The Swedish krona
Currency · SEK · kr · 1 country
Sweden took the krona in 1873, when it moved onto the gold standard and one krona was set at 0.403225 grams of gold. It replaced the riksdaler at par. The Riksbank still issues the notes and coins, destroys worn ones and redeems invalid notes, and Sweden has stayed outside the euro since voters rejected it in 2003.
The abbreviation
The abbreviation kr stands for krona, Swedish for crown. It usually follows the amount, though in the past it sometimes came first, and price tags also write whole kronor as 100:-. The code SEK can go on either side. Danish and Norwegian money uses the same two letters.
The same abbreviation stands for 3 other currencies, among them the Danish krone and the Icelandic króna.
- ISO code
- SEK
- ISO number
- 752
- Subunit
- öre, 1/100
An amount, written out
kr 1,234.50
- kr 1,234.50English
- 1 234,50 krSwedishSweden
In English the sign comes before the amount. Where the Swedish krona is used, it comes after the amount in Sweden.
Where the Swedish krona is the official currency
Sweden keeps the krona as an EU member outside the euro, having stayed out of the ERM II mechanism that adoption requires.
About the Swedish krona
Where the name and the gold standard came from
The name krona, crown, came to Sweden from France by way of Denmark, the Riksbank says. Under the same gold standard Denmark and Norway adopted kroner and øre as their national currencies, and within the Scandinavian Monetary Union the three were exchangeable at par, each defined as one 2,480th of a kilogram of pure gold. A 10 kronor gold coin weighed 4.4803 grams at 900 fineness.
That equality ended in the First World War, when convertibility into gold was suspended. The gold parities mostly survived the interwar years on paper, while markets quoted the three currencies at differing rates.
Why Sweden has not adopted the euro
Under its accession treaty of 1994, in force from 1 January 1995, Sweden is required to join the euro once it meets the convergence criteria. On 14 September 2003 a consultative referendum went the other way: 56% of voters opposed the euro, on a turnout of 82.6%.
Membership needs two prior years in the exchange rate mechanism ERM II. Sweden has not joined it, and the government has argued that this keeps the treaty requirement from taking effect.
How rounding replaced the öre coins
Each time a small coin went, the law changed how change is given. The 1 and 2 öre were phased out in 1971 and change was rounded to 5 öre. In 1984 the 5 and 25 öre went and rounding moved to 10 öre; in 1991 the 10 öre went and rounding moved to 50 öre. The Riksdag decided on 25 March 2009 to abolish the 50 öre, and the last day it could be spent was 30 September 2010. Since then cash payments are rounded to the nearest krona. Prices and electronic payments still use öre.
Who appears on the current banknotes
The current banknotes follow Göran Österlund's design entry, titled "Cultural Journey" and chosen as the basis in April 2012. The 20, 50, 200 and 1,000 kronor notes came out on 1 October 2015, the 100 and 500 on 3 October 2016. Each carries a portrait: Astrid Lindgren on the 20, Evert Taube on the 50, Greta Garbo on the 100, Ingmar Bergman on the new 200, Birgit Nilsson on the 500 and Dag Hammarskjöld on the 1,000.
The 500 drew complaints. The opera singer Malena Ernman objected that Nilsson is shown performing Wagner's Die Walküre, citing the association of Wagner's work with Nazi Germany at a time of rising antisemitism in Sweden. The Riksbank called it unfortunate that the design was seen as negative and said it would not change it.
Why the old coins became scrap metal
A new coin series arrived in October 2016: 1, 2 and 5 kronor coins in new sizes, with the 2 kronor back after decades, and the Nordic gold 10 kronor of 1991 kept as it was. Their reverses follow Ted Gärdestad's song Sol, vind och vatten, sun, wind and water. One reason for the change was to stop using nickel, because of allergies. The older coins lost their validity in 2017. Neither the banks nor the Riksbank will redeem them, and the bank advises leaving them for metal recycling.
From 1 July 2026 a law passed unanimously by the Riksdag requires most grocery stores and pharmacies to accept notes and coins, and requires banks to provide cash deposit services across the country.
Common questions
Questions about the Swedish krona
Does Sweden have to adopt the euro?
Its 1994 accession treaty says it must, once it meets the convergence criteria. In practice Sweden has kept the krona. A consultative referendum on 14 September 2003 went 56% against the euro, on a turnout of 82.6%. Adopting the euro requires two prior years in the exchange rate mechanism ERM II, and Sweden has stayed out of it; the government has argued that this is a lawful way to avoid the requirement.
Why are Swedish prices still marked in öre?
The öre is still the pricing and accounting unit, even though the last öre coin, the 50, stopped being legal tender after 30 September 2010. Card and electronic payments are made to the öre. Cash is different: under the rounding rule known as öresavrundning, the total is rounded up or down to the nearest krona.
Can old Swedish banknotes still be exchanged?
Yes, at the Riksbank, which can redeem every invalid Swedish banknote regardless of its age, for an administration fee of 200 kronor. Old coins are another matter. The coins withdrawn in 2017 cannot be redeemed by the banks or the Riksbank, which suggests leaving them for metal recycling or asking a coin dealer about collector value.
Do shops in Sweden have to accept cash?
Most grocery stores and pharmacies do, since a law took effect on 1 July 2026. The Riksdag passed it unanimously after a steep fall in cash payments. The same law requires banks to offer cash deposit services across the country. Its stated aims are to keep people who cannot pay digitally from being shut out and to keep a fallback if digital payment systems are attacked.