July is Sweden's busiest month, with 19.8% of 2025's tourist nights, and January the quietest, with 4.8%. July and August together carried 33.2% of the year, making Sweden the ninth most seasonal of 35 European countries we measured. September was quieter than June, at 7.5% against 10.8%.
Sweden, month by month
- Two busiest months
- Other months
When is Sweden busiest, and when is it quietest?
July was the busiest month in 2025, with 19.8% of the year's tourist nights. January was the quietest, with 4.8%. That makes July 4.1 times as busy as January.1
Eight months each carried less than an average month's share of 8.3%: January, February, March, April, September, October, November and December.
Who stays in Sweden: residents or guests from abroad?
In 2025, guests living abroad spent 26.6% of Sweden's tourist nights. Residents of Sweden spent the rest.1
- Highest share from abroad
- Other months
The share from abroad was highest in August, at 32.5% of that month's nights, and lowest in November, at 20.9%.1
Residents of Sweden spent more than half of the nights in every month of the year.
Eurostat counts guests by the country they live in, not by nationality.2
How seasonal is Sweden compared with the rest of Europe?
July and August together carried 33.2% of Sweden's nights. Ranked by that share, Sweden is the ninth most seasonal of the 35 European countries we measured, where 1 is the country most concentrated into its two busiest months.1
For comparison, the most seasonal country on this measure was Croatia at 54.5%, and the least seasonal was Malta at 21.8%. See all 35 countries ranked.
Which regions of Sweden are least seasonal?
Across 8 regions, the share of 2025 tourist nights falling in each region's two busiest months ran from 23.1% in Stockholm to 48.8% in Småland med öarna.3
In 1 of the 8 regions the busiest month was not July: Stockholm (August).3
| Region | Nights in busiest two months | Busiest | Quietest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Småland med öarna | 48.8% | July | January |
| Västsverige | 36.9% | July | January |
| Sydsverige | 35.3% | July | January |
| Norra Mellansverige | 33.6% | July | November |
| Övre Norrland | 32.6% | July | November |
| Mellersta Norrland | 32.2% | July | November |
| Östra Mellansverige | 31.8% | July | January |
| Stockholm | 23.1% | August | January |
Regional figures come from Eurostat's regional dataset, last updated on 2 July 2026, and can differ slightly from the national monthly figures above, which Eurostat updated in September. For Sweden the largest monthly difference is 1.4%. See all 123 regions ranked.
How full are Sweden's hotels each month?
Hotel rooms were fullest in July, when 70.0% were in use, and emptiest in January, at 42.0%.4
- Fullest month
- Other months
This is Eurostat's net occupancy rate of bedrooms: bedrooms in use divided by bedrooms available. It covers hotels and similar places only, not campsites or holiday lets, so it can peak in a different month from the nights figures above.2
Where do Sweden's visitors from abroad come from?
Among guests living abroad, the largest group came from Norway, with 19.5% of their 2025 nights, followed by Germany (17.0%) and the United States (9.6%).5
| Country of residence | Share of nights by guests from abroad |
|---|---|
| Norway | 19.5% |
| Germany | 17.0% |
| United States | 9.6% |
| Denmark | 8.7% |
| The Netherlands | 5.4% |
Guests are counted by the country they live in. Eurostat publishes only some countries separately and groups the rest into regions, so smaller countries cannot appear in this list. Switzerland and Liechtenstein are published as one.
How long do guests stay in Sweden?
Guests stayed an average of 1.9 nights each time they checked in at tourist accommodation in Sweden in 2025: 65,682,639 nights across 34,538,403 arrivals.6 Across the 33 countries on this site with complete figures, the average ran from 1.5 nights in Iceland to 4.7 in Cyprus.6
This is our division of Eurostat's two counts. Eurostat counts an arrival each time a guest checks in at a place to stay, so a traveller who moves between places is counted more than once, and a whole trip is longer than the figure suggests.2
Did accommodation in Sweden get more expensive in 2025?
On Eurostat's harmonised index of consumer prices, prices of accommodation services in Sweden were 3.9% higher on average in 2025 than in 2024. Across the EU the rise was 4.1%.7
This measures how prices changed, not what a stay costs, so check the current price when you book. Accommodation services cover hotels, motels and inns; holiday centres, campsites and youth hostels; and other places to stay.
