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Swedes celebrating Midsummer (Swedish: Midsommar)Historical population of Sweden
The demography of Sweden is monitored by the Statistiska centralbyrån (Statistics Sweden). Sweden's population was 10,555,448 (1 Nov 2023), making it the 15th-most populous country in Europe after Czech Republic, the 10th-most populous member state of the European Union, and the 87th-most populous country in the world. The total fertility rate was rated at 1.66 in 2020,[1] which is far below the replacement rate of 2.1.
The population exceeded 10 million for the first time on Friday, 20 January 2017.[2][3] The three largest cities are Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Sweden's population has become much more ethnically, religiously and linguistically diverse over the past 70 years as a result of immigration. Every fourth (24.9%) resident in the country has a foreign background and every third (32.3%) has at least one parent born abroad. The most common foreign ancestry is Finnish.[4]
Statistics Sweden projects a Swedish population of 12.6 million in 2070.[5]
Estimated birth rate (blue) and death rate in Sweden for the period of 1735 to 2000. The graph indicates strong population growth for the period of 1800 to 1970, and a beginning population decline from the 1980s.The birth and death rates in Sweden 1950–2008.
Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[8]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Population change
Population density in the counties of Sweden. people/km²
The 2005 Swedish census showed an increase of 1,488,322 compared to the 1990 census, an average increase of 88,680 annually. During the 1930s, birth rate increased by more than 88128.5 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.[9][10]
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.[11]
Statistics Sweden projects the following population development in Sweden:[12]
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.[13]
Urbanisation and population density
The population density is just over 25 people per km2 (65 per square mile), with 1,437 persons per km2 in localities (continuous settlement with at least 200 inhabitants).[14],[15] 87% of the population live in urban areas, which cover 1.5% of the entire land area.[16] 63% of Swedes are in large urban areas.[16] The population density is substantially higher in the south than in the north. The capital city Stockholm has a municipal population of about 950,000 (with 1.5 million in the urban area and 2.3 million in the metropolitan area). The second- and third-largest cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. Greater Gothenburg counts just over a million inhabitants and the same goes for the western part of Scania, along the Öresund. The Öresund Region, the Danish-Swedish cross-border region around the Öresund that Malmö is part of, has a population of 4 million. Outside of major cities, areas with notably higher population density include the agricultural part of Östergötland, the western coast, the area around Lake Mälaren and the agricultural area around Uppsala.
Norrland, which covers approximately 60% of the Swedish territory, has a very low population density (below 5 people per square kilometer). The mountains and most of the remote coastal areas are almost unpopulated. Low population density exists also in large parts of western Svealand, as well as southern and central Småland. An area known as Finnveden, which is located in the south-west of Småland, and mainly below the 57th parallel, can also be considered as almost empty of people.
Origin
Population pyramid of Sweden over time by originPercentage born to foreign born mothers
The majority of the population are ethnic Swedes, or people who can trace most of their ethnicity to Sweden 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 Sámi people, who have a history of practicing hunting and gathering and gradually adopting a largely semi-nomadic reindeer herding lifestyle. While the Sámi have lived in Fennoscandia from at earliest 3,500 years[17] to at latest around 2,650 years,[18] Sámi settlement of Scandinavia does not predate Norse/Scandinavian settlement of Scandinavia, as sometimes popularly assumed.[citation needed] The migration of Germanic-speaking peoples to Southern Scandinavia happened independently and separate from the later Sámi migrations into the northern regions.[19] Today, the Sámi language holds the status of official minority language in the Norrbotten, Västerbotten and Jämtland counties.
