Seven in ten young women in Sweden aged 16–24 reported experiencing anxiety, worry or unease in 2025, according to the new Ung idag 2026 report from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (Myndigheten för ungdoms- och civilsamhällesfrågor, MUCF). The figure was 71%, compared with 43% among young men.
Across all young people aged 16–24, 56% reported anxiety, worry or unease. The figures come from Statistics Sweden’s Survey of Living Conditions, ULF, and are among the indicators used by MUCF to monitor young people’s living conditions. The question measures self-reported symptoms rather than clinical diagnoses.
The mental health gender gap remains wide
The latest data show a substantial gender gap in reported mental health symptoms. However, MUCF’s figures do not indicate a statistically significant deterioration over the past year: neither the overall share nor the figures for young women and men changed significantly between 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, 69% of young women and 45% of young men aged 16–24 reported the same types of symptoms. MUCF’s longer time series shows that the overall prevalence of anxiety, worry or unease increased between 2008–09 and 2023, before levelling off statistically in the following years.
MUCF Director-General Magnus Jägerskog said the mental health figures stand out against a broader picture in which several aspects of young people’s living conditions have improved.
“Young people’s living conditions are generally improving, but when it comes to mental ill-health we still see challenges, especially among girls, and that is serious. Mental ill-health among young people is a central challenge that needs to be prioritised.”
In the agency’s presentation of the report, MUCF also notes that care following suicide attempts or other intentional self-harm is more common among young women than among young men.
Young people’s living conditions are more mixed overall
The Ung idag 2026 report covers health, education, work, economic and social vulnerability, participation, culture and leisure. MUCF says several indicators show a more positive picture: more young people are completing upper secondary school and entering higher education, while the share receiving economic assistance has fallen and fewer young people have faced eviction or been convicted of crimes compared with earlier years.
At the same time, the report identifies persistent differences between groups of young people. Foreign-born young people generally face greater challenges in education and entering the labour market, while gender gaps remain in areas including mental health, feelings of insecurity, employment and participation. MUCF also notes that most young people still describe their general health as good, although the share doing so has declined over the longer term.
The picture also extends beyond health. The separate Ung idag 2026:2 report on leisure found that 16% of 20–25-year-olds said financial constraints had prevented them from taking part in leisure activities, compared with 10% among those aged 16–19.
Participation also falls sharply with age. 72% of 13–15-year-olds take part in organised sports, compared with only 19% of people aged 20–25. Jägerskog said the figures show a need to improve access to meaningful leisure activities for older young people, pointing to their importance for both physical and mental health.
The 2026 edition of Ung idag is part of Sweden’s national youth policy monitoring system. MUCF collects statistics from its own national youth survey and several other public authorities, meaning that the reference years and age groups can differ between individual indicators. Most of the figures in the new reports refer to 2025, while some indicators use the latest available data from 2024 or earlier.
