Why Swedish countryside youths are ahead in the labour market

Children and young people in the Nordics are doing pretty well generally. But where they grow up makes a big difference in education and leisure opportunities.

That is according to the new Swedish report “The importance of location—young people in rural areas,” which was recently presented by the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, MUCF.

“Where you grow up does matter. Most young people growing up in Sweden are doing well and living good lives, but there are major differences depending on where they grow up. Young people in the countryside face bigger obstacles in terms of access to meaningful leisure activities, culture and education.

“They struggle more settling into education and work. They feel less included in society and have poorer access to healthcare and good health,” said Stefan Holmgren, Acting Director General of MUCF, as he opened one of the agency’s conference days in November 2024.

Stefan Holmgren, Acting Director General for the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society. (Photo: Christoffer Rikardsson/MUCF)

He underlined how important it is for decision-makers to take into account young people, regardless of whether they are in cities or the countryside. Sweden has 290 municipalities.

According to the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), one-third of the population lives in the 13 largest municipalities, one-third in mid-sized municipalities and the rest are divided between the 226 smallest municipalities.

The median municipality has 16,189 residents, while the smallest, Dorotea in northern Sweden, has just 2,339 residents. For young people, this results in significant differences in their upbringing, as highlighted in the report “The importance of location – young people in rural areas.” 

The report is based on register data from Statistics Sweden, the agency's own youth survey as well as focus groups including secondary school and upper secondary school students from rural areas.

The proportion of young people aged 16 to 25 in 2021 who report having fairly or very good opportunities to find a job within a reasonable distance. Source: MUCF's national youth survey.

The report focuses on young people aged 13 to 25 and compares their living conditions in the countryside to that of young people in towns and cities. It addresses living conditions across several areas, including education and studies, work, health and safety, participation, inclusion plus culture and leisure. 

Do young people have a place in the community? Are they being listened to? What is the availability of leisure activities like and how do they view education and their future working life?

18 per cent of Swedish youths aged between 16 and 25 live in rural municipalities, 49 per cent live in so-called mixed municipalities and 33 per cent in big city municipalities. Yet there are also differences between rural municipalities which impact education and work. 

For young people, this could be things like proximity to the central town, the distance to their upper secondary school, access to public transport, the opportunities for socialising and which sports and cultural activities are available.

Vocational programmes more common in rural areas

Compared to their peers in bigger towns, many young people in rural areas choose vocational programmes in upper secondary school.

“It is very clear that young people in rural areas choose vocational programmes to a greater degree compared to young people in towns and cities,” says Klara Johansson, one of the report’s authors.

This is not necessarily a disadvantage. According to the Swedish National Agency for Education, vocational programmes are generally a more secure path to the labour market than university preparatory programmes across Sweden as a whole.

That means that many young people in rural municipalities access the labour market quicker than their peers in cities. This is particularly true for young men, but also for young women with a Swedish background. 

More young people in rural municipalities than in other types of municipalities also work while still in upper secondary school – often motivated by the need to earn extra money to pay for transport into work or for leisure activities. 

Stay or leave

Young people on university preparatory programmes usually have to move from home to study at university, while those who take vocational training stand a better chance of staying in their home town, depending on their chosen specialisation. 

In the focus groups, young people who wish to stay in their hometown take into account which educational path will allow them to remain there. Those who wish to take university preparatory programmes in order to carry on studying, face different choices.

In some rural municipalities, young people face having to move even earlier, before they start upper secondary education.

“The focus groups show us that upper secondary school students living in municipalities that do not have upper secondary schools within a reasonable commuting distance feel stressed about having to move from home and do a weekly commute to their upper secondary school.

“We don’t know how many young people in Sweden are in this situation today, but in the municipalities where this issue arose in the conversations, it applies to all young people within the age group in the municipality,” says Klara Johansson.

Klara Johansson, one of the authors of the report  ”The importance of location—young people in rural areas”. (Photo: Privat)

These are difficult choices for both the young people and their parents. According to the youths in the focus groups, this might impact those who are still living in the towns, since they see it being emptied of secondary school-age peers.

Falling populations and a weaker economy

“The small rural municipalities are facing the greatest challenges. The population is falling and ageing, while fewer children are being born and the number of working-age people is shrinking.

“This has an impact on expenses and income,” says Åsa Ernestam at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR). They recently surveyed eighteen small municipalities in Sweden about schools in small municipalities. She also gave a lecture during MUCF Day.

The smallest municipalities have long been living with this demographic change and dwindling incomes. Now, fresh statistics show that larger municipalities are also hit. Åsa Ernestam provides one concrete example that illustrates the significant differences in economic conditions between municipalities with large and small populations.

In Pajala, for instance, each working person supports 1.24 people in addition to themselves, while the corresponding figure in Danderyd is 0.5 people. 

The compensatory role of schools

The interviews with the 18 small municipalities focused on the situation in schools and in a few weeks SKR will launch a publication called “Did you know this? Abour school in small municipalities”. 

In concise points, it presents facts about schools and demographic trends based on municipal size. Stockholm, for instance, has 247 elementary schools, while Malå, Arjeplog and Skinnskatteberg have one each. 

For young people in small municipalities, this means less freedom of choice while the smaller communities also bring advantages. They are often close to nature, and there is also often a closer connection between people. This again can mean elected officials know what is going on in the schools.  

Yet the small municipalities struggle more to secure existing state support and also to attract educational staff. The solution is for municipalities to cooperate and change the way education is organised. This could be achieved through merging schools, meaning children will have to travel to go to a different school.

How education is perceived is another factor that impacts youths in small municipalities. Expectations for further studies are often lower. Fewer parents have higher education compared to in urban areas – for example, 76 per cent of parents in Danderyd have post-secondary education, compared to 21 per cent in Filipstad.

"This has an impact on how children and young people view education. There are fewer parents who can encourage the youth, and that places greater responsibility on schools to help students recognise their opportunities and reach their full potential. Schools take on a larger compensatory role," says Åsa Ernestam.

With the publication “Did you know this? About schools in small municipalities”, SKR wants to alert the government, parliament and educational authorities to the widely differing conditions that exist for creating an equitable school system across the whole of Sweden. 

Regulations, funding, and administrative practices must be adapted to the reality on the ground, and one key question SKR highlights that should be considered in all decisions affecting schools is: How will this work in a small municipality? 

Do young people get a space in their home town?

The report “The importance of location – young people in rural areas” paints a mixed picture. Getting into the labour market early is a good thing, but many young people in rural areas often miss “something to do”, for instance, access to leisure and cultural activities. 

Even if something is happening, many youths say it is difficult to get to where it happens. Public transport does not match their needs and also means spending more money.

The proportion of young people aged 16 to 25 in 2021 who report having fairly or very good opportunities to use public transport to access activities, studies, or work. Source: MUCF's national youth survey.

As a result, many young people in rural areas find it harder to create meaningful spare time and many feel less included and engaged in society compared to their peers in larger cities. 

This is particularly true for young women, who report a lower sense of societal participation compared to women of the same age living in urban areas.

One advantage of of being young and living in the countryside is that it is often easier to find housing and many move from home earlier than in larger places. They also feel safer in their neighbourhoods and many express a strong belonging to where they live.

“These are also values we need to highlight and build on. There are not only challenges but also opportunities to create more just preconditions for young people in rural areas.

“The aim is to create a society where young people regardless of their background and where they live feel included, engaged and hopeful for the future,” said Stefan Holmgren.