People born in Syria made up the largest group of Sweden's foreign-born population in 2023. Nearly ******* people born in Syria lived in Sweden as of 2023. Iraqis made up the second-largest group of foreign-born citizens, followed by Sweden's neighboring country, Finland. The total number of foreign-born citizens living in the Scandinavian country increased over the past 10 years. Migration contributes to population growth Sweden's positive net migration rate meant that it's population increased steadily since 2000. In 2022, over 100,000 people immigrated to Sweden, which was still significantly lower than the record year 2016. Syrians fleeing civil war The record number of refugees arriving in 2016 was driven by Syrians fleeing the Civil War in the country. Following the Arab spring and protests for democracy in 2011, fighting broke out between the Syrian national army and several armed factions. Several million people fled the country as a result, some of them seeking refuge in Sweden.

Until 2016, Sweden had among the most generous asylum laws within the European Union. As a result, the immigration increased for several years, reaching 163,000 immigrants in 2016. During 2016, Sweden sharpened their asylum laws, and the number of immigrants started to decline. In 2020, also as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of immigrants in Sweden fell to 82,500, before increasing slightly again in 2021 and 2022. Over the last years, there was also a decline in the number of asylum grants in Sweden.

Large inflow of refugees

The so-called refugee crisis in the European Union that started in 2015 was characterized by a large inflow of refugees from non-European countries, mainly traversing the Mediterranean Sea in order to reach the European Union. In regards to the immigration trends to Sweden, one of the biggest groups in the last years consisted of Swedes returning to Sweden. Further countries that were among the top countries of origin in the latest years, were India, Syria, Germany, and Poland.

Decline in asylum grants in the European Union

Sweden is not the only country that sharpened the rules for asylum grants in 2016, it has been observed within the whole European Union. Since the end of 2016, there has been a significant decline in the number of accepted first instance asylum applications within the European Union.

Sweden - Foreign-born population was 2169296.00 in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Sweden - Foreign-born population - last updated from the EUROSTAT on October of 2025. Historically, Sweden - Foreign-born population reached a record high of 2169296.00 in December of 2024 and a record low of 1337214.00 in December of 2010.

The number of people born outside of Sweden as a share of the Swedish population increased since 2010. That year, 1.38 million of the country's inhabitants were born outside of Sweden, whereas this number had increased to 2.17 million by 2023. In other words, foreign-born citizens made up around 20 percent of the population in Sweden in 2023. Of the 2.17 million people born outside of Sweden, the highest number came from Syria.

The majority of immigrants moving to Sweden in 2023 were Swedes returning to Sweden. Nearly 10,600 Swedes returned to their home country in 2023. The remaining top five countries of origin were India, Poland, Germany, and Syria. In total, 95,000 people immigrated to Sweden in 2023.

Syrians largest immigrant group

Of Sweden's foreign-born population, Syrians made up the largest group. Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, many people left the country in search of a better life in Europe, some of which landed in Sweden. In 2022, Sweden hosted the world's 7th largest group of Syrian refugees.

Immigration drives population increase in Sweden

Over the past decade, Sweden has seen a positive migration rate, with more people immigrating to the country than people leaving. This is one of the main reasons why the country's population has been increasing steadily over recent years.

This dataset was generated through the Diversity Barometer, a study tracking attitudes towards ethnic diversity and immigration in Sweden since 2005. The data were collected annually between 2005 and 2014, and biennially thereafter. Unweighted samples, consisting of adults aged between 18 and 75 years were used. The data can be managed and analyzed in the statistical program SPSS. The dataset includes the following variable categories: 1. Respondent descriptives 2. Interaction with persons with foreign background at school, work and in the neighborhood. 3. Cultural rights for persons with foreign background. 4. Social rights for persons with foreign background. 5. Immigration as beneficial to the Swedish society. 6. Immigration as a threat to the Swedish society. 7. Attitudes towards Swedish immigration policies. 8. Immigrants are exploited in the Swedish labor market. 9. Interest in interacting with immigrants and learning foreign cultures. 10. Attitudes towards religion in general, and Islam in particular. 11. Willingness to live in the same neighborhood as immigrants. 12. Immigrant-neighborhoods are problem neighborhoods.