In addition to the Sámi, Tornedalers, and Sweden Finns, Jewish and Roma people have national minority status in Sweden.[20]
There are no official statistics on ethnicity, but according to Statistics Sweden, around two million (19.6%) inhabitants in Sweden are born in another country. Of those, more than half are Swedish citizens.[21] The most common countries of origin were Syria (1.82%), Finland (1.45%), Iraq (1.41%), Poland (0.91%), Iran (0.76%) and Somalia (0.67%).[22] The average age in Sweden is 41.1 years.[23]
There are at least two studies that forecast future demographic changes in Sweden largely due to immigration and low birth rates. A 2006 study states that "[based upon current data, extrapolated with relevant assumptions] Sweden and the Netherlands would have majority foreign-origin populations by the end of the [21st] century."[24] A 2018 study concluded that in Sweden by "2065, the share of the native population is [set] to decrease to 49%, the Western population is projected to fall to 63%, and the Muslim population increase to 25%."[25] Thomas Lindh, at the time head researcher for the Swedish Institute for Futures Studies, claimed in an interview that by the year "2050, more than half of Sweden's population will be immigrants or second-generation immigrants."[26]
In 2021 80,465 (70.4%) babies were born to Swedish-born mothers while 33,798 (29.6%) were born to foreign-born mothers. The total fertility rate for Swedish-born women was 1.62, for foreign-born ones 1.86.
[34]
In 2022 73,294 (70.0%) babies were born to Swedish-born mothers while 31,440 (30.0%) were born to foreign-born mothers. The total fertility rate for Swedish-born women was 1.47, for foreign-born ones 1.69.[35]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021) (Population statistics are compiled from registers. Data refer to registered resident population.): [37]
Age Group
Male
Female
Total
%
Total
5 222 847
5 156 448
10 379 295
100
0–4
305 880
289 196
595 076
5.73
5–9
319 463
300 892
620 355
5.98
10–14
320 338
302 029
622 367
6.00
15–19
298 045
278 531
576 576
5.56
20–24
307 498
271 966
579 464
5.58
25–29
369 377
348 382
717 759
6.92
30–34
378 916
361 033
739 949
7.13
35–39
338 542
320 188
658 730
6.35
40–44
323 615
310 620
634 235
6.11
45–49
338 455
328 772
667 227
6.43
50–54
339 035
329 537
668 572
6.44
55–59
324 658
317 015
641 673
6.18
60–64
285 462
283 764
569 226
5.48
65-69
265 210
271 524
536 734
5.17
70-74
268 233
282 384
550 617
5.30
75-79
219 254
237 761
457 015
4.40
80-84
125 935
155 095
281 030
2.71
85-89
64 699
98 675
163 374
1.57
90-94
24 686
51 690
76 376
0.74
95-99
5 132
15 359
20 491
0.20
100+
414
2 035
2 449
0.02
Age group
Male
Female
Total
Percent
0–14
945 681
892 117
1 837 798
17.71
15–64
3 303 603
3 149 808
6 453 411
62.18
65+
973 563
1 114 523
2 088 086
20.12
Migration
Population pyramid segmented by background. Swedish background in color, foreign background in gray
Prior to World War II, emigrants generally outnumbered immigrants. Since then, net migration has been positive with many immigrants coming to Sweden from the 1970s through today.
Emigration
Between 1820 and 1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population at the time, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States. There are more than 4.4 million Swedish Americans according to a 2006 US Census Bureau estimate.[38] In Canada, the community of Swedish ancestry is 330,000 strong.[39]
Increases (1984–2014) of asylum in Sweden by origin
Serbia and Montenegro: 118 669
Iraq: 98 211
Syria: 65 616
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 58 166
Somalia: 55 123
Iran: 50 571
Other countries: 134 479
Unknown: 43 350
Data source (Swedish government).
The demographic profile of Sweden has altered considerably due to immigration patterns since the 1970s. As of 2020, Statistics Sweden reported that around 2,686,040 or 25.9% 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.[40] Also taking into account people with only one parent born abroad, this number increases to one third (33.5%).[41]
Additionally, the birth rate among immigrant women after arriving in Sweden is somewhat higher than among ethnic Swedes.[42] Taking into account the fact that immigrant women have on average fewer[citation needed] children than Swedish women of comparable age, however, 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 thus not included in the statistics.[43]
Historical immigration
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.[44] 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.[45]
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, was essential to create the tax-base required for the expansion of the strong public sector now characteristic of Scandinavia.[citation needed] but the influx gave rise to an anti-Finnish sentiment within Sweden and Norway.
