Demographics of Sweden: Difference between revisions

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The demography of Sweden is monitored by Statistics Sweden (SCB). As of August 2018, the population of Sweden was estimated to be 10.2 million people,^[1] making it the 90th most populous country in the world.^[2] The three largest cities are Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Approximately 85% of the country's population resides in villages with 200 persons or cities. ^{[clarification needed]}^[3] Six out of ten Swedes do not live in an urban system with 50,000+ inhabitants, as defined by OECD.

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	±%
1570	900,000	—
1650	1,225,000	+36.1%
1700	1,485,000	+21.2%
1750	1,780,700	+19.9%
1800	2,347,300	+31.8%
1850	3,482,500	+48.4%
1900	5,136,400	+47.5%
1950	7,041,900	+37.1%
1970	8,081,300	+14.8%
1980	8,318,000	+2.9%
1990	8,590,600	+3.3%
1995	8,837,500	+2.9%
2000	8,882,800	+0.5%
2005	9,047,700	+1.9%
2010	9,415,600	+4.1%
2015	9,851,000	+4.6%
2019	10,319,600	+4.8%
Source: Historical figures – Sveriges land och folk,^[4] Modern figures – Statistics Sweden ^[1] As of:^[5] 2019 estimate^[6]

Sweden census 2005

The 2005 Swedish census showed an increase of 475,322 compared to the 1990 census, an average increase of 31,680 annually. During the 1990s, birth rate increased by more than 100,000 children per year while death rates fell and immigration surged. In the early 2000s, birth rate declined as immigration increased further, with the context of unrest in the Middle East, upholding steady population growth.^[7]^[8]

Ethnicity

The majority of the population are Swedes or people who can trace their ethnicity to Swedish stock going back at least 12 generations. The Sweden Finns are a large ethnic minority comprising approximately 50,000 along the Swedish-Finnish border, and 450,000 first and second-generation immigrated ethnic Finns, mainly living in the Mälaren Valley region. Meänkieli Finnish has official status in parts of northern Sweden near the Finnish border. In addition, Sweden's indigenous population groups include the Sami people, historically a nomadic reindeer herding group that has been native to Fenno-Scandinavia for at least 5000 years.^[9] Today, the Sami language holds the status of official minority language in four municipalities in the Norrbotten county.

Immigrants from the Middle East have been a rapidly growing share of Sweden's population. According to the government agency Statistics Sweden, the number of immigrants born in all of Asia (including the Middle East) rose from just 1,000 in 1950 to 295,000 in 2003.^[10] Most of those immigrants came from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Syria, according to Statistics Sweden.^[10] A significant number of Syrian Christians have also settled in Sweden. Since the European migrant crisis, Syrians became the second-largest group of foreign-born persons in the Swedish civil registry in 2017 with 158,443 people (after former Yugoslavia).

Additionally, the birth rate among immigrant women after arriving in Sweden is higher than among ethnic Swedes.^[11] Taking into account the fact that immigrant women have on average fewer^{[citation needed]} children than Swedish women of comparable age, the difference in total birth rate is only 0.1 children more if the woman is foreign born – with the disclaimer that some women may have children not immigrating to and not reported in Sweden who are not included in the statistics.^[12]

Total Fertility Rate from 1630 to 1900

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.^[13]

Years	1630	1632	1634	1636	1638	1640	1642	1644	1646	1648	1650	1652	1654	1656	1658^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.81	4.25	3.89	4.38	4.4	4.92	4.38	4.25	4.95	5.4	4.34	4.54	5.33	4.72	4.58

Years	1660	1662	1664	1666	1668	1670	1672	1674	1676	1678	1680	1682	1684	1686	1688^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.2	4.54	5.01	4.98	4.6	5.13	5.01	4.38	4.28	4.35	4.64	5.4	5.25	4.84	5.29

Years	1690	1692	1694	1696	1698	1700	1702	1704	1706	1708	1710	1712	1714	1716	1718^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.99	5.11	4.98	5.33	5.11	5.56	5.81	5.52	5.16	5.32	4.3	5.63	5.81	4.92	5.13

Years	1720	1722	1724	1726	1728	1730	1732	1734	1736	1738	1740	1742	1744	1746	1748^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.62	5.09	5.02	4.75	4.23	4.77	4.86	4.77	4.51	4.96	4.52	4.35	5.02	4.85	4.86

Years	1750	1752	1754	1756	1758	1760	1762	1764	1766	1768	1770	1772	1774	1776	1778^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	5.09	5.29	5.4	5.23	4.68	5.06	4.98	4.92	4.79	4.77	4.68	4.1	4.89	4.67	4.94

Years	1780	1782	1784	1786	1788	1790	1792	1794	1796	1798	1800^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	5.06	4.54	4.47	4.67	4.81	4.33	5.19	4.79	4.92	4.79	4.07

Years	1801	1802	1803	1804	1805	1806	1807	1808	1809	1810^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.26	4.5	4.45	4.52	4.5	4.36	4.42	4.31	3.78	4.67

