Sweden will introduce a coronavirus vaccination pass on December 1 for public indoor events consisting of more than 100 people, the government announced on Wednesday.

The move, recommended by health officials, is in response to a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases across Europe with UK prime minister Boris Johnson describing it as a "new wave".

Though Sweden is yet to report such a rise, projection models by the health agency predict infections will hit a peak in the middle of December.

"The spread is increasing in Europe. We haven't seen it yet in Sweden, but we are not isolated," Sweden's health minister Lena Hallengren told journalists.

"We need to be able to use vaccination certificates."

Sweden currently has the lowest number of patients with COVID-19 in hospital and in intensive care in the European Union, compared to the size of the population, according to statistics from OurWorldinData.

Sweden had been hard hit at times earlier in the pandemic but chose against implementing lockdowns and relied mostly on voluntary measures aimed at social distancing.

Sweden reported several times higher deaths per capita than its Nordic neighbours but lower than many European countries that implemented strict lockdowns.

(With input from agencies)