GOVERNMENT Shaped by democracy

When others might see us as overly rigid and rule-abiding at times, we see a democratic system in which we trust. We wave flags of equality and transparency and generally show a high trust in our government agencies, which we have a legal right to scrutinise.

Sweden wrote press freedom into the constitution already in 1766, a world first. It was considered a radical move then, and the Swedish level of public transparency still stands out. Our laws give media as well as the general public access to official records, with few exceptions. This principle of public access requires the information to be easy to understand and available free of charge or at a small administrative fee.