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Parallel society · indicators

Parallel society

Four indicators that together sketch the emergence of parallel social structures in Sweden: the Swedish Police assessment of vulnerable areas, honour-related cases at NGOs, cases of children taken abroad (the County Administrative Board's National Competence Team), and revoked state grants at MUCF.

Sources: Swedish Police, TRIS (NGO), Origo (NGO), County Administrative Board of Östergötland, MUCF.

Last updated: View changelog

Fact pageSources checked

Vulnerable areas 2015–2025

Swedish Police assessments. Note the method break in 2025 — the “risk area” category was dropped and the areas are now classified as either “vulnerable” or “especially vulnerable”.

2015

Especially vulnerable
15
Risk area
6
Vulnerable
32
Total
53

2017

Especially vulnerable
23
Risk area
6
Vulnerable
32
Total
61

2019

Especially vulnerable
22
Risk area
10
Vulnerable
28
Total
60

2021

Especially vulnerable
19
Risk area
14
Vulnerable
28
Total
61

2023

Especially vulnerable
17
Risk area
15
Vulnerable
27
Total
59

2025

Especially vulnerable
19
Risk area
—
Vulnerable
46
Total
65

Honour-related cases at NGOs

  • 2015412 TRIS · 290 Origo
  • 2018612 TRIS · 510 Origo
  • 2020738 TRIS · 620 Origo
  • 2022891 TRIS · 740 Origo
  • 2024980 TRIS · 810 Origo

Children taken abroad

  • 2018612
  • 2020538
  • 2022705
  • 2024780

Source: County Administrative Board of Östergötland — National Competence Team.

MUCF — revoked / denied grants

  • 20198 decisions
  • 202011 decisions
  • 202215 decisions
  • 202419 decisions

Source: MUCF — grants under democracy criteria.

Primary sources

The question this page answers

What is a vulnerable area and what does 'parallel society' mean — and what can the numbers actually show?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

2025

65

Areas on the Swedish Police assessment

2025

19

Of which 'especially vulnerable'

2015–2025

6

Number of assessment editions

2025

3 → 2

Categories — 'risk area' dropped

Method

Judgement

Aggregate police assessment, not a scoring model

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

  • Number of areas per category at each publication — not an annual measurement.
  • Population and municipalities affected as described by the police in each edition.
  • That socio-economic indicators (income, education, employment) are on average worse in classified areas — but do not alone determine the classification.
  • That crime indicators (shootings, explosions, witness reluctance, open drug dealing) occur more often — these too are weighed in the overall judgement.
  • That electoral turnout is lower in classified areas, often 15–25 percentage points below the national average.
  • That the category list is not a mechanical scoring model — it rests on a local police judgement described qualitatively.
  • That 'parallel society' is a broader concept than 'vulnerable area' and is not used as a formal classification by the Swedish Police.

Definitions

How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover

Vulnerable area
A geographically defined area where socio-economic conditions are low and criminals hold influence over the local community. The definition rests on a local police judgement of open drug dealing, violence, threats against witnesses and the difficulty of public agencies operating normally.Source: Swedish Police — Criminal Influence in the Local Community (assessments 2015/2017/2019/2021/2023/2025).
Risk area
A category present in the 2015–2023 assessments describing areas between 'vulnerable' and 'especially vulnerable'. Dropped in the 2025 assessment — those areas are now classified as either 'vulnerable' or 'especially vulnerable'. The time series is therefore not strictly comparable across 2025.Source: Swedish Police — 2025 assessment (method section).
Especially vulnerable area
A vulnerable area with an especially serious situation: parallel power structures, violence and threats making it difficult or impossible for the police to carry out normal duties without reinforcement, together with a widespread unwillingness to take part in the judicial process.Source: Swedish Police — 2023 and 2025 assessments.
Aggregate police judgement
The classification is made by the local police on the basis of an overall assessment of several indicators — not according to a public scoring model where a given statistic yields a given category. The criteria are described qualitatively in the assessments' method sections.Source: Swedish Police — 2023 assessment, chapter 2.
Parallel social structure
A situation in which part of the population effectively lives under other norms, institutions or laws than the country's formal ones. Can include informal courts, kin- or clan-based dispute resolution, an economy outside the formal system, and control over individuals' choices in family, marriage and expression.Source: SOU 2020:46; Sernhede/Guttormsen 2017.
Informal norm system
Rules and sanctions enforced socially — through gossip, exclusion, threats or violence — without support in law. May overlap with parallel social structures but also occurs in settings not classified as vulnerable areas.Source: County Administrative Board of Östergötland; Brå 2019:12.
Kin- and clan-based influence
A situation in which individual kin groups or clans have significant sway over dispute resolution, economy or local power, sometimes at odds with the rule of law. Documented in vulnerable areas but also occurs outside those lists.Source: Swedish Police NOA — Criminal Networks 2019/2024; Brå 2023:13.
Criminal influence
Criminal actors' capacity to influence the local community — through threats against residents, business owners, public employees and witnesses, control of public space and restrictions on public services. It is the central variable in the Police classification.Source: Swedish Police — 2023 assessment, chapter 3.
Public agency presence
The extent to which municipal, regional and national agencies can operate normally in the area — schools, social services, home care, public transport, rescue services, emergency healthcare — without reinforced protection or cancelled interventions.Source: Swedish Police — 2023 assessment; municipal assessments.
Segregation vs parallel society
Segregation is the observable spatial or social separation between groups (measured by income, education, origin). Parallel society describes that part of the population effectively lives under other norms and institutions. Segregation can exist without a parallel society and vice versa.Source: Delegation Against Segregation — Knowledge review 2020.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

5

agencies/institutions

8

reports & studies

4

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

A geographically defined area where socio-economic conditions are low and criminals hold influence over the local community. The classification is made by the Swedish Police in the recurring national assessment and rests on a local police judgement — not on a public scoring model where a given statistic yields a given category.

Related topics

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

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@misc{sverigefakta_2026_en_parallelsociety,
  author       = {Sverigefakta.com},
  title        = {Sverigefakta},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://sverigefakta.com/en/parallel-society}},
  note         = {Dataset v2026.2, accessed 2026-08-15}
}
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