The Swedish Maritime Administration climbs in reputation index
News 2026-06-18
The Swedish Maritime Administration has climbed in this year’s Verian Reputation Index and now ranks fourth, based on the public’s assessment of 51 government agencies according to criteria such as trust, quality and overall reputation.
For government agencies, a reputation index score above 55 (out of 100) is considered high, according to Verian’s own definitions. The Swedish Maritime Administration has scored above 55 since 2023 and has now made a significant jump from last year’s 56 to 62 this year.
– This is very encouraging news, says Director of Communications Niclas Härenstam. For a long time, we have been actively working to increase public awareness of the importance of shipping to Sweden, both as an export and import nation and from a preparedness perspective. Events in recent months along the Swedish coast and in the Middle East have highlighted the importance of well-functioning shipping and have probably contributed to our reputation index rising from already high levels.
Verian takes a similar view, writing in its report that the Swedish Maritime Administration “is part of Sweden’s maritime preparedness and monitors the security situation in international waters. The attention given to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Russian shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea may have contributed to the agency’s improved score.”
– Another possible factor is our clear communication about the need to safeguard Sweden’s icebreaking capability, an issue that came to a head during the winter, says Niclas Härenstam. For many years, we have consistently been open about the fact that our existing state-owned icebreakers are living on borrowed time, and we can now see that a number of political decisions have been made regarding new icebreakers.
Verian (formerly Sifo) has measured the reputation index of government agencies since 2012. This year’s survey was conducted online in May and is based on responses from 11,175 randomly selected people aged 18–79. Respondents were asked to assess 51 government agencies based on both emotional factors (personal impression, trust) and rational factors (quality, success).