Women in Swedish military service now account for only 16% of those selected for conscription, leaving the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten) far from their target of 30%. The proportion has declined despite Sweden’s plans to expand military training, prompting the government to examine how more women can qualify and enter the system.
The share of women in Swedish military service is shrinking
The number of women entering basic military training has increased in absolute terms, but the number of men has grown more rapidly. As a result, women’s representation has continued to fall.
Women accounted for 24% of those enrolled after conscription testing in 2022. The figure dropped to 19% in 2023, 17% in 2024 and 16% in 2025. Preliminary figures for the 2026 selection process remain at 16%, according to the Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency (Plikt- och prövningsverket).
The latest Armed Forces annual report gives a similar picture. A total of 8,136 people began basic military training in 2025, exceeding the annual target of 8,000. Women represented 16.2% of them, down from 16.7% in 2024 and 19% in 2023.
The decline means the Armed Forces remain well below their objective of having women make up 30% of conscripts.
Physical requirements limit access to combat roles
The Swedish Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency identifies muscle-strength requirements as one of the main reasons for the gender gap.
Many military positions, particularly combat roles, require relatively high levels of physical strength. Women who do not meet those thresholds are generally considered for positions with lower physical requirements, including staff, logistics and support functions.
This creates stronger competition for a more limited number of available places. Jesper Höjeberg, chief medical officer at the agency, told SVT that women can therefore end up competing against one another for the same categories of military assignment.
“A large part of it is related to muscle strength. The military environment often requires quite high muscle strength,” Höjeberg said. “In positions with lower muscle requirements, competition becomes quite intense.”
The Armed Forces’ annual assessment confirms that muscle-strength testing produces the largest difference between men and women during selection and is the stage at which the largest number of female candidates are excluded.
At the 2025 selection sessions, 32% of the men assessed were enrolled in military service, compared with 15% of women, according to figures reported by SVT.
Sweden does not plan to lower military standards
The Armed Forces have ruled out introducing separate strength requirements for men and women. Officials maintain that the demands of each military role, rather than the candidate’s gender, must determine the admission criteria.
“We will not lower the requirements,” Jonas Hård af Segerstad of the Armed Forces told SVT. He argued that the expansion of military service would nevertheless create more positions open to both women and men, potentially increasing the number and proportion of female recruits.
Sweden is gradually increasing the size of its conscription system. The Armed Forces intend to raise the annual number beginning basic training to at least 10,000 by 2030, compared with just over 8,100 in 2025.
The authorities must therefore manage two objectives at the same time: expanding the overall pool of trained personnel and preventing that expansion from producing an increasingly male-dominated intake.
Training programmes could help more women qualify
The government has asked the Armed Forces and the Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency to analyse the barriers and propose measures to increase female participation.
One option under consideration is to offer targeted physical preparation to candidates who want to complete military service but are initially close to, rather than above, the required strength levels.
The Armed Forces estimate that around 12 weeks of appropriate training could allow some candidates to compete for a wider range of positions. The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences (Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan) is preparing a study on how people could train between their assessment and the start of military service.
The approach would retain common standards while helping candidates prepare specifically for the tests and physical demands they will face.
The Armed Forces have already used targeted communication campaigns, school visits, recruitment fairs and social media to increase women’s knowledge of military careers. However, their own annual report acknowledges that the downward trend in the female share of basic training has continued.
Gender balance matters as Sweden expands its defence
Sweden’s conscription system applies to both women and men, while the Defence Conscription and Assessment Agency selects candidates according to the personnel needs identified by the Armed Forces.
Almost all Swedish citizens registered in the country must complete an initial questionnaire in the year they turn 18, although only part of each age group is called for full assessment.
In 2025, the agency conducted almost 30,000 assessments related to basic military training, including 8,164 women and 21,789 men. The broader selection system has expanded substantially as Sweden strengthens both its military and civil defence structures.
The female share of conscripts is not the only measure of equality within the Armed Forces. Women make up around 24% of the organisation’s employees, but their representation varies considerably between professional categories and military branches.
Increasing female participation will therefore require more than simply enlarging the conscript intake. The government and defence authorities will need to determine whether preparation programmes, recruitment methods and the distribution of military roles can widen access without changing the operational standards attached to each position.
As Sweden invests in a larger defence within NATO, the ability to recruit from the full population will remain an important part of its long-term personnel strategy.