Years	1811	1812	1813	1814	1815	1816	1817	1818	1819	1820^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	5.01	4.76	4.22	4.42	4.93	5.01	4.74	4.8	4.68	4.68

Years	1821	1822	1823	1824	1825	1826	1827	1828	1829	1830^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	5.03	5.09	5.22	4.9	5.18	4.94	4.44	4.77	4.94	4.67

Years	1831	1832	1833	1834	1835	1836	1837	1838	1839	1840^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.32	4.38	4.84	4.78	4.63	4.52	4.37	4.17	4.18	4.46

Years	1841	1842	1843	1844	1845	1846	1847	1848	1849	1850^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.3	4.49	4.36	4.56	4.46	4.25	4.2	4.3	4.66	4.45

Years	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.36	4.2	4.26	4.53	4.3	4.23	4.36	4.66	4.71	4.71

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.44	4.59	4.65	4.69	4.58	4.68	4.4	3.93	4.03	4.11

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.37	4.34	4.49	4.54	4.6	4.57	4.62	4.44	4.56	4.36

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.29	4.32	4.24	4.4	4.34	4.39	4.36	4.24	4.1	4.15

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900^[13]
Total Fertility Rate in Sweden	4.14	3.93	3.97	3.94	4.01	3.98	3.92	3.99	3.9	4

