Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary representative democratic system of governance. The country has a multi-party system, with the executive power vested in the government, led by the prime minister of Sweden. The legislative power is shared between the government and parliament. The judiciary is independent and appointed by the government.

The Constitution of Sweden consists of four fundamental laws, including the Instrument of Government of 1974, which defines rights and freedoms. The Act of Succession is a treaty between the old Riksdag of the Estates and House of Bernadotte regulating their rights to accede to the Swedish throne. 

The constitution differs from most other Western countries in aspects such as having a unicameral parliament, limited municipal autonomy, and the lack of a supreme court with power to overturn legislature.

The current democratic regime is a product of successively added democratic institutions introduced during the 19th century up to 1921, when women’s suffrage was introduced. Since then, general elections are held every four years. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Sweden as a “full democracy” in its report for 2020. Sweden is also ranked as a liberal democracy by the V-Dem Institute (2021) and scores 40/40 for protection of political rights according to Freedom House (2020).