The Swedish annual school survey 2025, a summary

Below is a brief overview of recent trends related to ANDTG. As a starting point, Figure 1 shows how common it was for students to have used these substances and engaged in gambling during the past year, based on data from the 2025 survey.

Among upper-secondary students, alcohol was the substance most commonly reported, with 67 per cent stating that they had consumed alcohol during the past 12 months. Tobacco/nicotine and gambling followed next. By contrast, past-year use of illicit drugs and anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) appear relatively uncommon.

A similar pattern is seen among ninth-grade students, with one notable exception:  alcohol and tobacco/nicotine were reported by equally large proportions (36 per cent each).

Tobacco and nicotine products are among the substances with the earliest onset. In the 2025 survey, one quarter of ninth-grade students reported having used these products before the age of 14. Vapes were mentioned most often (21 per cent), followed by snus (12 per cent). Alcohol came next, with 16 per cent reporting early initiation. Up until 2017, the proportion reporting early initiation of alcohol and tobacco/nicotine products had been steadily declining. Since then, however, the trend has shifted. Early use of snus has increased from 4 to 12 per cent, and early use of alcohol has also increased from 11 to 16 per cent.

Alcohol

Taken together, different consumption measures show that alcohol use among Swedish school-aged youth has been declining for a long time. About ten years ago, however, this downward trend began to level off in both age groups. In the past two years, a slight decrease in the proportion of students who drink has appeared again.

In the 2025 survey, 36 per cent of ninth-grade students and 67 per cent of the students in grade 11 reported having consumed alcohol during the past 12 months. Annual consumption, measured in litres of pure (100%) alcohol, amounted to 0.9 litres in grade 9 and 2.6 litres in grade 11.

Among students who drink alcohol, long-term trends point to declines in total annual consumption, heavy episodic drinking, and self-reported alcohol-related problems. In recent years, however, these indicators have shown a slight uptick.

The problems most often mentioned in connection with alcohol use were damaged belongings or clothing, getting into arguments or quarrels, and being photographed or filmed in embarrassing or offensive situations. Notable differences also emerged between girls and boys. For example, a larger proportion of girls stated that alcohol use had caused problems in their relationships with parents and/or friends. Among boys, it was more common to report driving a motor vehicle or being involved in a physical fight while under the influence of alcohol.

Tobacco and nicotine

Cigarette smoking among Swedish school-aged youth has decreased dramatically over a long period of time. In recent years, this decline has continued among ninth-grade students, while it has levelled off among upper-secondary students. In the 2025 survey, only 7 per cent of ninth graders reported smoking—an historically low level. Among upper-secondary students, 19 per cent reported smoking.

The use of snus has increased in both grades over the past decade, with the rise being particularly pronounced among girls. In the 2025 survey, however, this upward trend levelled off, and a small, non-significant decline was observed. In 2025, 14 per cent of ninth-grade students and 27 per cent of second-year upper-secondary students reported using snus. White snus (or nicotine pouches) is the product predominantly used by adolescents.

Vaping has also become more common over the past ten years. Use remained relatively stable until 2022, after which it rose sharply. Since then, vaping has declined across all groups except among girls in upper-secondary school. In 2025, 14 per cent of ninth graders and 21 per cent of upper-secondary students reported vaping in the past month.

Overall, the proportion of young people using tobacco or nicotine today is roughly the same as it was ten years ago. Use increased in 2022 but then declined, especially among ninth-grade students. In the 2025 survey, 21 per cent of ninth graders and 36 per cent of upper-secondary students reported using tobacco or nicotine in the past month.

Illicit drugs

Overall, several measures of drug use among young people show a downward trend in recent years. This pattern is most evident among boys, for whom drug experience has declined for several consecutive years in both grades. Among girls, the trend is less pronounced, but levels have also decreased over the past two years. In the 2025 survey, 5 per cent of ninth-grade students reported having tried illicit drugs at least once. Among upper-secondary students, the prevalence was more than twice as high, with 12 per cent reporting ever having used illicit drugs. This represents the lowest level recorded among upper-secondary students since data collection began in 2004.

