Parallel society

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.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

Related topics

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

• Vulnerable areas — development

  How the list has changed over time.

• Vulnerable areas — map & correlation

  Interactive map, scatter, full table.

• Social trust

  SOM, ESS and Brå NTU 1986–2025.

• Honour culture

  Control, forced marriage and cases at the Competence Team.