Swedish hospitals are normally run by the county councils In Stockholm some hospitals are in the process of being privatized, with the county council henceforth being in the role of buying services from the hospitals for the benefit of patients rather than being the provider of services. For primary care, patients can choose between attending a county health centre or a family doctor. The family doctor or the doctor at the county health center refers patients to specialist hospital care.
Doctors are trained at several university hospitals throughout the country. These hospitals are prominent medical research institutions, characterized by a strong link between basic research and clinical research and by the integration of research into the health services. Swedish medical research has a strong reputation internationally.
Life expectancy in Sweden is high: 77.2 years for men and 82.0 years for women. Sweden also has the world's oldest population with 18% of the population 65 years or older.
Sweden has a well developed system of social welfare with care provided for the old, the disabled and infants. More than 50% of all children 0-6 attend various forms of day care. Retirement age is variable between 60 and 70, with the majority drawing their pension from age 65. There is a basic pension, which guarantees security for everyone, and supplementary pension in relation to previously earned income. A person who becomes disabled is remunerated with a disability pension.
Gender equality is a fundamental factor in Swedish society with almost 50% of the labor force being women. Equality refers to parity in relation to all individuals and groups in society. Underlying this notion is the belief that all people are of equal value, regardless of sex, race, religion, ethnic origin or social class. Sweden was also one of the first nations in the world to allow the registration of homosexual partnerships.