In 2023, immigrants aged 25 to 34 years formed the biggest group in Sweden with nearly 30,000 people. The second biggest group of immigrants was people aged 35 to 44, closely followed by the age group 15 to 24. A total of 102,000 immigrants arrived in Sweden in 2022.

The research project Political Resocialization of Immigrants (PRI) examines political interest and participation among immigrants. The aim of the project was to study immigrant´s relations to community and politics; their living conditions; experiences of immigration to Sweden; factors possible to stimulate increasing political commitment; political attitudes and political behaviour; representatives and demands; information about the Swedish administrative and political system. More than 2 500 interviews were conducted in 1975-1976 with random samples of immigrants born in Finland, Yugoslavia, Poland and Turkey, and a comparison group of Swedish citizens in the 18-67 age group and domiciled in Stockholm municipality. Stratified samples drawn from among the respondents from the first-wave survey were reinterviewed in an election survey during the weeks following the municipal elections of September 1976, in which immigrants participated for the first time. The first-wave interview included questions on: time of moving to Sweden and Stockholm respectively; places of living; language spoken by the respondent, and language spoken by partner and children; newspaper read (Swedish and from native country) and news listened to (Swedish and from other countries); how the respondent would act in a situation when there is a risk of unemployment; circle of friends; organizational membership and activities; knowledge of who to address in Stockholm in different situations; contacts with authorities; important problems in society; interest in Swedish politics; participation in elections in native country and in Sweden; comparison of the personal situation in a number of areas at present and when living in native country; own situation compared with other immigrants and with Swedes respectively; present and earlier occupation; placement in a ´pyramid of society´ in native country and in Sweden; organizational activities of parents; religiosity, own and parents´. In connection with this interview the respondent had to fill in a questionnaire, in which she/he had to state if she/he agreed or not with a number of general statements and a number of statements concerning her/his own nationality. The election survey included questions about election programs in radio and television, study circles discussing the election, information pamphlets, political meetings, knowledge of candidates, voting, important issues in the election campaign, political parties with special interest in issues concerning immigrants, attempts to influence other people how to vote, comparison between Swedish political parties and parties in the native country, interest in election turn-out, and when the respondent decided to vote/not to vote.

Sweden SE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 16.768 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.761 % for 2010. Sweden SE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 11.890 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 16.768 % in 2015 and a record low of 9.216 % in 1990. Sweden SE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Sweden SE: Net Migration data was reported at 200,000.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 253,958.000 Person for 2012. Sweden SE: Net Migration data is updated yearly, averaging 132,774.500 Person from Dec 1962 (Median) to 2017, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 262,453.000 Person in 2007 and a record low of 18,798.000 Person in 1972. Sweden SE: Net Migration data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Net migration is the net total of migrants during the period, that is, the total number of immigrants less the annual number of emigrants, including both citizens and noncitizens. Data are five-year estimates.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Sum;

Objectives: To describe the home environment in terms of housing conditions and their association with child health in a disadvantaged immigrant population. Design: A cross-sectional observational study. Setting: Enrolment took place during 2010–2011 in Rosengård, Malmö, Sweden. Participants: Children aged 0–13 years in 2 study neighbourhoods were recruited from local health records and from schools. 359 children participated, with a participation rate of 40%. Data on health, lifestyle and apartment characteristics from questionnaire-led interviews with the mothers of the children were obtained together with data from home inspections carried out by trained health communicators. Outcome measures: Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate ORs for various health outcomes, adjusted for demographic information and lifestyle factors. Results: The housing conditions were very poor, especially in one of the study neighbourhoods where 67% of the apartments had been sanitised of cockroaches, 27% were infested with cockroaches and 40% had a visible mould. The association between housing conditions and health was mostly inconclusive, but there were statistically significant associations between current asthma and dampness (OR=4.1, 95% CI 1.7 to 9.9), between asthma medication and dampness (OR=2.8, 95% CI 1.2 to 6.4), and between mould and headache (OR=4.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 14.8). The presence of cockroaches was associated with emergency care visits, with colds, with headache and with difficulty falling asleep, and worse general health was associated with mould and presence of cockroaches. Conclusions: The associations between dampness and asthma, and the association between mould and headache, are in line with current knowledge. The presence of cockroaches seemed to be associated with various outcomes, including those related to mental well-being, which is less described in the literature. The results of the present study are hypothesis generating and provide strong incentives for future studies in this study population.

