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During the first half of the 18th century a remarkable group of Swedish scientists were active in the country, and in 1739 the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was established to help advance their work. Based on the Royal Society in London and the Académie Royale des Sciences (Royal Academy for Sciences) in Paris, it first began to encourage research in the areas of mathematics and the natural sciences. Among its founders were the renowned naturalist Carl Linnaeus, the mercantilist Jonas Alströmer, the mechanical engineer Mårten Triewald and the politician Anders Johan von Höpken, who was the first permanent secretary of the organization.

Although it had modest beginnings, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences soon began to develop important contacts with other scientific institutions across Europe. It developed a major program to publish scientific findings and began promoting more applied fields, including agriculture, ship building and mining. At the beginning of the 19th century the chemist Jacob Berzelius was appointed secretary-general. He reorganized the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, making it an institution with strictly scientific objectives.

The academy continued developing, and, at the beginning of the 20th century, it took on an important role in relation to the Nobel Foundation. Physics and chemistry were two subjects that Alfred Nobel knew well and expected much from in the coming years. He specified in his will that a prize should be awarded in both fields, and he chose the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to attribute the awards.

In 1968 the society was made responsible for attributing the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic in Memory of Alfred Nobel, commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics. It was awarded for the first time the following year. Economics is the only prize not referred to in the will of Alfred Nobel but the Bank of Sweden, on its 300th anniversary, established a considerable financial commitment to the Nobel Foundation in perpetuity. This commitment has allowed those who have made contributions to mathematic formulation, financial economics, game theories and macroeconomics to be recognized. Some have challenged whether the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic in Memory of Alfred Nobel fairly mirrors current tendencies in economic analysis, but most accept that decisions are stimulated by the multidimensional nature of economic investigation.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has approximately 350 native members and half that number again from foreign countries. Each member is part of one of the following 10 divisions: mathematics, astronomy and space sciences, physics, chemistry, geosciences, biological sciences, medical sciences, engineering sciences, social and economic sciences and the humanities. These members work within their divisions and permanent committees, contributing to their respective fields of research and presenting conferences and seminars.

Current social and environmental issues are also monitored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It continues to promote innovative studies, and the Environmental Committee is dedicated to questions regarding sustainable development, natural resource use and maintaining biological diversity. The society’s journal Ambio is recognized as a leading forum for environmental issues. Two other committees in the society are those for Science Education and Human Rights, demonstrating the diverse nature of its work. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences also runs the Observatory and Berzelius museums, which have impressive collections of scientific artifacts and other resources.