Vital statistics since 1900

Data according to Statistics Sweden, which collects the official statistics for Sweden.^[14]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rates^{[fn 1]}
1900	5 117 000	138 139	86 146	51 993	27.0	16.8	10.2	4.02
1901	5 156 000	139 370	82 772	56 598	27.0	16.1	11.0	4.04
1902	5 187 000	137 364	79 722	57 642	26.5	15.4	11.1	3.95
1903	5 210 000	133 896	78 610	55 286	25.7	15.1	10.6	3.82
1904	5 241 000	134 952	80 152	54 800	25.7	15.3	10.5	3.83
1905	5 278 000	135 409	82 443	52 966	25.7	15.6	10.0	3.83
1906	5 316 000	136 620	76 366	60 254	25.7	14.4	11.3	3.81
1907	5 357 000	136 793	78 149	58 644	25.5	14.6	10.9	3.77
1908	5 404 000	138 874	80 568	58 306	25.7	14.9	10.8	3.79
1909	5 453 000	139 505	74 538	64 967	25.6	13.7	11.9	3.71
1910	5 499 000	135 625	77 212	58 413	24.7	14.0	10.6	3.60
1911	5 542 000	132 977	76 462	56 515	24.0	13.8	10.2	3.49
1912	5 583 000	132 868	79 241	53 627	23.8	14.2	9.6	3.44
1913	5 621 000	130 200	76 724	53 476	23.2	13.6	9.5	3.32
1914	5 659 000	129 458	78 311	51 147	22.9	13.8	9.0	3.29
1915	5 696 000	122 997	83 587	39 410	21.6	14.7	6.9	3.06
1916	5 735 000	121 679	77 771	43 908	21.2	13.6	7.7	2.99
1917	5 779 000	120 855	77 385	43 470	20.9	13.4	7.5	2.93
1918	5 807 000	117 955	104 594	13 361	20.3	18.0	2.3	2.83
1919	5 830 000	115 193	84 289	30 904	19.8	14.5	5.3	2.72
1920	5 876 000	138 753	78 128	60 625	23.6	13.3	10.3	3.22
1921	5 929 000	127 723	73 536	54 187	21.5	12.4	9.1	2.93
1922	5 971 000	116 946	76 343	40 603	19.6	12.8	6.8	2.66
1923	5 997 000	113 435	68 424	45 011	18.9	11.4	7.5	2.55
1924	6 021 000	109 055	72 001	37 054	18.1	12.0	6.2	2.43
1925	6 045 000	106 292	70 918	35 374	17.6	11.7	5.9	2.34
1926	6 064 000	102 007	71 344	30 663	16.8	11.8	5.1	2.22
1927	6 081 000	97 994	77 219	20 775	16.1	12.7	3.4	2.11
1928	6 097 000	97 868	73 267	24 601	16.1	12.0	4.0	2.08
1929	6 113 000	92 861	74 538	18 323	15.2	12.2	3.0	1.95
1930	6 131 000	94 220	71 790	22 430	15.4	11.7	3.7	1.96
1931	6 152 000	91 074	77 121	13 953	14.8	12.5	2.3	1.88
1932	6 176 000	89 779	71 459	18 320	14.5	11.6	3.0	1.83
1933	6 201 000	85 020	69 607	15 413	13.7	11.2	2.5	1.72
1934	6 222 000	85 092	69 921	15 171	13.7	11.2	2.4	1.67
1935	6 242 000	85 906	72 813	13 093	13.8	11.7	2.1	1.70
1936	6 259 000	88 938	74 836	14 102	14.2	12.0	2.3	1.75
1937	6 276 000	90 373	75 392	14 981	14.4	12.0	2.4	1.77
1938	6 297 000	93 946	72 693	21 253	14.9	11.5	3.4	1.84
1939	6 326 000	97 380	72 876	24 504	15.4	11.5	3.9	1.90
1940	6 356 000	95 778	72 748	23 030	15.1	11.4	3.6	1.86
1941	6 389 000	99 727	71 910	27 817	15.6	11.3	4.4	1.92
1942	6 432 000	113 961	63 741	50 220	17.7	9.9	7.8	2.19
1943	6 491 000	125 392	66 105	59 287	19.3	10.2	9.1	2.41
1944	6 560 000	134 991	72 284	62 707	20.6	11.0	9.6	2.61
1945	6 636 000	135 373	71 901	63 472	20.4	10.8	9.6	2.63
1946	6 719 000	132 597	70 635	61 962	19.7	10.5	9.2	2.57
1947	6 803 000	128 779	73 579	55 200	18.9	10.8	8.1	2.50
1948	6 883 000	126 683	67 693	58 990	18.4	9.8	8.6	2.47
1949	6 956 000	121 272	69 537	51 735	17.4	10.0	7.4	2.39
1950	7 014 000	115 414	70 296	45 118	16.5	10.0	6.4	2.28
1951	7 073 000	110 168	69 799	40 369	15.6	9.9	5.7	2.20
1952	7 125 000	110 192	68 270	41 922	15.5	9.6	5.9	2.22
1953	7 171 000	110 144	69 553	40 591	15.4	9.7	5.7	2.25
1954	7 213 000	105 096	69 030	36 066	14.6	9.6	5.0	2.18
1955	7 262 000	107 305	68 634	38 671	14.8	9.5	5.3	2.25
1956	7 315 000	107 960	70 205	37 755	14.8	9.6	5.2	2.29
1957	7 364 000	107 168	73 132	34 036	14.6	9.9	4.6	2.29
1958	7 409 000	105 502	71 065	34 437	14.2	9.6	4.6	2.26
1959	7 446 000	104 743	70 889	33 854	14.1	9.5	4.5	2.29
1960	7 480 000	102 219	75 093	27 126	13.7	10.0	3.6	2.17
1961	7 520 000	104 501	73 555	30 946	13.9	9.8	4.1	2.21
1962	7 562 000	107 284	76 791	30 493	14.2	10.2	4.0	2.25
1963	7 604 000	112 903	76 460	36 443	14.8	10.1	4.8	2.33
1964	7 661 000	122 664	76 661	46 003	16.0	10.0	6.0	2.47
1965	7 734 000	122 806	78 194	44 612	15.9	10.1	5.8	2.39
1966	7 808 000	123 354	78 440	44 914	15.8	10.0	5.8	2.37
1967	7 868 000	121 360	79 783	41 577	15.4	10.1	5.3	2.28
1968	7 914 000	113 087	82 476	30 611	14.3	10.4	3.9	2.07
1969	7 968 000	107 622	83 352	24 270	13.5	10.5	3.0	1.94
1970	8 043 000	110 150	80 026	30 124	13.7	9.9	3.7	1.94
1971	8 098 000	114 484	82 717	31 767	14.1	10.2	3.9	1.98
1972	8 122 000	112 273	84 051	28 222	13.8	10.3	3.5	1.93
1973	8 137 000	109 663	85 640	24 023	13.5	10.5	3.0	1.88
1974	8 161 000	109 874	86 316	23 558	13.5	10.6	2.9	1.91
1975	8 193 000	103 632	88 208	15 424	12.6	10.8	1.9	1.78
1976	8 222 000	98 345	90 677	7 668	12.0	11.0	0.9	1.70
1977	8 252 000	96 057	88 202	7 855	11.6	10.7	1.0	1.64
1978	8 276 000	93 248	89 681	3 567	11.3	10.8	0.4	1.61
1979	8 294 000	96 255	91 074	5 181	11.6	11.0	0.6	1.66
1980	8 310 000	97 064	91 800	5 264	11.7	11.0	0.6	1.69
1981	8 320 000	94 065	92 034	2 031	11.3	11.1	0.2	1.63
1982	8 325 000	92 748	90 671	2 077	11.1	10.9	0.2	1.60
1983	8 329 000	91 780	90 791	989	11.0	10.9	0.1	1.61
1984	8 337 000	93 889	90 483	3 406	11.3	10.9	0.4	1.66
1985	8 350 000	98 463	94 032	4 431	11.8	11.3	0.5	1.74
1986	8 370 000	101 950	93 295	8 655	12.2	11.1	1.0	1.79
1987	8 398 000	104 699	93 307	11 392	12.5	11.1	1.4	1.84
1988	8 437 000	112 080	96 743	15 337	13.3	11.5	1.8	1.96
1989	8 493 000	116 023	92 110	23 913	13.7	10.8	2.8	2.02
1990	8 559 000	123 938	95 161	28 777	14.5	11.1	3.4	2.14
1991	8 617 000	123 737	95 202	28 535	14.4	11.0	3.3	2.12
1992	8 668 000	122 848	94 710	28 138	14.2	10.9	3.2	2.09
1993	8 719 000	117 998	97 008	20 990	13.5	11.1	2.4	2.00
1994	8 781 000	112 257	91 844	20 413	12.8	10.5	2.3	1.90
1995	8 831 000	103 326	96 910	6 416	11.7	11.0	0.7	1.74
1996	8 843 000	95 297	94 133	1 164	10.8	10.6	0.1	1.61
1997	8 846 000	89 171	92 674	-3 503	10.1	10.5	-0.4	1.52
1998	8 851 000	88 384	92 891	-4 507	10.0	10.5	-0.5	1.51
1999	8 858 000	88 173	94 726	-6 553	10.0	10.7	-0.7	1.50
2000	8 872 000	90 441	93 285	-2 844	10.2	10.5	-0.3	1.54
2001	8 896 000	91 466	93 752	-2 286	10.3	10.5	-0.3	1.57
2002	8 925 000	95 815	95 009	806	10.7	10.6	0.1	1.65
2003	8 958 000	99 157	92 961	6 196	11.1	10.4	0.7	1.71
2004	8 994 000	100 928	90 532	10 396	11.2	10.1	1.2	1.75
2005	9 030 000	101 346	91 710	9 636	11.2	10.2	1.1	1.77
2006	9 081 000	105 913	91 177	14 736	11.7	10.0	1.6	1.85
2007	9 148 000	107 421	91 729	15 692	11.7	10.0	1.7	1.88
2008	9 220 000	109 301	91 449	17 852	11.9	9.9	1.9	1.91
2009	9 299 000	111 801	90 080	21 721	12.0	9.7	2.3	1.94
2010	9 378 000	115 641	90 487	25 154	12.3	9.6	2.7	1.98
2011	9 449 000	111 770	89 938	21 832	11.8	9.5	2.3	1.90
2012	9 519 000	113 177	91 938	21 239	11.9	9.7	2.2	1.91
2013	9 644 000	113 593	90 402	23 191	11.8	9.4	2.4	1.89
2014	9 747 000	114 907	88 976	25 931	11.9	9.2	2.7	1.88
2015	9 851 000	114 870	90 907	23 963	11.7	9.3	2.4	1.85
2016	9 995 000	117 425	90 982	26 443	11.8	9.2	2.6	1.85
2017	10 120 000	115 416	91 972	23 444	11.4	9.1	2.3	1.78
2018	10 230 000	115 832	92 185	23 647	11.3	9.0	2.3	1.75

