The Culture of Sweden is characterised by its art, music, dance, literature, traditions, religious practices and more. It is similar to but distinct from the cultures of neighboring countries. Sweden's modern history has a well-established tradition of science, technology and cultural creativity. Swedes have made significant contributions to biology and chemistry, as well as cinema, art, music, literature and the video game industry. The Nobel laureates for physics, chemistry, medicine and literature are chosen by Swedish academies.

Swedish culture is an offshoot of the Norse culture which dominated southern Scandinavia in prehistory. Sweden was the last of the Scandinavian countries to be Christianised, with pagan resistance apparently strongest in Svealand, where Uppsala was an old and important ritual site as evidenced by the tales of Uppsala temple. Like the rest of Scandinavia, Sweden had significant artistic, musical and literary traditions during the Viking Age. The oldest sources of written Swedish are runestones, and more of them are found in Sweden than in any other country. Swedish Vikings are known especially for founding the Kievan state, becoming powerful as well as established in the area with considerable eventual impact on the history of eastern Europe. In the twelfth century, most of Finland was incorporated into Sweden. Swedish medieval church culture had its centre at Vadstena, where the Bridgettine order had its principle monastery.

In the 16th century, Sweden left the Catholic community and assumed Lutheran faith. King Gustav I had successfully wrested the throne from Christian II of Denmark and promoted a national church headed by himself. Under his reign the whole Bible was translated for the first time into Swedish, and that came to serve as a norm for the Swedish language. In the following century, Sweden would appear as a champion of the Protestant cause, while also acquiring new lands and plundering foreign cultural riches during the Thirty Years War. The 17th century also saw the first Swedish poetry books, as well as notable Swedish artists. It also saw a rise in interest in the history of the country, with the establishment of the Swedish National Heritage Board as one example.

In the 18th century, Swedish culture flourished: Carl Linnaeus had a vast impact on biology, also promoting widespread interest in the topic, and Carl Michael Bellman produced many significant songs and poems. Queen Louisa Ulrika and her son King Gustav III were important patrons of the arts, both founding academies that are still active. Sweden also became the first country with a law explicitly protecting freedom of the press.

During the Napoleonic wars, Finland was lost to Russia, which was a shock to Swedish society. After first securing a personal union with Norway, Sweden entered a time of peace that is still ongoing. This and improvements in agriculture and sanitation led to a high population growth; during the latter half of the 19th century, emigration increased. During the century, the first modern Swedish novelists appeared, with Fredrika Bremer enjoying early international success, and August Strindberg's first novel The Red Room marking an epoch in Swedish language history. Meanwhile, Swedish scientists, especially chemists, made important contributions. Jenny Lind was a leading opera singer throughout the nineteenth century.

When increased opportunity and international trade arrived in the 20th century, along with better education of the masses, Sweden went from a poor country to one of the richest. Swedish culture became more well known abroad, and especially Swedish cinema and Swedish music have been widely successful, through representatives such as Ingrid Bergman, Ingmar Bergman, Jussi Björling, ABBA and Avicii. Modern Swedish design has also become widespread around the world.

The 25 historical provinces (landskap) of Sweden, which early in their histories had poor intercommunication, each have a distinct culture, though today they have lost their importance as administrative and political regions while the population of Sweden still identifies with them. Each province has its own history and individual nature. In early times, some of them were so separate from Sweden (as known) that they had their own laws. Historically, some of the regions were independent or longtime parts of Denmark and Norway. They have more-or-less different indigenous dialects within the frameworks of North Germanic languages or Sami languages, and all have ethnic minorities.

The Dalecarlian horse is a popular Swedish symbol. It has been manufactured since the 17th century and is decorated with rose-painting. Mother Svea is a traditional personification of the Swedish nation. She is portrayed with historical clothing from Swedish folklore. Sweden also has an official national costume. Another famous symbol, though unofficial, is the moose.