Since 1956, Sweden and the Armed Forces have had 50 years of unbroken tradition of military operations in the form of peace operations worldwide, among other things in Cyprus, the Middle East, Bosnia, Kosovo, Liberia and Afghanistan. Many smaller operations have also been carried out, for example through individual officers who have served as military observers on behalf of the UN. Over the years, the Armed Forces has participated in a total of 120 international operations in 60 countries. In total, over 100,000 Swedes have served in the international force.
The largest operation carried out - in terms of the number of troops - was in Cyprus (UNFICYP), in which about 28,000 Swedes served between 1964 and 1993. Other major operations took place UNEF in Gaza and the Sinai 1956-1967 with 12,000 soldiers, UNIFIL in Lebanon, 1980-1994 (9,200), UNEF II in the Sinai from 1973 to 1980 (7,600) and ONUC in the Congo from 1960 to 1964 (6,300). Between 1993 and 1999, 10,200 Swedes served in the UN led operation UNPROFOR in Bosnia, which later became the NATO led with the name IFOR / SFOR (the operation is now led by the EU).