Current vital statistics

^[15]

Number of births :

from January-October 2018 = 98,930
from January-October 2019 = 98,008

Number of deaths :

from January-October 2018 = 76,821
from January-October 2019 = 73,342

Natural increase :

from January-October 2018 = 22,109
from January-October 2019 = 24,666

Life expectancy from 1751 to 2015

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1751–1949

Years	1751	1754	1756	1768	1776	1781	1789	1795	1810	1818	1824	1837	1847	1855	1861^[16]
Life expectancy in Sweden	38.4	37.4	36.2	35.0	41.5	37.8	31.2	36.5	31.9	40.0	44.9	39.6	40.1	43.0	47.1

Years	1868	1872	1878	1884	1890	1896	1905	1911	1913	1916	1922	1929	1935	1943	1949^[16]
Life expectancy in Sweden	43.2	50.0	47.6	49.1	50.4	53.4	54.5	58.0	58.7	58.2	61.0	62.3	64.9	68.7	70.8

1950–2015

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	71.9	1985–1990	77.2
1955–1960	72.9	1990–1995	78.2
1960–1965	73.5	1995–2000	79.3
1965–1970	74.1	2000–2005	80.1
1970–1975	74.8	2005–2010	81.1
1975–1980	75.4	2010–2015	81.9
1980–1985	76.4

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[17]

Population statistics

At the housing and population census 1990 the Swedish population stood at 8,587,353 out of which 4,242,351 male and 4,345,002 female. According to a 2012 survey there were 1 473 256 foreign born within the country making up 15% of the population.^[18]^[19]

The demographic profile of Sweden has altered drastically due to immigration patterns since the 1970s. Since 2012, the number of immigrants to Sweden has increased while the number of emigrants have decreased. Today, about one-fifth of Sweden's population has an immigrant background.^[20]

Though there are no official statistics on ethnicity, according to Statistics Sweden around 1,921,000 (20.1%) inhabitants of Sweden were of a foreign background in 2012. This background included: indigenous population of Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities, and foreign-born or first-generation immigrants like Turks, Greeks, Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes and Norwegians.

Population little increases during 2004–2012 have mainly been attributed to immigration from Muslim-majority countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia. This implies a larger influx of Muslim immigrants as opposed to any other religious group.^[20]

Population density in the counties of Sweden.
*people/km²*
  0–9.9
  10–24.9
  25–49.9
  50–99.9
  100–199.9
  200+

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review.^[20]

One birth every 4 minutes
One death every 6 minutes
Net gain of one person every 8 minutes
One net migrant every 14 minutes

Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[21]

Population: 10,040,995 (July 2018 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.54% (male 904,957 /female 855,946); 15-24 years: 11.06% (male 573,595 /female 537,358); 25-54 years: 39.37% (male 2,005,422 /female 1,947,245); 55-64 years: 11.67% (male 588,314 /female 583,002); 65 years and over: 20.37% (male 946,170 /female 1,098,986) (2018 est.)