What are Sweden's public holidays in 2026 and 2027?
In Sweden, public holidays fall on 13 days in both 2026 and 2027.8 In 2026, 6 of those days are a Saturday or Sunday.8
| Holiday | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day nyårsdagen | Thu 1 January | Fri 1 January |
| Epiphany trettondedag jul | Tue 6 January | Wed 6 January |
| Good Friday långfredagen | Fri 3 April | Fri 26 March |
| Easter Sunday påskdagen | Sun 5 April | Sun 28 March |
| Easter Monday annandag påsk | Mon 6 April | Mon 29 March |
| May Day första maj | Fri 1 May | Sat 1 May |
| Ascension Day Kristi himmelsfärdsdag | Thu 14 May | Thu 6 May |
| Whit Sunday pingstdagen | Sun 24 May | Sun 16 May |
| National Day nationaldagen | Sat 6 June | Sun 6 June |
| Midsummer Day midsommardagen | Sat 20 June | Sat 26 June |
| All Saints' Day alla helgons dag | Sat 31 October | Sat 6 November |
| Christmas Day juldagen | Fri 25 December | Sat 25 December |
| Boxing Day annandag jul | Sat 26 December | Sun 26 December |
We took these from the law or the government's own list, not from a holiday website, and worked out the dates that move each year, such as Easter, from the rules in the law. The dates match the European Commission's list of public holidays for 2026.9 Regional and local holidays are not included.
What is the weather like in Stockholm each month?
Averaged over 1991–2020, the Stockholm Observatoriekullen weather station, which we use for Stockholm, is warmest in July, with an average high of 23.6 °C, and coldest in February, with an average low of −3.2 °C. Its wettest month is August (66 mm of rain on average) and its driest March (27 mm).10
In January, Sweden's quietest month, the station's average high is 1.0 °C and its average low −2.9 °C, with 37 mm of rain. In July, the busiest, the average high is 23.6 °C.10
In January the station averages 8.7 days with at least 1 mm of rain.10 On 15 January the sun is up for about 6 h 55 min there, against 17 h 50 min on 15 July.11
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rain | Rainy days | Daylight on the 15th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.0 °C | −2.9 °C | 37 mm | 8.7 days | 6 h 55 min |
| February | 1.2 °C | −3.2 °C | 29 mm | 7.6 days | 9 h 20 min |
| March | 4.7 °C | −1.1 °C | 27 mm | 6.8 days | 11 h 45 min |
| April | 10.7 °C | 2.6 °C | 29 mm | 6.0 days | 14 h 30 min |
| May | 16.5 °C | 7.1 °C | 34 mm | 6.5 days | 17 h |
| June | 20.8 °C | 11.6 °C | 62 mm | 8.8 days | 18 h 35 min |
| July | 23.6 °C | 14.8 °C | 62 mm | 8.5 days | 17 h 50 min |
| August | 22.1 °C | 14.2 °C | 66 mm | 9.0 days | 15 h 35 min |
| September | 16.6 °C | 10.2 °C | 53 mm | 7.9 days | 12 h 50 min |
| October | 10.1 °C | 5.5 °C | 51 mm | 9.3 days | 10 h 15 min |
| November | 5.4 °C | 1.9 °C | 48 mm | 10.7 days | 7 h 40 min |
| December | 2.5 °C | −1.2 °C | 48 mm | 10.8 days | 6 h 10 min |
Thirty-year averages from one weather station, Stockholm Observatoriekullen, which we use for Stockholm. They describe a typical year at that station, not a forecast, and weather varies across Sweden. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain. The source has no complete sunshine figures for this station, so we show none. Daylight is not measured: it is our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset.
June or September? May or October?
September was quieter than June, at 7.5% against 10.8%.
October was quieter than May, at 6.6% against 8.5%.
These compare months at similar distances from the summer peak. For typical weather in Stockholm, see the weather section.
What these figures cannot tell you
These figures are good at one thing: showing when a country's registered tourist accommodation fills up. Four things they cannot do.
They miss some small places. The counts cover hotels, holiday and short-stay accommodation and campsites, but countries may exclude establishments with fewer than ten bed places, so small guesthouses can be missing.2
Nights are not queues. A national monthly total cannot see how busy one old town, beach or museum is on a given day.
