On May 15, 2022, the Swedish government announced its intention to join the military alliance NATO. After over a year of negotiating with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the two countries reached an agreement, with Erdoğan stating that he would support a Swedish NATO-membership. The final hurdle was removed in February 2024 when Hungary's parliament voted to approve Sweden's membership application, the last NATO-member needing to do so. As of March 2024, only a formal signing of the membership remains before Sweden will become the 32nd NATO member.
Membership comes after decades of neutrality
The Nordic country had remained outside the organization, referring to its neutrality, a stance supported by a majority of the population over the past years. However, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, there were more Swedes in favor of a NATO-membership in 2022. By May 2022, nearly 60 percent of the Swedes were in favor of the country joining NATO, a trend that continued into 2023 and 2024. Also in Sweden's neighboring country Finland, who joined NATO in April 2023, there was a majority in favor of joining the alliance.
Increased military spending
Sweden's military spending reached a new record in 2022 amid the rising global tensions. As a share of the gross domestic product (GDP), the military expenditure reached 1.3 percent, below the NATO-target of two percent. Read all about the Swedish Armed Forces here.
Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO?
This question was phrased by the source as follows: "Tycker du att Sverige ska bli medlem i den militära alliansen NATO?"
**After Sweden decided to apply for NATO-membership in May 2022, the framing of the question was changed accordingly: 'Anser du att det är rätt eller fel av Sverige att ansöka om medlemskap i Nato?'
Missing percentage points to 100 percent are probably due to rounding.
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Ipsos, & Novus. (January 30, 2024). Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO? [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/
Ipsos, und Novus. "Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO?." Chart. January 30, 2024. Statista. Accessed August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/
Ipsos, Novus. (2024). Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO?. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/
Ipsos, and Novus. "Do You Think Sweden Should Join The Military Alliance Nato?." Statista, Statista Inc., 30 Jan 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/
Ipsos & Novus, Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO? Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/ (last visited August 25, 2024)
Do you think Sweden should join the military alliance NATO? [Graph], Ipsos, & Novus, January 30, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/660842/survey-on-perception-of-nato-membership-in-sweden/