0-14 years: 17.43% (male 892,462/female 843,375)

15-24 years: 11.31% (male 581,025/female 545,971)

25-54 years: 39.42% (male 1,993,590/female 1,933,080)

55-64 years: 11.58% (male 578,942/female 574,479)

65 years and over: 20.26% (male 931,593/female 1,085,970) (2017 est.)

Median age: total: 41.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 45th; male: 40.1 years; female: 42.2 years (2018 est.)

total: 41.2 years

male: 40.2 years

female: 42.2 years (2017 est.)

Birth rate: 12.1 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 164th; 11.78 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Death rate: 9.4 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 52nd; 9.37 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.87 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 141st

Net migration rate: 5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.) Country comparison to the world: 23rd; 6.75 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.8% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 129th; 0.81% (2017 est.); 0.93% (2013 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth: 29.1 years (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 82.1 years Country comparison to the world: 16th; male: 80.2 years; female: 84.2 years (2017 est.)

Net birth surplus rate: 2.40 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 2.6 deaths/1,000 live births Country comparison to the world: 218th; male: 2.9 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 2.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

2.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)

Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 58.5; youth dependency ratio: 27.4; elderly dependency ratio: 31.1; potential support ratio: 3.2 (2015 est.)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24: total: 17.9%. Country comparison to the world: 72nd; male: 18.8%; female: 17% (2017 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 19 years; male: 18 years; female: 20 years (2016)

Urbanisation: 85% of total population (2010 est.); Rate of urbanisation: 0.6% annual rate of change (2010–15 est.)

Population projections

In 1950 Sweden had fewer people aged 10–20 with more people ages 20–30 and 0–10. In 2017 the ratio of male to female remains steady at about 50–50. As a whole, the graph broadens with people appearing to live longer. In 2050 it is predicted that all ages will increase from below 300,000 males and females to above 300,000 males and females. With about 50,000 people living to the ages of 90–100. In 2100 the graph is shaped as a rectangle with people of all ages and genders remaining steady. It narrows slightly at the top of the graph with about 250,000/300,000 males and females living to be 90–100 years old.^[22] Statistics Sweden projects the following population development in Sweden:^[23]

Year	Projection
2016	9,995,000
2020	10,431,000
2026	11,046,000
2030	11,344,000
2040	11,898,000
2050	12,395,000
2060	12,858,000

Eurostat projects a population in Sweden reaching 11,994,364 people in 2040 and 14,388,478 in 2080.^[24]

Migration

Immigration

As of 2017, Statistics Sweden reported that around 2,439,007 or 24.1% of the inhabitants of Sweden were from a foreign background: that is, each such person either had been born abroad or had been born in Sweden to two parents who themselves had both been born abroad.^[25] Also taking into account people with only one parent born abroad, this number increases to almost a third in 2017.^[26]

Demographics

According to Eurostat, in 2010, there were 1.33 million foreign-born residents in Sweden, corresponding to 14.3% of the total population. Of these, 859,000 (64.3%) were born outside the EU and 477,000 (35.7%) were born in another EU Member State.^[27]^[28] By comparison, the Swedish civil registry reports, for 2018, that nearly 1.96 million residents are foreign-born, a 47% increase from 2010. There are 8.27 million Swedish-born residents, giving a total population of 10.23 million, and a 19.1% foreign-born population.^[29]

Note that the table below lists the citizenship the person had when arriving in Sweden and therefore there are no registered Eritreans, Russians or Bosnians from 1990, they were recorded as Ethiopians, Soviets and Yugoslavs. The nationality of Yugoslavs below is therefore people who came to Sweden from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before 1991 and people who came from today's Montenegro and Serbia before 2003, then called the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Counting all people who came from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, there were 176,033 people from there in 2018.

The 30 most common foreign birth countries in Sweden.^[30]
Land	1900	1930	1960	1990	2018
Syria	−	−	6	5,874	185,991
Finland	6,644	9,746	101,307	217,636	147,883
Iraq	−	−	16	9,818	144,035
Poland	−	1,065	6,347	35,631	92,759
Iran	2	8	115	40,084	77,386
Somalia	−	−	−	1,441	68,678
Yugoslavia	−	19	1,532	43,346	65,124
Bosnia and Herzegovina	−	−	−	−	59,395
Afghanistan	−	−	17	534	51,979
Germany	5,107	8,566	37,580	37,558	51,140
Turkey	15	22	202	25,528	49,948
Thailand	−	−	20	4,934	42,394
Eritrea	−	−	−	−	42,300
Norway	7,978	14,731	37,253	52,744	41,747
Denmark	6,872	8,726	35,112	43,931	40,011
India	45	135	361	9,054	35,288
China (without Hong Kong)	34	201	520	3,896	33,288
Romania	3	34	719	8,785	31,040
United Kingdom	779	1,270	2,738	11,378	28,976
Lebanon	−	−	15	15,986	28,119
Chile	6	28	69	27,635	27,995
USA	5,130	8,852	10,874	13,001	21,943
Russia	1,506	−	−	−	21,615
Ethiopia	5	−	59	10,027	20,695
Vietnam	−	−	1	6,265	19,741
Greece	5	22	266	13,171	18,917
Hungary	50	108	8,544	15,045	16,799
Pakistan	−	−	11	2,291	16,185
Lithuania	−	149	−	233	14,732
Philippines	−	−	5	2,613	14,509
Total	35 627	61 657	299 879	790 445	1 955 569

