Our mission

The Swedish Institute is a public agency that builds interest and trust in Sweden around the world. We work with Sweden promotion, cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and global development.

SI shares information about Sweden abroad and analyses how other countries view Sweden. We also facilitate international exchanges and partnerships. The goal is to increase awareness of Sweden and build good relationships with individuals, organisations and other countries. If the world around us has a high level of trust in Sweden, it improves the conditions for trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchange. It also makes it easier to attract international talent and contribute to global sustainable development.

SI communicates Sweden in various ways – in our digital channels and in printed materials, by providing support to Swedish language teaching around the world and marketing Sweden as a study destination.

As part of the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, SI funds exchanges and joint projects for individuals, organisations and companies. By offering study grants, organising leadership programmes and supporting local alumni networks, we build relationships with the world’s young leaders of tomorrow and contribute to global development.

To succeed in our mission, it is important to understand how our country is perceived, and in order to do so we observe and analyse the image of Sweden abroad. We monitor what is written about Sweden in international news media and digital platforms, conduct our own studies and examine Sweden’s rankings in various indexes.

Financing

SI’s operations are financed mainly through appropriations directly through the state budget. SI has approximately 470 million Swedish government funds in four areas: international cooperation, international assistance, education and university research and business.

Of SI’s total funding, approximately SEK 294 million are grants and scholarships, and approximately two thirds of this amount is financed by the Swedish aid budget. SI’s various sub-assignments are closely linked to each other. Strong trust in Sweden and Swedish partners is important for Swedish development cooperation, for Sweden’s contribution to development in the Baltic Sea Region and for increased internationalization of Swedish higher education and Swedish business.

The importance of establishing trust in Sweden and Swedish competencies goes as a guiding principle through all SI’s activities.