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
Swedish and foreign born population pyramid in 2022
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.[47]
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.[48][49] 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.[50]
The first group of Assyrians/Syriacs moved to Sweden from Lebanon in 1967. Many of them live in Södertälje (Stockholm).[51][52] There are also around 40,000 Roma in Sweden.[53] Some Roma people have long historical roots in Sweden, while others are more recent migrants from elsewhere in Europe.
Immigrants from Western Asia 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.[54] Most of those immigrants came from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Syria, according to Statistics Sweden.[54]
Immigration of Iraqis increased dramatically during the Iraq War, beginning in 2003. 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.[55]
A significant number of Syrian Christians have also settled in Sweden. There have also been immigrants from South-Central Asia such as Afghanistan and India. 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).
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 49 countries with over 10,000 foreign-born persons in 2023.[56]
The Swedish language is by far the dominating language in Sweden, and is used by the government administration. English is also widely spoken and is taught in public schools.
Meänkieli-speakers have the same aforementioned rights in the following nine municipalites: Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala, Övertorneå, Kalix, Luleå, Stockholm and Umeå.[59]
Finnish-speakers have the same aforementioned rights in 66 of Sweden's 290 municipalities.[60]
The majority (52.1%) of the population belongs to the Church of Sweden,[62] the Lutheran church that was disestablished as a state church in 2000. Until 1996, those who had family members in the church automatically became members at birth.[63] Other Christian denominations in Sweden include the Roman Catholic Church (see Catholic Church in Sweden), several Orthodox churches in diaspora, Baptist, Pentecostal, Neo-pietistic (nyevangeliska) and other evangelical Christian churches (frikyrkor = 'free churches'). Shamanism persisted among the Sámi people up until the 18th century, but no longer exists in its traditional form as most Sámi 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 many Muslims, as well as a number of Buddhists and Baháʼís in Sweden, mainly as a result of 20th and 21st century immigration. There is also a small Zoroastrian community in Sweden.[64]
The Swedish government's response to homelessness has included commissioning national surveys on homelessness during the last decade that allow for direct comparison between Sweden, Denmark and Norway.[66] The three countries have very similar definitions of homelessness, with minor variations.[67]
Some researchers maintain that measures to counteract homelessness in Sweden are largely dependent on a general premise equating homelessness with addiction, mental illness and deviance.[68] On the other hand, youth homelessness is considered a child protection problem.[69]
^Crude migration change (per 1,000) is a trend analysis, an extrapolation based average population change (current year minus previous) minus natural change of the current year (see table vital statistics). As average population is an estimate of the population in the middle of the year and not end of the year.
^In fertility rates, 2.1 and above represents a stable or increasing population and have been marked blue, while 2.0 and below leads to an aging and, ultimately, declining population.
^Price, Theron Douglas (2015). Ancient Scandinavia: An Archaeological History from the First Humans to the Vikings. Oxford University Press. ISBN9780190231972.
^Stewart, Sarah; Hintze, Almut; Williams, Alan (2016). The Zoroastrian Flame: Exploring Religion, History and Tradition. London: I.B Tauris. ISBN9781784536336.
^Busch-Geertsema, Volker. "Defining and measuring homelessness." Homelessness Research in Europe: Festschrift for Bill Edgar and Joe Doherty (2010): 19-39.
^Benjaminsen, Lars, and Evelyn Dyb. "The Effectiveness of Homeless Policies–Variations among the Scandinavian Countries." European Journal of Homelessness 2 (2008).
^Löfstrand, Cecilia Hansen. "Reforming the work to combat long-term homelessness in Sweden." Acta Sociologica 53, no. 1 (2010): 19-34.
^Healy, Karen, Tommy Lundström, and Marie Sallnäs. "A comparison of out-of-home care for children and young people in Australia and Sweden: Worlds apart?." Australian Social Work 64, no. 4 (2011): 416-431.
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