The twentyfive largest groups of foreign-born persons in the Swedish civil registry as of autumn 2018 were:^[31]

Former Yugoslavia (176 033)*
Syria (172,258)
Finland (150,887) *
Iraq (144 035)
Poland (92 759)
Iran (77 386)
Somalia (68 678)
Germany (50,863)
Turkey (49 948)
Afghanistan (43,991)
Thailand (41,240)
Eritrea (42 300)
Norway (41 747)
Denmark (40 011)
India (35 234)
China (33 288)
Romania (31 040)
Chile (27,996)
United Kingdom (27,658)
Lebanon (27,487)
United States of America (20,930)
Russia (20,930)
Vietnam (18,713)
Ethiopia (19,358)
Greece (18,142)

This only lists Swedish Finns born outside of Sweden; There are ~569,000 people of Finnish origin living in Sweden
The seven successor states of Yugoslavia and their historic counterparts (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Kosovo) are counted as one group in many agencies across Sweden. There are also roughly 100,000 native-born "Yugoslavians" in Sweden

The ten most common countries of birth among immigrants getting registered in Sweden during 2016 (including asylum seekers who came in 2015) were the following:^[32]

Syria (+51,540)
Eritrea (+6,580)
Poland (+5,078)
Iraq (+4,901)
India (+4,247)
Somalia (+3,794)
Afghanistan (+3,607)
Finland (+2,969)
Germany (+2,666)
Iran (+2,469)

History

World War II

Immigration increased markedly with World War II. Historically, the most numerous of foreign born nationalities are ethnic Germans from Germany and other Scandinavians from Denmark and Norway.^{[citation needed]} In short order, 70,000 war children were evacuated from Finland, of which 15,000 remained in Sweden. Also, many of Denmark's nearly 7,000 Jews who were evacuated to Sweden decided to remain there.^{[citation needed]}

A sizable community from the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) arrived during the Second World War.^[33]

1945 to 1967

During the 1950s and 1960s, the recruitment of immigrant labour was an important factor of immigration. The Nordic countries signed a trade agreement in 1952, establishing a common labour market and free movement across borders. This migration within the Nordic countries, especially from Finland to Scandinavia, was essential to create the tax-base required for the expansion of the strong public sector now characteristic of Scandinavia.^{[citation needed]} This continued until 1967, when the labour market became saturated, and Sweden introduced new immigration controls.

On a smaller scale, Sweden took in political refugees from Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia after their countries were invaded by the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1968 respectively.

Contemporary immigration

Since the early 1970s, immigration to Sweden has been mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in the Middle East and Latin America.^[34]

The first group of Assyrians/Syriacs moved to Sweden from Lebanon in 1967. Many of them live in Södertälje (Stockholm).^[35]^[36] There are also around 40,000 Roma in Sweden.^[37]

Immigration of Iraqis increased dramatically during the Iraq War, during 2003 to 2007. A total of 8,951 Iraqis came to Sweden in 2006, accounting for 45% of the entire Iraqi migration to Europe. By 2007, the community of Iraqis in Sweden numbered above 70,000. In 2008, Sweden introduced tighter rules on asylum seekers.^[38]

Language

The Swedish language is by far the dominating language in Sweden, and is used by the government administration.

Since 1999, Sweden has five officially recognised minority languages: Sami, Meänkieli, Standard Finnish, Romani chib and Yiddish.

The Sami language, spoken by about 7,000 people in Sweden, may be used in government agencies, courts, preschools and nursing homes in the municipalities of Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk and Kiruna and its immediate neighbourhood.

Similarly, Finnish and Meänkieli can be used in the municipalities of Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå and its immediate neighbourhood. Finnish is also official language, along with Swedish, in the city of Eskilstuna.^{[citation needed]}

During the mid to late 20th century, immigrant communities brought other languages, among others being Persian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic and Neo-Aramaic.^[39]

Religion

The majority (57.7%) of the population belongs to the Church of Sweden,^[40] the Lutheran church that was disestablished in 2000. This is because until 1996, those who had family members in the church automatically became members at birth.^{[citation needed]} Other Christian denominations in Sweden include the Roman Catholic Church (see Catholic Church of Sweden), several Orthodox churches in diaspora, Baptist, Pentecostal, Neo-pietistic (nyevangeliska) and other evangelical Christian churches (frikyrkor = 'free churches'). Shamanism persisted among the Sami people up until the 18th century, but no longer exists in its traditional form as most Sami today belong to the Lutheran church.

