Survey on perception of NATO membership in Sweden 2014-2023

On May 15, 2022, the Swedish government announced its intention to join the military alliance NATO. After over a year of negotiating with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the two countries reached an agreement, with Erdoğan stating that he would support a Swedish NATO-membership. The Nordic country had remained outside the organization, referring to its neutrality, a stance supported by a majority of the population over the past years. However, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, there were more Swedes in favor of a NATO-membership in 2022. By May 2022, nearly 60 percent of the Swedes were in favor of the country joining NATO, a trend that continued into 2023. Also in Sweden's neighboring country Finland, who joined NATO in April 2023, there was a majority in favor of joining the alliance.