By Joost ter Bogt
Mar 21, 2025
Defence wants to recruit significantly more people for our armed forces.
The Dutch government is looking with interest at how they deal with this in Sweden, where a survey obligation and a turnout obligation apply. What can the Netherlands learn from the ‘Swedish model’?
Defense wants to hire more people due to the increased tensions in the world. According to figures that have not yet been officially presented, the number of people working at Defense should grow from 75,000 to 200,000, NOS reported Friday.
For some time now, our government has been looking with interest at how Sweden deals with recruiting people for the armed forces. Now, too, the so-called ‘Swedish model’ is said to be on the table.
In Sweden, young people who become adults are all required to fill out a survey about how they view the military and their possible role in it. Based on this survey, enthusiasts are approached by the Försvarsdepartementet , the Swedish Ministry of Defence.
In this way, thousands of people are recruited each year. If it is not possible to recruit enough people, in some cases a turnout requirement applies (see box below). This was reintroduced in 2017.
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