3: Population and Health
Population and public health Other Information:
The demographic trends anticipated in the next few decades will present major challenges to the Swedish economy – and to welfare.
Life expectancy in Sweden has constantly increased thanks to medical progress and improved habits. In 2020 there will be more
than two million persons in Sweden over the age of 65. During the last decade or so the birth rate has been too low to compensate
for the decline in the number of people of working age. This means that fewer and fewer people will have to support an ever
larger non-working population. The health trend among Sweden’s population, especially young people, has been very favourable
for many years. However, there are now worrying signs that may eventually threaten this trend. Maintaining favourable health
trends is an important element of the sustainable development strategy. Working conditions today are often perceived as increasingly
demanding, and the result is an increase in sick leave and early retirement. Public health touches on virtually all policy
areas. Objectives: Everyone’s capacity for work must be utilized. The Government’s policy aims to ensure that a larger proportion
of people of working age remain at, or return to, work. Measures must be taken to keep older people at work. The social security
systems must be designed in such a way as to encourage work and promote employability and labour mobility. They should also
assure economic security in the event of loss of income in various situations. General welfare policy should contribute to
redistribution and to reducing differences between the resources and living conditions of different social groups. The overall
objective of public health policy is to create conditions that are conducive to good health on equal terms for the population
as a whole. The importance of public health for all three dimensions of sustainable development must be emphasized, and attention
must be paid to the relevance of public health issues to demography.
Objective(s):
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