Jews were permitted to practice their religion in five Swedish cities in 1782, and have enjoyed full rights as citizens since 1870. The new Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in 1951, and former obstacles against Non-Lutherans working in schools and hospitals were removed. Further, that bill made it legal to leave any religious denomination, without entering another. There are also a number of Muslims, Buddhists, and Bahá'í in Sweden, mainly from immigration.

There is also a small Zoroastrian community in Sweden.

Notes

^ In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and have been marked blue, 2 and below leads an aging population and the result is that the population reduces.

References

^ ^a ^b "Population statistics". Statistics Sweden. August 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
^ "U.S. & World Population Clocks". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
^ Svanström, Stefan. "Varannan svensk bor nära havet". Scb.se. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
^ Gustav Sundbärg, Sveriges land och folk (1901), p. 90.
^ "Population and Population Changes 1749–2015". Statistics Sweden. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017.
^ Population Archived 2019-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
^ "The 2005 population and housing census in Sweden will be totally register-based". Census Knowledge Base. United Nations Statistics Division.
^ Bruhn, Åke (6 July 2001). "The 2005 population and housing census in Sweden will be totally register-based". Symposium on Global Review of 2000 Round of Population and Housing Censuses: Mid-Decade Assessment and Future Prospects. Retrieved 12 March 2017: Does not provide figures, only methodology.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^ Broadbent, Noel (16 March 2010). Lapps and Labyrinths: Saami Prehistory, Colonisation, and Cultural Resilience. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-9788460-6-0.
^ ^a ^b "Immigration and emigration in the postwar period, Yugoslav immigration was substantial" (PDF). Statistics Sweden. 2004. p. 96. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ "Visa detaljerad information". Scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ "Får utrikes födda fler barn?". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation, archived from the original on 7 August 2018, retrieved 7 August 2018
^ "Statistics Sweden". Scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ "Preliminary Population Statistics by month, 2019". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Life expectancy". Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 15 July 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |day= and |month= (help)
^ "Utrikes födda 2012: Fortsatt ökning av utrikes födda i Sverige" [Foreign born 2012: Further increase in foreign-born persons in Sweden]. Statistics Sweden, Unit for Population Statistics (in Swedish). 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
^ Befolkningsstatistik. "Största folkökningen på nästan 70 år". Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Sweden Population 2018", World Population Review
^ "Sweden". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ "Sveriges framtida befolkning 2017–2060" (PDF). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
^ "Population on 1st January by age and sex". Eurostat Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
^ "Number of persons by foreign/Swedish background, age, sex and year". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 31 March 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ "Statistikdatabasen – välj tabell". Statistikdatabasen.scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ Vasileva, Katya (2011). "6.5% of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4% are born abroad" (PDF). Statistics in focus (34). Eurostat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2012.
^ "Statistikdatabasen – välj tabell". Ssd.scb.se. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
^ "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2018". Statistikdatabasen. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
^ "Folkmängd efter födelseland 1900–2017". Statistics Sweden. 21 February 2018.
^ "Befolkning efter födelseland och år". Statistics Sweden / Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland 31 december 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
^ "Invandring till Sverige 2016 och 2015 efter de 20 vanligaste födelseländerna för de invandrade 2016". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
^ "Pocket Facts: Statistics on Integration" (PDF). Integrationsverket. The Swedish Integration Board. 2006. ISBN 91-89609-30-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2007.
^ Sweden: Restrictive Immigration Policy and Multiculturalism, Migration Policy Institute, 2006.
^ "Assyrier/Syrianer – Vilka är de?" [Assyrians/Syriacs – Who are they?] (in Swedish). Ronnaskolan.sodertalje.se. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009.
^ "Vems är historien? Historia som medvetande, kultur och handling i det mångkulturella Sverige" [Who Does History Belong To? History as Consciousness, Culture and Action in Multicultural Sweden] (PDF) (in Swedish). educ.umu.se. 2006. ISBN 91-7264-128-2. ISSN 1653-6894. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2006.
^ [1]
^ "Sweden tightens rules on Iraqi asylum seekers". reuters.com. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
^ "Sweden". Ethnologue. 19 February 1999. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^ "Svenska kyrkans medlemsutveckling år 1972–2018" [Swedish church's membership development from 1972–2018] (PDF) (in Swedish). Church of Sweden. Retrieved 2 June 2019.

External links

Statistics Sweden – Official Data Base available in English

[15] In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and have been marked blue, 2 and below leads an aging population and the result is that the population reduces.

[Statistikdatabasen-1] "Population statistics". Statistics Sweden. August 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

[2] "U.S. & World Population Clocks". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

[3] Svanström, Stefan. "Varannan svensk bor nära havet". Scb.se. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

[4] Gustav Sundbärg, Sveriges land och folk (1901), p. 90.

[5] "Population and Population Changes 1749–2015". Statistics Sweden. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017.

