STOCKHOLM (IDCA) - Sweden, with fewer than 9 million people, has recently emerged as the EU's leading energy exporter. Sweden sent 33 terawatt-hours (about 3.8 steady-state gigawatts) to other nations in 2022, according to Bloomberg.

The Russian government is the precipitative cause of much energy disruption in Europe at the moment, but the Bloomberg reports that “France’s aging nuclear plants” have turned that nation into a major energy importer.

Sweden holds the EU's rotating presidency in 2023. In that role, it's addressing the ongoing energy crunch and how to protect consumers from it. Its government plans to present a document to the EU membership on this topic soon.

Sweden itself is among the world's top 10 nations in the IDCA's EESG Digital Readiness Index of Nations, with more than 60% of its electricity grid powered by sustainable energy (see accompanying pie chart), and a strong, transparent government to address its challenges. It aims to be “the first fossil-free welfare state in the world” by 2045, according to a recent report from France's Jacques Delors Institute.

Graphic created by Jacques Delors Institute.