Sweden announced on March 2, 2017 that it will reintroduce compulsory military service starting this summer to respond to global security challenges, including from Russia.
The government wants a more stable staff supply system and to boost its military capability because the security situation has changed.
The Scandinavian nation, which has not seen armed conflict on its territory in two centuries, ended conscription in 2010 after it was deemed an unsatisfactory way of meeting the needs of a modern army.
Sweden’s minority government on March 2, 2017 was set to introduce to the Parliament a bill to restore conscription this summer for all Swedes born after 1999.
It will last for a duration of 11 months.
Some 13,000 young Swedes are expected to be mobilised from July 1, but only 4,000 of them will be selected for military service based on motivation and skills.
They will be called up each year after January 1, 2018.
Sweden is not a NATO member but has signed the body’s Partnership for Peace programme launched in 1994 to develop military cooperation between NATO and non-member countries.
On defence issues, Sweden is very close to its Finnish neighbour, which has with Russia a border of 1,340 km.
The Nordic and Baltic region’s only non-aligned countries, Finland and Sweden, have stepped up their military cooperation with US, following concerns over Russia’s increased military activity in northern Europe.
Sweden: Know More- Capital: Stockholm
- Code: +46
- Currency: Swedish krona
- Population: 9.593 million (2013) World Bank
- Official language: Swedish