[population-6] Population Archived 2019-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

[7] "The 2005 population and housing census in Sweden will be totally register-based". Census Knowledge Base. United Nations Statistics Division.

[8] Bruhn, Åke (6 July 2001). "The 2005 population and housing census in Sweden will be totally register-based". Symposium on Global Review of 2000 Round of Population and Housing Censuses: Mid-Decade Assessment and Future Prospects. Retrieved 12 March 2017: Does not provide figures, only methodology.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)

[Broadbent-9] Broadbent, Noel (16 March 2010). Lapps and Labyrinths: Saami Prehistory, Colonisation, and Cultural Resilience. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-9788460-6-0.

[scb.se-10] "Immigration and emigration in the postwar period, Yugoslav immigration was substantial" (PDF). Statistics Sweden. 2004. p. 96. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[11] "Visa detaljerad information". Scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[12] "Får utrikes födda fler barn?". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

[ourworldindata.org-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q Max Roser (2014), "Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries", Our World In Data, Gapminder Foundation, archived from the original on 7 August 2018, retrieved 7 August 2018

[14] "Statistics Sweden". Scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[16] "Preliminary Population Statistics by month, 2019". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 6 December 2019.

[:0-17] "Life expectancy". Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 October 2018.

[18] "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Retrieved 15 July 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |day= and |month= (help)

[19] "Utrikes födda 2012: Fortsatt ökning av utrikes födda i Sverige" [Foreign born 2012: Further increase in foreign-born persons in Sweden]. Statistics Sweden, Unit for Population Statistics (in Swedish). 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2017.

[20] Befolkningsstatistik. "Största folkökningen på nästan 70 år". Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2014.

[WPR2018-21] "Sweden Population 2018", World Population Review

[cia.gov-22] "Sweden". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.

[23] "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". Esa.un.org. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[24] "Sveriges framtida befolkning 2017–2060" (PDF). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

[25] "Population on 1st January by age and sex". Eurostat Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2017.

[26] "Number of persons by foreign/Swedish background, age, sex and year". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 31 March 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[27] "Statistikdatabasen – välj tabell". Statistikdatabasen.scb.se. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[28] Vasileva, Katya (2011). "6.5% of the EU population are foreigners and 9.4% are born abroad" (PDF). Statistics in focus (34). Eurostat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2012.

[29] "Statistikdatabasen – välj tabell". Ssd.scb.se. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2017.

[30] "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2018". Statistikdatabasen. Retrieved 15 September 2019.

[31] "Folkmängd efter födelseland 1900–2017". Statistics Sweden. 21 February 2018.

[32] "Befolkning efter födelseland och år". Statistics Sweden / Befolkning efter födelseland och ursprungsland 31 december 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2018.

[33] "Invandring till Sverige 2016 och 2015 efter de 20 vanligaste födelseländerna för de invandrade 2016". Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 26 February 2017.

[Integrationsverket-34] "Pocket Facts: Statistics on Integration" (PDF). Integrationsverket. The Swedish Integration Board. 2006. ISBN 91-89609-30-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2007.

[MPI-35] Sweden: Restrictive Immigration Policy and Multiculturalism, Migration Policy Institute, 2006.

[36] "Assyrier/Syrianer – Vilka är de?" [Assyrians/Syriacs – Who are they?] (in Swedish). Ronnaskolan.sodertalje.se. Archived from the original on 8 February 2009.

[37] "Vems är historien? Historia som medvetande, kultur och handling i det mångkulturella Sverige" [Who Does History Belong To? History as Consciousness, Culture and Action in Multicultural Sweden] (PDF) (in Swedish). educ.umu.se. 2006. ISBN 91-7264-128-2. ISSN 1653-6894. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2006.

[38] [1]

[Swedentightens-39] "Sweden tightens rules on Iraqi asylum seekers". reuters.com. 6 July 2007. Retrieved 14 December 2010.

[40] "Sweden". Ethnologue. 19 February 1999. Retrieved 3 October 2013.

[41] "Svenska kyrkans medlemsutveckling år 1972–2018" [Swedish church's membership development from 1972–2018] (PDF) (in Swedish). Church of Sweden. Retrieved 2 June 2019.

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v t e Immigration to Sweden
Europe	Albanians Austrians Belarusians Belgians Walloons Bosnians Britons Bulgarians Croats Czechs Danes Dutch Finns French Germans Greeks Hungarians Icelanders Irish Italians Kosovan Latvians Lithuanians Macedonians Moldovans Norwegians Poles Portuguese Romanis Romanians Russians Serbs Slovaks Slovenians Spaniards Swiss Ukrainians Yugoslavians
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Africa	Algerians Angolans Burundians Cameroonians Egyptians Eritreans Ethiopians Gambians Ghanaians Ivorians Kenyans Liberians Libyans Moroccans Nigerians Senegalese Somalis South Africans Sudanese Tanzanians Tunisians
Oceania	Australians New Zealanders
See also	Demographics of Sweden

v t e Demographics of Europe
Sovereign states	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands North Macedonia Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom England Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Vatican City
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Dependencies and other entities	Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Svalbard
Other entities	European Union