Sweden May Have To Build Up Its Defense Force, Premier Says

By Charles Daly

Jan 12, 2025 (Bloomberg) —Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson indicated the country could increase its defense spending amid the risk of hybrid warfare in the Nordic and Baltic regions.

“I do not rule out at all that the situation will require us to take more steps to build up and expand the Swedish defense,” Kristersson said in opening remarks at a security conference, Folk och Forsvar, in the ski resort of Salen on Sunday.

Kristersson pointed out that the Baltic countries invest about 3% of their economy on defense while Finland allocates 2.4% but has twice as many conscripts despite a small…