How has Sweden changed — and what do the numbers say?
We start as broadly as possible: Sweden 1990 vs Sweden 2025. Then we zoom in on demographics — big cities, municipalities, language at home, religion and social trust. Finally the tools to see for yourself (your municipality, maps) and the outward perspective — how other countries do it.
Overview
What happened to Sweden? — overview
Chapter entry point: 30–40 years of change in crime, demographics, trust, honour culture and business — with official sources and the headline charts.
Read the chapter — What happened to Sweden? — overviewSweden then and now (1990 → 2025)
Population, composition, economy, crime, schools. A compilation showing the magnitude of change.
Read the chapter — Sweden then and now (1990 → 2025)Demographic change
SCB data on foreign-born and second generation over time. Pyramid and time series for the whole period.
Read the chapter — Demographic changePensions & demographics
Public debt is low (~32% of GDP) — the dependency ratio is the challenge. SCB projection to 2070.
Read the chapter — Pensions & demographicsHealthcare & elder care — time series
Care guarantee (90 days), youth psychiatry wait times (30 days) and IVO criticism of elder care. Official statistics from SKR and IVO.
Read the chapter — Healthcare & elder care — time seriesHousing & rent control
8.8-year queue in Stockholm 2024. Rent control — motives and critique without resolving the debate.
Read the chapter — Housing & rent controlBig cities then and now
Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö — how the composition has changed neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
Read the chapter — Big cities then and nowDemographics by municipality
All 290 municipalities — foreign-born share, development 2000–2024 and projection.
Read the chapter — Demographics by municipalityOrigin — where people came from
Deep dive into which countries foreign-born residents came from, how the composition has shifted over time, and what it means demographically.
Read the chapter — Origin — where people came fromSwedish as mother tongue
Share of pupils with Swedish as mother tongue in compulsory school, by municipality and over time. Skolverket data.
Read the chapter — Swedish as mother tongueIslam in Sweden
Pew, SST and SCB-based estimates of Muslim population over time — why the numbers vary and which range is reasonable.
Read the chapter — Islam in SwedenMosques
Number of mosques, funding and denominations. What SST grant statistics show.
Read the chapter — MosquesSocial trust
SOM Institute measurements. How high Swedish trust has developed — overall and broken down by domain.
Read the chapter — Social trustSchools & PISA
PISA development 2000–2022 against the Nordics. Including National Audit Office report on pupils excluded from the 2018 measurement.
Read the chapter — Schools & PISASchool results — time series
Year-9 upper-secondary eligibility, merit value and PISA 2000–2024, split by native/foreign-born. Skolverket and OECD — the raw data behind the chapter.
Read the chapter — School results — time seriesYour municipality
Look up your own municipality — population, economy, crime and vulnerable areas in one report.
Read the chapter — Your municipalityMaps & data
Interactive Sweden maps: demographics, net cost, vulnerable areas. Click for full municipal report.
Read the chapter — Maps & dataHistory 1983–2022
Long time series on immigration, asylum and net contribution. Turning points and political decisions in one.
Read the chapter — History 1983–2022Other countries
Comparative figures for Denmark, Norway, Germany, Netherlands — net contribution and employment.
Read the chapter — Other countriesOther countries — how they do it
Policy and rules in comparable countries: language requirements, support requirements, citizenship, family migration.
Read the chapter — Other countries — how they do itGender dysphoria in adolescents (healthcare 13–17)
National Board of Health incidence data for girls 13–17. The shift toward caution: Karolinska 2021, SBU 2022, Cass 2024.
Read the chapter — Gender dysphoria in adolescents (healthcare 13–17)