1983
- Alla utrikes födda (mdkr)
- 8
- Flyktingar (mdkr)
- −2
- Övriga utrikes födda (mdkr)
- 10
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History · 1983–2022
Foreign-born annual net contribution to public finances 1983–2022, split between refugees (incl. family members) and other foreign-born.
The question this page answers
Har utrikes föddas nettobidrag till de offentliga finanserna blivit bättre eller sämre under fyra decennier?
Key figures — the most important numbers on this page
Foreign-born annual net, 2022
≈ +6 bn SEK
NIER Special Study 117 (2025).
Refugee group net, 2015
≈ −41.5 bn SEK
Ruist ESO 2018:3 — historical trough.
Turning point
2017
Trend stops worsening after policy tightening.
Time series
1983–2022
40 years of consistent register data.
1983–2022 · miljarder kronor per år (2022 års priser) · Sweden
Tre serier: samtliga utrikes födda (yta), flyktinggruppen och övriga utrikes födda (linjer). Värden under nollinjen betyder att gruppen kostade mer än den betalade in det året.
Årligt nettobidrag från utrikes födda: Samtliga utrikes födda (mdkr) moves from 8 (1983) to 6 (2022) — down 2 miljarder kronor per år. Full values are available in the data table below (1983–2022, Sverige). The series is broken at 2015 — values before and after the break are not directly comparable. Rekordstort asylmottagande 2015–2016 slår igenom i etableringskostnaderna.
| Year | Samtliga utrikes födda (mdkr) | Flyktinggruppen (mdkr) | Övriga utrikes födda (mdkr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,983 | 8 | -2 | 10 |
| 1,984 | 8.6 | -2.3 | 10.9 |
| 1,985 | 9.1 | -2.6 | 11.7 |
| 1,986 | 9.7 | -2.9 | 12.6 |
| 1,987 | 10.3 | -3.1 | 13.4 |
| 1,988 | 10.9 | -3.4 | 14.3 |
| 1,989 | 11.4 | -3.7 | 15.1 |
| 1,990 | 12 | -4 | 16 |
| 1,991 | 6.5 | -8.5 | 15 |
| 1,992 | 1 | -13 | 14 |
| 1,993 | -4.5 | -17.5 | 13 |
| 1,994 | -10 | -22 | 12 |
| 1,995 | -7.7 | -21 | 13.3 |
| 1,996 | -5.3 | -20 | 14.7 |
| 1,997 | -3 | -19 | 16 |
| 1,998 | -0.7 | -18 | 17.3 |
| 1,999 | 1.7 | -17 | 18.7 |
| 2,000 | 4 | -16 | 20 |
| 2,001 | 6 | -15.7 | 21.7 |
| 2,002 | 8 | -15.4 | 23.4 |
| 2,003 | 10 | -15.1 | 25.1 |
| 2,004 | 12 | -14.9 | 26.9 |
| 2,005 | 14 | -14.6 | 28.6 |
| 2,006 | 16 | -14.3 | 30.3 |
| 2,007 | 18 | -14 | 32 |
| 2,008 | 14 | -16 | 30 |
| 2,009 | 10 | -18 | 28 |
| 2,010 | 6 | -20 | 26 |
| 2,011 | -1.8 | -24.3 | 22.4 |
| 2,012 | -9.6 | -28.6 | 18.8 |
| 2,013 | -17.4 | -32.9 | 15.2 |
| 2,014 | -25.2 | -37.2 | 11.6 |
| 2,015 | -33 | -41.5 | 8 |
| 2,016 | -30.5 | -39.7 | 9 |
| 2,017 | -28 | -38 | 10 |
| 2,018 | -19 | -33 | 14 |
| 2,019 | -10 | -28 | 18 |
| 2,020 | -4.7 | -26 | 21.3 |
| 2,021 | 0.7 | -24 | 24.7 |
| 2,022 | 6 | -22 | 28 |
Derived SVERIGEFAKTA calculates from published values
Series break 2015: Rekordstort asylmottagande 2015–2016 slår igenom i etableringskostnaderna. (Swedish Migration Agency)
Method: Skillnaden mellan skatter och avgifter som gruppen betalar in och de offentliga utgifter som kan hänföras till gruppen, per år och i fasta priser. Serien bygger på publicerade brytpunkter (1983, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022) i KI Specialstudie 117; mellanliggande år är visuellt interpolerade och ska inte läsas som egna mätpunkter.
Source: Konjunkturinstitutet — Specialstudie 117 (2025) (accessed 2026-07-27) · Ruist — ESO 2018:3 (referenspunkt 2015) (accessed 2026-07-27)
Turning point (2017): the year the net contribution stopped worsening and began to recover — after the 2015–2016 asylum peak, border controls were introduced and labour-market integration gradually improved. The deficit did not disappear, but the trend turned upward.
Y-axis: billion SEK per year (2022 prices). Exact annual values are in NIER Special Study 117 — intermediate years are visually interpolated between published breakpoints (1983, 1990, 1994, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022).
| Year | Alla utrikes födda (mdkr) | Flyktingar (mdkr) | Övriga utrikes födda (mdkr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 8 | −2 | 10 |
| 1990 | 12 | −4 | 16 |
| 1994 | −10 | −22 | 12 |
| 2000 | 4 | −16 | 20 |
| 2007 | 18 | −14 | 32 |
| 2010 | 6 | −20 | 26 |
| 2015 | −33 | −41,5 | 8 |
| 2017 | −28 | −38 | 10 |
| 2019 | −10 | −28 | 18 |
| 2022 | 6 | −22 | 28 |
Endast publicerade brytpunkter från KI Specialstudie 117 — mellanliggande år är visuellt interpolerade i grafen.
Long-term pattern
Other foreign-born have largely contributed positively throughout the period, peaking around 2007.
2015 — historic dip
The large 2015 refugee inflow produced the largest negative deviation for the refugee group, about −41.5 bn SEK (Ruist 2018).
2017 → turning point
For 2022, NIER's published cross-sectional result was about +SEK 6bn for all foreign-born people: −SEK 22bn for the refugee group and +SEK 28bn for other foreign-born people. Ruist's lifetime figure per refugee (about −SEK 74,000) is a different measure and must not be confused with a one-year figure.
Objective observations — not interpretations
How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover
Agencies and research institutions behind this page
3
agencies/institutions
4
reports & studies
2
primary datasets
Short answers to what is most often discussed
Logical next steps if you want to understand the background
By residence permit
Net contribution by ground: work, study, EEA, family, refugee — plus the 2026 policy change.
Country comparison
Eight countries side by side: Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Finland.
Total cost
Why bottom-up and top-down always yield a range — and what that range is.
Demographics over time
How Sweden's population composition has shifted since the 1970s.
Source: National Institute of Economic Research, Special Study 117 (PDF).
Your municipality
Se hur invandringen ser ut just där du bor — kommunkort med SCB-data.
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