The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency is the authority that leads, guides and coordinates civil defence.

The mandate of the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency

Leading, guiding and coordinating

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency leads and strengthens readiness in the national civilian response to war and emergencies, ensuring effective coordination between civil and military defence.

National, international, allied

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency manages emergencies nationally and internationally – and acts as an ally in times of war.

Develop, strengthen, act

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency develops and strengthens our society's overall capabilities so that we can act together if the worst should happen.

Protect the population

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency coordinates and unifies preparations to protect the population in the event of war, thereby maintaining the will to defend the country.

Support the emergency services

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency helps to ensure that the emergency services are able to operate in everyday situations, during emergencies and accidents, and ultimately in wartime.

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency contributes to fulfilling the civil defence objective.

The work carried out by the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency aims to contribute to fulfilling the civil defence objective, the overall goal of total defence, and the objectives for protection against accidents and emergency preparedness.

Civil defence objective

The civil defence objective means having the capacity to:

• safeguard the most important public services
• contribute to military defensive capability within the scope of NATO's collective defence
• protect the civilian population
• maintain will to defend the country and society’s resilience against external pressures.

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency was previously known as the Swedish Contingencies Agency (Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap – MSB)

Reason for the name change

Sweden is facing its most serious threats to security since the Second World War. War and armed aggression directed against our country cannot be ruled out. It is our total defence – our combined civil and military defensive capabilities – that serve as a deterrent to war. A rapid increase in capability is now required – especially with regards to civil defence.
In October 2024, the government advised that the Swedish Contingencies Agency would be changing its name to the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency and that the name change would take place on 1 January 2026. The rationale for this change is that the new name more closely aligns with our mandate and areas of responsibility.