Culture
This landing page presents thematic content on culture in the Nordic region. Several topics are covered, such as different forms of cultural accessibility and consumption, government spending on culture and cultural employment.
The Culture section in the Nordic Statistics database can be found here.
The Nordic Council of Ministers Our vision 2030 states that the Nordic Region will become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. Under this vision, there are 45 indicators that measure whether we are on track towards the goal. Three of these, under the area of A socially sustainable Nordic region, also reflect different aspects of culture in the Nordic region. An overview of the Our Vision 2030 indicators can be found here, and the corresponding matrices in the database here. For more information on Our Vision 2030 and the indicators, please see this article.
For more in-depth analysis of culture in the Nordic region, please visit Kulturanalys Norden, a Nordic knowledge centre for cultural policy. It was established on the initiative of the Nordic Council of Ministers and has been under the mandate of the Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis since 2016.
Note that missing values may occur in the graphs.
Filter feature
Under some graphs on this page, there is a filter option. Use this function to filter on various background variables for the data at hand. The data visualized in the graph, including headlines, will be adjusted accordingly to your selection.
Government and household spending on culture
Government expenditure on culture
The graph shows government expenditure on culture. The filter function can be used to customize the graph by government sector, type of expenditure and unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT20
Household spending on culture
This is a vision indicator selected by the Nordic Council of Ministers. It relates to the target Strong cultural life under the area A socially sustainable Nordic region. The indicator shows household expenditure on recreational and cultural services according to the annual national accounts. It is an index expressed as the development, in fixed prices, compared with 2015.
Individual and household expenditure on cultural goods and services is regarded as an approximation for participation in culture.
Source: Nordic statistics database, SOSU53
Cultural employment
Cultural employment
The graph shows employment in cultural and creative sectors as a percentage of total employment. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by sex and unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT23
Cultural employment by sex
The graph shows employment in cultural and creative sectors as a percentage of total employment by sex. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by year.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT23
Cultural trade
Cultural trade
This is a vision indicator selected by the Nordic Council of Ministers. It relates to the target Strong cultural life under the area A socially sustainable Nordic region.
The graph shows the share of imports of culture-related goods coming from other Nordic countries, in percent.
Source: Nordic statistics database, SOSU51
Libraries and books
Libraries
The graph shows the number of libraries in the Nordic countries. One can use the filter function to display either public or national libraries and change the unit.
Note that the Swedish national library was reorganized into four separate libraries in 2014.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT01
Stock of volumes
The graph shows the stock of physical media at libraries (for example books, audio books, music recordings, movies and newspapers). One can use the filter function to display either public or national libraries and change the unit being displayed.
Note on Demark: The Royal Library in Copenhagen and the State Library in Aarhus merged into the Royal Library in 2017. As a result, there is an increase in stock of volumes in the years after 2017.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT01
Volumes lent
The graph shows initial loans of physical media at libraries (not including renewal loans). One can use the filter function to display either public or national libraries and to change the unit being displayed.
Note: Break in times series for National libraries in Finland 2013.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT01
Books published
The graph shows the number of physical and digital books published. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by content.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT17
Books published by genre
The graph shows the distribution of books published within the genres fiction and non-fiction. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by year.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT17
Museums
Number of museums
The graph shows the number of museums. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Note: Break in time series for Sweden in 2013.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT16
Number of museum visitors
The graph shows the number of museum visitors. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT16
Theatres
Number of theatres
The graph shows the number of theatres. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT15
Number of theatre performances
The graph shows the number of theatre performances. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Note for Finland: Data for 2004 and onwards include all state-supported theatres.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT15
Number of theatre visitors
The graph shows the number of theatre visitors. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Note: Data for 2004 and onwards include all state-supported theatres in Finland.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT15
Cinemas and films
Number of cinemas
The graph shows the number of active cinemas with public screens (excluding film clubs and travelling cinemas). One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT04
Number of cinema seats
The graph shows the number of seats in cinemas. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT04
Cinema visits
The graph shows the total number of tickets sold for cinema screenings (including tickets that are not collected). Free tickets, tickets to film festivals and other special screenings are not included. The graph can be customized by unit using the filter function.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT04
Cinema visits per capita
The graph shows the total number of tickets sold for cinema screenings per capita. Using the filter function, the graph can be customized by year.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT04
Cinema film premieres
The graph shows the number of full-length cinema film premieres longer than 60 minutes, excluding documentaries and films that have exclusively been shown in film festivals. One can use the filter function to customize the graph by domain (national or foreign films) and unit.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT05
Cinema film premieres by domain
The graph shows the distribution of national and foreign titles in cinema film premieres. Using the filter function, one can customize the graph by year.
Source: Nordic statistics database, CULT05