Tourist nights say nothing about weather or prices. The weather section uses 30-year averages from one station, not a forecast. The price section shows how accommodation prices changed, not what a stay costs.
They are one year. These are 2025 figures. Patterns shift from year to year, and Eurostat revises its data as countries update their returns.
The full year
| Month | Share of year | Nights | From abroad |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.8% | 3,182,420 | 24.1% |
| February | 5.4% | 3,575,257 | 24.7% |
| March | 5.9% | 3,881,304 | 23.3% |
| April | 6.4% | 4,171,944 | 23.1% |
| May | 8.5% | 5,600,560 | 22.9% |
| June | 10.8% | 7,121,297 | 28.2% |
| July (one of the two busiest months) | 19.8% | 12,991,604 | 30.1% |
| August (one of the two busiest months) | 13.4% | 8,821,191 | 32.5% |
| September | 7.5% | 4,903,151 | 25.0% |
| October | 6.6% | 4,338,560 | 23.1% |
| November | 5.5% | 3,588,974 | 20.9% |
| December | 5.3% | 3,506,377 | 25.9% |
Total for 2025: 65,682,639 nights, 26.6% of them by guests living abroad. The two busiest months are marked. "From abroad" is the share of that month's nights spent by guests living outside Sweden.
Key takeaways
- January was Sweden's quietest month in 2025, with 4.8% of the year's tourist nights.
- July and August were the busiest, carrying 33.2% of the year between them.
- Sweden ranks 9 of 35 European countries for seasonal concentration, where 1 is the most concentrated.
- Guests living abroad spent 26.6% of Sweden's 2025 tourist nights; residents spent the rest.
- Hotel rooms were fullest in July (70.0% in use) and emptiest in January (42.0%).
- Public holidays in Sweden fall on 13 days in both 2026 and 2027.
- September was quieter than June, at 7.5% against 10.8%.
- What we would skip: assuming every shoulder month is equally quiet. In Sweden, June carried 10.8% of the year's nights against September's 7.5%.
Sources
The tourism and hotel figures on this page come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, which receives them from each country's national statistical authority. The weather averages come from the World Meteorological Organization's 1991–2020 climate normals, published by the US National Centers for Environmental Information. We downloaded the data directly and calculated the shares, rankings and comparisons ourselves. See how we research.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
- Eurostat, Tourist accommodation reference metadata, on collection by national authorities under Regulation (EU) 692/2011, the definition of a night spent, country of residence, and the ten-bed-place threshold. Read it. Checked 17 September 2026.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by month and NUTS 2 region, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIN2M, accessed 22 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 2 July 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests, 2025, by month. Region names are Eurostat's.
- Source: Eurostat, Net occupancy rate of bed-places and bedrooms in hotels and similar accommodation – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_MNOR, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: bedrooms, percentage, January–December 2025.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by country of origin of the tourist, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NINRAW, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, 2025.
- Source: Eurostat, Arrivals at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_ARM, with the nights data (tour_occ_nim), accessed 25 September 2026. Extract: number of arrivals and nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests, January–December 2025. Average stay is our calculation: nights divided by arrivals.
- Source: Eurostat, HICP – annual data (average index and rate of change), doi:10.2908/PRC_HICP_AIND, accessed 22 September 2026. Extract: accommodation services (COICOP CP112), annual average rate of change, 2025.
- Public holidays: Lag (1989:253) om allmänna helgdagar, §§ 1–2 (Sveriges riksdag). Read it. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- European Commission, Public holidays 2026, Official Journal of the European Union C/2025/6771, ELI. Used only as a cross-check. Accessed 23 September 2026.
- Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), station Stockholm_Observatoriekullen (station ID 00002485), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 22 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0.
- Daylight: our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month of 2026 at the weather station's location, by the method of the NOAA Solar Calculator (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, “Solar Calculation Details”, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, allowing 0.833° for refraction and the size of the sun). Read it. Checked 22 September 2026. NOAA notes that calculated times can differ from what is observed.
Modified data. The monthly shares, residence shares, rankings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place, so they may not add exactly. Eurostat bears no responsibility for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here. Rainfall is rounded to the nearest millimetre; temperatures are shown as published.