Among students who have tried drugs, the frequency of use has stabilized over the past decade. Looking at longer-term trends, however, students with drug-experience are using drugs more often than in the past – especially ninth graders.  On average, drug-experienced ninth-grade students today have used drugs twice as many times as their peers did 30 years ago.

Cannabis is the most commonly used substance among students who report drug use. The survey also includes separate questions on whether students have used prescription medicines classified as narcotics without a doctor’s prescription, in order to capture non-medical use of controlled medications. If these students were included as having drug experience, the proportion of ninth graders who have ever used drugs would increase from 5 to 9 per cent. Among upper-secondary students, the corresponding proportion would rise from 12 to 15 per cent.

Prescription medication

Questions regarding the use of central stimulant medications were added to the survey in 2019, while questions on pain-relieving medications have been included since 2015. In contrast, the use of sleep and sedative medications has been monitored since 1989, making trends for these substances most reliable.

Over the past ten years, non-prescribed use of sleep or sedative medications has ranged between 3 and 6 per cent in both grades. The trend showed a slight increase until 2022 for ninth graders and until 2023 for students in the second year of upper-secondary school.

When considering all three categories of medications together, 4 per cent of students in both grades reported using prescription medications classified as narcotics without a prescription in the past 12 months (2025).

Sniffing, inhalation and nitrous oxide

The prevalence of sniffing or inhaling substances has remained low and relatively stable over the past ten years. In 2025, 3 per cent of students reported having tried sniffing or huffing at some point in their lives, and 1 per cent had done so the past 12 months. Gender differences are virtually non-existent.

Since 2022, the survey has also included separate questions on the use of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”). Among ninth-graders, the proportion reporting use at least once decreased from 6 per cent in 2022 to 3 per cent in 2025. Among upper-secondary students, the prevalence declined from 17 to 7 per cent. About 2 per cent of students across both grades reported using nitrous oxide in the past year. Use is roughly equally common among boys and girls.

Doping

Lifetime prevalence of anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) use has remained constantly low over the past decade, has not exceeded 1 percent in either grade. In this year’s survey, one per cent of ninth-grade students and 0.6 per cent of upper-secondary students reported having used AAS at least once.

AAS use is more common among boys and appears to be linked, to some extent, to students with lower socioeconomic status. No clear differences were observed between types of municipalities. It is evident that students who used AAS within the past 12 months also reported comparatively extensive use of other substances during the same period, particularly illegal drugs.

Gambling

Despite a slight decrease between 2024 and 2025 in the proportion of boys who gambled for money during the past 12 months, gambling among boys in ninth grade and upper- secondary school remains at a high level. In the 2025 survey, nearly 30 per cent of ninth-grade boys and 40 per cent of boys in upper- secondary school reported gambling for money during the past year. Similar patterns are seen for other indicators, such as spending more than 100 SEK on gambling in the past month and showing risky gambling behavior. In contrast, gambling among girls occurs at significantly lower levels and has remained more stable over time.

A European comparison

Seen in a European context, Swedish students stand out in several ways. Comparative data show that Sweden has the highest prevalence of nitrous oxide use among the Nordic countries. This prevalence is also considered high in a broader European context.

In contrast, Swedish students report the lowest levels of cannabis use in the Nordic region, and their prevalence is low by European standards as well. The share of students who have gambled for money in the past 12 months is likewise low compared with both Nordic and European peers.

Regarding alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and vaping, Swedish students fall in line with those in neighboring Nordic countries.  It should be noted that the Nordic countries generally report levels below the European average. Two exceptions, however, are the high levels of alcohol use among Danish students and gambling among Icelandic students.

The article is written by

Johan Svensson, Ph.D.

Isabella Gripe, Ph.D.

Ulf Guttormsson, Head of department

Siri Thor, Ph.D.

Martina Zetterqvist, Doctoral student