Välfärdssamhället (the welfare society): our walkthrough of chapter 9 of UHR’s Sverige i fokus
Chapter 9 of the study material for the citizenship test (medborgarskapsprovet) is about the welfare society: what it should give residents, how it is paid for and which parts the state, the region and the municipality are responsible for. Here we explain the most important parts in our own words.
Sverige i fokus is published by the Swedish Council for Higher Education (Universitets- och högskolerådet, UHR) together with the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket). This page is Testappen’s own walkthrough and does not replace the material. Read the original at UHR: uhr.se/utbildningsmaterial.
What is welfare?
The welfare society (välfärdssamhället) is meant to give everyone who lives in the country basic security, both financial and social. You can think of it as a safety net that holds when something goes wrong in life. It is about access to healthcare and education, and about money to live on for anyone who falls ill or loses their job.
A large part of the money for welfare comes from tax. When many people have work and trade is going well, the state, the regions and the municipalities get more tax.
Tax: who pays and where does the money go?
Tax is not paid only by those who work. Companies pay tax too. There is also VAT (moms), which is included in the price of what you buy, for example food or clothes.
The tax on wages is called income tax (inkomstskatt). Part of the wage goes to the state, part to the region and part to the municipality. Each of them has its share of welfare to pay for.
Some welfare services are provided by private companies. That still does not change where the money comes from: the services are paid for with tax money.
The state: money to individuals and to higher education
The state pays for the insurances and benefits that give money directly to people. These include child benefit (barnbidrag), student finance (studiestöd), parental insurance (föräldraförsäkring), sickness insurance (sjukförsäkring), unemployment insurance (arbetslöshetsförsäkring) and pensions (pensioner).
Colleges and universities, with their research, also get their money from the state. Care and social services on the ground, on the other hand, are run by the region or the municipality.
The region and healthcare
The regions collect tax from the people who live there. With that money they run and pay for hospitals and health centres, so that everyone in the region can get healthcare without each patient paying the full cost themselves.
Healthcare is usually divided into different kinds. Primary care (primärvården) is the care you meet first, close to home: health centres (vårdcentraler), child health centres (barnavårdscentraler) and maternity clinics (mödravårdscentraler). Hospital care (sjukhusvården) means, for example, emergency hospitals, county hospitals and university hospitals. Operations and advanced treatment are carried out there. Dental care (tandvård) and rehabilitation count as a third group, other care.
The municipality: school, care and support
The municipality decides for itself how high the municipal tax should be and how it is used. The riksdag decides on the state’s money, on proposals from the government, and the region on its own tax.
The municipality is responsible for school. Compulsory school (grundskolan) is for children from six to sixteen. The municipality also provides upper secondary school (gymnasieskola) and adult education. Childcare (barnomsorg) means care of children outside school itself, that is, preschool (förskola) and after-school centres (fritidshem).
The municipality is responsible for older people. By law it must offer support and help when an older person can no longer manage everyday life on their own, for example with cleaning, food and personal hygiene. The help comes in two steps: first care and services at home for as long as that works, then housing adapted for older people.
Social services (socialtjänsten) is the part of the municipality that deals with individual people. Anyone who lacks money or housing, or who is exposed to threats and violence, can turn there for financial help, advice, support and protection.
Practise questions about chapter 9
The questions are written by us, except sample questions that UHR has published, which are marked with their source.
The questions are always in Swedish, exactly as in the real test. Only the text of this site is translated.
Vad är den offentliga sektorns främsta uppgift?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The public sector (den offentliga sektorn) — the state, the regions (regionerna) and the municipalities (kommunerna) — exists first and foremost to give residents welfare services, for example health care, school and social care. Laws are made by the parliament (riksdagen), and companies that are run for profit belong to the private sector.
Source: Exempelfråga från UHR, uhr.se/medborgarskapsprovet (återgiven med källangivelse).
Vad händer med välfärdens pengar när fler människor har arbete och när handeln ökar?
Correct answer:
Explanation: Tax revenue follows the economy: more wages and more goods sold mean more tax paid in, without tax having to be raised for that. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 9, p. 30.
Vad menas med barnomsorg i en kommun?
Correct answer:
Explanation: The word refers to care for children outside school itself, that is, preschool and after-school centres. Compulsory school and upper secondary school count as school, and a child health centre belongs to health care. Read more in Sverige i fokus, ch. 9, p. 31.
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