Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden, with around 600,000 people living in the urban area and more than 1 million in the city with suburbs. It’s an important port, manufacturing center, and a large ICT hub.
IT salaries
The average IT salary in Gothenburg stands at about SEK 37,570 per month or SEK 450,840 per year.
Here are the average IT salaries in Gothenburg depending on the specialization (SEK per month, before taxes):
- Back-end developer: 37,250
- Business intelligence analyst: 45,220
- Database administrator: 38,600
- Front-end developer: 31,820
- Game developer: 31,420
- IT manager: 34,400
- IT security consultant: 39,770
- Mobile developer: 38,170
- Product manager: 42,400
- Product owner: 47,650
- QA tester: 30,970
- Software developer: 35,870
- Solutions architect: 47,260
- System administrator: 32,550
- System architect: 42,530
- UX designer: 36,190
- Web developer: 26,590
Economy
Gothenburg port is the largest harbor in Scandinavia, and shipping and trade have always played a major role in the city’s economic history. Apart from that, Gothenburg is an important center for manufacturing, with Volvo Cars being the largest employer in the city.
The unemployment rate in Gothenburg is 7.1% — almost the same as the average national of 7% before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Important economic sectors in Gothenburg include:
- Automotive
- Banking
- Finance
- ICT (information and communications technology)
- Pharmaceuticals
- Shipbuilding
- Shipping
- Tourism
- Trade
West Sweden is a region with a strong ICT sector, with over 5,300 companies and around 26,500 specialists.
Five strong technology areas in Gothenburg, according to Business Region Göteborg, are embedded systems, infrastructure and cloud services, mobile technology, visualization and gaming, and microwave technology. Other prominent sectors include AI, AR/VR, cybersecurity, eCommerce, and IoT (Internet of Things).
Popular technology companies present in Gothenburg include:
- Appland
- Ericsson
- Mecel
- Spotify
- Telia
- Volvo IT
In addition, there are three science parks in Gothenburg: Lindholmen, Johanneberg, and Sahlgrenska Science Park. There is also the Chalmers University of Technology with about 10,000 students, four institutions with ICT-related research, six programs in components, systems and software.
Cost of living
The average monthly costs in Gothenburg are about SEK 8,400 for a single person or SEK 31,370 for a four-person family (excluding rent).
Here are examples of the average prices in Gothenburg (SEK):
- Meal at McDonald’s: 75–90
- Meal at another inexpensive restaurant: 85–200
- Average food basket (milk, bread, eggs, cheese, chicken, apples, potatoes, water, beer): 315
- Monthly fee at a fitness club: 250–500
- Monthly pass: 725–795
- Monthly rent (1 bedroom): 5,000 – 14,000
- Monthly rent (3 bedrooms): 8,500 – 20,000
- Property prices per square meter: 35,000 – 65,000
- Utilities: 320 – 1,360 per month
- Internet: 250–450 per month
Travel
Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport. There are flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, Doha, Istanbul, London, Paris, Warsaw, and other cities.
The city is situated halfway between two Nordic capitals — Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway. Both capitals are at a 300 km distance from Gothenburg. As to Stockholm, it’s located at a farther distance (480 km) from Gothenburg.
Entertainment
Gothenburg has 11 large parks, several museums and theaters, the amusement park Liseberg (the largest one in Scandinavia by number of rides), Haga district known for its picturesque wooden houses, and many beautiful buildings built in the 19th – early 20th centuries.
This city is one of the world’s centers for rock music. This is where the Swedish Melodic Death Metal style was born, as well as such groups as At The Gates, Avatar, Broder Daniel, Evergrey, Dark Tranquillity, Dimension Zero, Engel, In Flames, HammerFall, and many others.
In addition, Gothenburg hosts many festivals and fairs each year, including the Gothenburg Film Festival, Gothenburg Book Fair, International Science Festival, and more.