led to a substantial fall in Swedish industrial production. In autumn 1992, the Swedish Krona was devalued. This, in combination with extensive rationalisation in the corporate sector, made a substantial improvement to the competitive position of Swedish industry.
After the recession of 2001-2002, industrial production in Sweden again rose strongly. An important reason for this is the increase in world trade. Due to the recent downturn in the economy and the financial crisis, the industrial production has slowed down in the last few years.
Industrial production
Annual percentage change
| Year | Sweden | OECD Total | USA |
|---|
| 1977 | -5.37 | 4.72 | 7.61 |
| 1978 | -1.31 | 3.94 | 5.45 |
| 1979 | 6.86 | 4.51 | 3.07 |
| 1980 | -0.41 | -0.17 | -2.60 |
| 1981 | -1.87 | 0.35 | 1.34 |
| 1982 | -1.69 | -2.59 | -5.27 |
| 1983 | 3.88 | 1.42 | 2.78 |
| 1984 | 7.26 | 6.46 | 8.90 |
| 1985 | 2.90 | 2.79 | 1.24 |
| 1986 | 0.56 | 1.12 | 1.23 |
| 1987 | 2.43 | 3.63 | 5.20 |
| 1988 | 1.28 | 5.48 | 5.11 |
| 1989 | 3.78 | 3.17 | 0.94 |
| 1990 | 10.59 | 2.38 | 0.93 |
| 1991 | -2.20 | -0.41 | -1.54 |
| 1992 | 0.16 | -0.14 | 2.81 |
| 1993 | 0.48 | -0.27 | 3.34 |
| 1994 | 11.32 | 4.41 | 5.29 |
| 1995 | 9.74 | 3.83 | 4.75 |
| 1996 | 0.91 | 2.92 | 4.40 |
| 1997 | 4.66 | 5.56 | 7.28 |
| 1998 | 4.45 | 2.34 | 5.83 |
| 1999 | 2.84 | 3.20 | 4.39 |
| 2000 | 5.87 | 5.43 | 4.20 |
| 2001 | -0.98 | -2.31 | -3.41 |
| 2002 | 0.00 | 0.32 | -0.11 |
| 2003 | 1.43 | 1.39 | 1.29 |
| 2004 | 5.52 | 3.28 | 2.43 |
| 2005 | 2.56 | 2.35 | 3.31 |
| 2006 | 2.90 | 3.70 | 2.30 |
| 2007 | 3.30 | 2.99 | 1.47 |
| 2008 | -2.82 | -1.78 | -2.22 |
Source: OECD Main Economic Indicators and Statistics Sweden
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