The employment rate among Sweden's foreign-born population increased slowly from 2011 to 2019, but fell in 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19, reaching 60.6 percent in 2021. Following the peak of the pandemic, this increased to 67.1 percent in 2023. Simultaneously, the unemployment rate increased, nearly reaching 20 percent in 2021 after being around 15 percent in the years before the pandemic. It then fell to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, and reached 15.1 by 2023. By comparison, the overall employment rate in Sweden was 69.4 percent in 2023, making it five percentage points higher than among the foreign-born population.

The Swedish income panel was originally set up in the beginning of the 90s to make studies of how immigrants assimilate in the Swedish labour market possible. It consists of large samples of foreign-born and Swedish-born persons. Income information from registers is added for nearly 40 years. In addition income information relating to spouses is also available as well as for a subset of mothers and fathers. This makes it possible to construct measures of household income based on a relatively narrow definition. However, starting in 1998 there is also more information making it possible to include children over 18 and their incomes in the family. By matching with some different additional registers information has been added for people who have been unemployed or involved in labour market programmes during the 90s, on causes of deaths for people who have deceased since 1978 and on recent arrived immigrants from various origins. It has turned out that the data-base is quite useful for analysing research-questions other than originally motivating construction of the panel. The panel has been used for cross country comparisons of immigrants in the labour market and to analyse income mobility for different breakdowns of the population, and analyses the development in cohort income. There have been analyses of social assistance receipt among immigrants as well as studies of intergeneration mobility of income, the labour market situation of young immigrants and the second generation of immigrants. On-going work includes evaluation of labour market training programmes and studies of early retirement among immigrants. Planned work includes studies of the economic transition from child to adulthood during the 80s and 90s as well as studies of how frequent immigrant children are subject to measures under the Social Service Act and the Care of Youth Persons Act. The potentials of the Swedish Income Panel can be understood if one compares it with better known income-panels in other countries. For example SWIP covers more years and has a larger sample than the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). On the other hand, the fact that information is obtained from registers only makes this Swedish panel less rich in variables. There are striking parallels between the Gothenburg Income Panel and the labour market panel at the Centre for Labour Market and Social Research in Aarhus for the Danish population.

BackgroundHigher risks of psychiatric disorders and lower-than-average subjective health in adulthood have been demonstrated in offspring of immigrants in Sweden compared with offspring of native Swedes, and linked to relative socioeconomic disadvantage. The present study investigated mortality rates in relation to this inequity from a gender perspective.MethodsWe used data from national registers covering the entire Swedish population aged 18-65 years. Offspring of foreign-born parents who were either Swedish born or had received residency in Sweden before school age (

The Swedish income panel was originally set up in the beginning of the 90s to make studies of how immigrants assimilate in the Swedish labour market possible. It consists of large samples of foreign-born and Swedish-born persons. Income information from registers is added for nearly 40 years. In addition income information relating to spouses is also available as well as for a subset of mothers and fathers. This makes it possible to construct measures of household income based on a relatively narrow definition. However, starting in 1998 there is also more information making it possible to include children over 18 and their incomes in the family. By matching with some different additional registers information has been added for people who have been unemployed or involved in labour market programmes during the 90s, on causes of deaths for people who have deceased since 1978 and on recent arrived immigrants from various origins. It has turned out that the data-base is quite useful for analysing research-questions other than originally motivating construction of the panel. The panel has been used for cross country comparisons of immigrants in the labour market and to analyse income mobility for different breakdowns of the population, and analyses the development in cohort income. There have been analyses of social assistance receipt among immigrants as well as studies of intergeneration mobility of income, the labour market situation of young immigrants and the second generation of immigrants. On-going work includes evaluation of labour market training programmes and studies of early retirement among immigrants. Planned work includes studies of the economic transition from child to adulthood during the 80s and 90s as well as studies of how frequent immigrant children are subject to measures under the Social Service Act and the Care of Youth Persons Act. The potentials of the Swedish Income Panel can be understood if one compares it with better known income-panels in other countries. For example SWIP covers more years and has a larger sample than the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP). On the other hand, the fact that information is obtained from registers only makes this Swedish panel less rich in variables. There are striking parallels between the Gothenburg Income Panel and the labour market panel at the Centre for Labour Market and Social Research in Aarhus for the Danish population.

