After a legislative change in 2012 aimed at shortening the time, the national average decreased from 21.6 days to 19 days, but twelve years later, it has instead increased to 26.4 days.
The longest time was reported in Stockholm – 29.7 days. The shortest time, on the other hand, was in Jämtland with 24.1 days in a compilation of 6,340 funerals in October and November 2024.
This can be compared to, for example, France, where the funeral must take place within five days, in Norway within two weeks, and in Denmark within eight days. According to Ulf Lernéus, Sweden has a longer waiting time between death and burial than any other country with similar legislation.
A contributing factor is that 70 percent of all want the funeral to take place on a Friday, says Ulf Lernéus, who believes that Swedes have gone from prioritizing the deceased to instead prioritizing the bereaved.
In 2012, the burial law was changed so that the time between death and burial or cremation may be one month instead of two.
