Only one in four local politicians believes elderly care resources will be sufficient in the future
Only one in four local politicians believes elderly care resources will be sufficient in the future
In a new survey conducted by Demoskop on behalf of Attendo, only 25 percent of local politicians in Sweden say that resources for elderly care in their municipality will be sufficient to meet the needs in five years’ time.
In the survey, 4,556 municipal politicians responded to the question of whether elderly care resources will be sufficient in five years’ time. In total, 50 percent answered no, 25 percent yes, and 25 percent did not know or left the question unanswered.
“When so many local politicians see a risk that resources will not be sufficient to meet the demands in elderly care, we need to take their concerns seriously. In our day-to-day work, we see both the fantastic work being done in care and the difficult financial equation that municipalities increasingly have to solve. We want to contribute with our experience and knowledge of how we can work together to address these challenges,” says Malin Fredgardh Huber, Managing Director for Attendo Scandinavia.
Concerns about resources being insufficient are shared across party lines and are particularly pronounced among politicians who were responsible for elderly care in their municipalities during the previous electoral term. Among the counties, concern is greatest in Gävleborg, while Linköping tops the list among Sweden’s ten largest municipalities.
“It is clear that we need to give elderly care greater priority. Many municipalities in Sweden are currently preparing their budgets, and this is not an easy equation for anyone. But one thing is important. Our shared ambitions for higher quality, better continuity and more skilled staff need to go hand in hand with the financial conditions,” says Malin Fredgardh Huber.
Gävleborg tops the list of counties where the highest proportion of politicians believes elderly care resources will be insufficient
| County | Percentage answering no | Number of respondents |
| Gävleborg County | 63.7 % | 146 |
| Värmland County | 57.8 % | 199 |
| Västmanland County | 57.4 % | 136 |
| Jönköping County | 55.8 % | 215 |
| Norrbotten County | 55.0 % | 169 |
| Västernorrland County | 54.7 % | 86 |
| Jämtland County | 53.9 % | 89 |
| Östergötland County | 53.6 % | 222 |
| Halland County | 52.8 % | 127 |
| Dalarna County | 52.8 % | 218 |
| Örebro County | 52.3 % | 153 |
| Gotland County | 51.7 % | 29 |
| Kalmar County | 50.8 % | 193 |
| Södermanland County | 50.7 % | 142 |
| Blekinge County | 48.6 % | 107 |
| Västerbotten County | 48.0 % | 173 |
| Kronoberg County | 47.2 % | 125 |
| Västra Götaland County | 46.7 % | 820 |
| Stockholm County | 45.9 % | 516 |
| Skåne County | 43.8 % | 557 |
| Uppsala County | 43.3 % | 134 |
Linköping tops the list of municipalities where the highest proportion of politicians believes elderly care resources will be insufficient
| Municipality* | Percentage answering no | Number of respondents |
| Linköping | 70.4 % | 27 |
| Norrköping | 63.9 % | 36 |
| Helsingborg | 60.7 % | 28 |
| Jönköping | 60.0 % | 30 |
| Örebro | 60.0 % | 20 |
| Gothenburg | 58.6 % | 29 |
| Stockholm | 52.2 % | 23 |
| Västerås | 52.2 % | 23 |
| Uppsala | 43.3 % | 30 |
| Malmö | 42.9 % | 14 |
* Local politicians’ in Sweden’s ten largest cities responses to the question of whether elderly care resources will be sufficient
About the survey
The survey was conducted by Demoskop on behalf of Attendo as part of Politikerpanelen 2026 (the Politicians’ Panel), an annual survey of municipal politicians across Sweden conducted since 2014. The sample comprises 11,712 municipal council politicians throughout Sweden, and 4,556 municipal politicians responded, giving a response rate of 39 percent. Responses were collected between 31 March and 3 May 2026. The question asked was: “Will resources for elderly care in your municipality be sufficient to meet needs in five years’ time?”
Attendo AB (publ)About Attendo
Attendo is the leading care company in the Nordic region. With care, commitment and expertise, we create quality in every interaction and empower individuals in their everyday lives. Through our experience, specialist knowledge and ability to add capacity, we are part of the solution to society’s care challenges. Our vision is to provide better care to more people, and we operate around 770 facilities and services and employ approximately 33,000 people in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Attendo is headquartered in Danderyd and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
For further information, please contact:
Hakim Belarbi, Head of Public Affairs, Attendo
Telephone: +46 704 82 44 87 I email: hakim.belarbi@attendo.com
Linda Bengtsson, Head of Press and External Communications, Attendo
Telephone: +46 738 39 98 00 I email: linda.bengtsson@attendo.com
About us Attendo is the leading care company in the Nordic region. With care, commitment and expertise, we create quality in every interaction and empower individuals in their everyday lives. Through our experience, specialist knowledge and ability to add capacity, we are part of the solution to society’s care challenges. Our vision is to provide better care to more people, and we operate around 770 facilities and services and employ approximately 33,000 people in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Attendo is headquartered in Stockholm and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.