Sweden Number of Immigrants: Female: Ghana data was reported at 66.000 Person in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 72.000 Person for 2016. Sweden Number of Immigrants: Female: Ghana data is updated yearly, averaging 61.500 Person from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2017, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 82.000 Person in 2011 and a record low of 27.000 Person in 2001. Sweden Number of Immigrants: Female: Ghana data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Sweden. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.G009: Number of Immigrants: by Sex and Country.

Sweden Number of Immigrants: Male: Colombia data was reported at 131.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 95.000 Person for 2016. Sweden Number of Immigrants: Male: Colombia data is updated yearly, averaging 130.000 Person from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2017, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 199.000 Person in 2001 and a record low of 88.000 Person in 2014. Sweden Number of Immigrants: Male: Colombia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Sweden. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Sweden – Table SE.G009: Number of Immigrants: by Sex and Country.

Largest groups of foreign-born/immigrants in Sweden and Norway per 1.1.2019.

Of the foreigners living in Sweden, people from North and Central America as well as Oceania had the highest education levels, with respectively 50 and 46 percent having a post-secondary education of three years or more. An upper secondary education was the most common education among people from other Nordic countries and European countries outside the Nordics and the European Union. Meanwhile, nearly 30 percent of people from Africa had a primary education or lower.

The research project Political Resocialization of Immigrants (PRI) examines political interest and participation among immigrants. The aim of the project was to study immigrant´s relations to community and politics; their living conditions; experiences of immigration to Sweden; factors possible to stimulate increasing political commitment; political attitudes and political behaviour; representatives and demands; information about the Swedish administrative and political system. More than 2 500 interviews were conducted in 1975-1976 with random samples of immigrants born in Finland, Yugoslavia, Poland and Turkey, and a comparison group of Swedish citizens in the 18-67 age group and domiciled in Stockholm municipality. Stratified samples drawn from among the respondents from the first-wave survey were reinterviewed in an election survey during the weeks following the municipal elections of September 1976, in which immigrants participated for the first time. The first-wave interview included questions on: time of moving to Sweden and Stockholm respectively; places of living; language spoken by the respondent, and language spoken by partner and children; newspaper read (Swedish and from native country) and news listened to (Swedish and from other countries); how the respondent would act in a situation when there is a risk of unemployment; circle of friends; organizational membership and activities; knowledge of who to address in Stockholm in different situations; contacts with authorities; important problems in society; interest in Swedish politics; participation in elections in native country and in Sweden; comparison of the personal situation in a number of areas at present and when living in native country; own situation compared with other immigrants and with Swedes respectively; present and earlier occupation; placement in a ´pyramid of society´ in native country and in Sweden; organizational activities of parents; religiosity, own and parents´. In connection with this interview the respondent had to fill in a questionnaire, in which she/he had to state if she/he agreed or not with a number of general statements and a number of statements concerning her/his own nationality. The election survey included questions about election programs in radio and television, study circles discussing the election, information pamphlets, political meetings, knowledge of candidates, voting, important issues in the election campaign, political parties with special interest in issues concerning immigrants, attempts to influence other people how to vote, comparison between Swedish political parties and parties in the native country, interest in election turn-out, and when the respondent decided to vote/not to vote.