Swedish Krona – Currency Overview

• ISO Code: SEK
• Symbol: kr
• Subunit: 1/100 öre
• Inflation: 4.4%
• Nickname: spänn, deg, kosing

Historical Overview

The krona replaced the old riksdaler riksmynt as the official currency of Sweden after Sweden joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union, an economic union which was established in 1873 and terminated at the onset of the First World War. The parties in the union were the Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The name of the currency was krona in Sweden but krone in Denmark and Norway. In English the currency's name literally means "crown". The currencies were on the gold standard and defined as 1⁄2480 of a kilogram of pure gold. After the dissolution of the Scandinavian Monetary Union, all three countries kept the names of their respective currencies that are now separate and independent of each other.

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Sweden dropped the gold standard in 1931 and has had a free floating currency ever since. Sweden has decided not to adopt the Euro, so the Swedish Krona is still in circulation, although according to their terms of joining the EU Sweden will have to join the Eurozone eventually.

The coins currently in circulation in Sweden are 50 öre, 1 krona, 5 kronor and 10 kronor. All coins but the 50 öre bear a monarch's effigy and the royal motto of the monarch. The banknotes currently in circulation are 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000 kronor notes.

Current Global Status

The exchange rate of the Swedish krona against other currencies worldwide has historically depended on Sweden's monetary policy at the time. Since 1992 Sweden has maintained a managed float regime. Since the introduction of the euro in 2000, the krona has not varied much against the euro, usually ranging between 9.1-9.4 SEK/EUR.

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