Second generation — what the aggregates hide

The hidden reference group

• SCB's register definition. A person born in Sweden with two foreign-born parents is classified as "Swedish-born with foreign background". In KI's net contribution study they are counted in the "Swedish-born" group — the reference group everyone else is measured against. The second generation's net is therefore never reported separately.
• Brå's report standardises for age and sex. The over-risks 2.5× (first generation) and 3.2× (second generation) in Brå 2021:9 are standardised for age and sex. Socio-economic controls (income, education, neighbourhood) are reported in older studies and reduce the over-risk without eliminating it. That the second generation is higher than the first is an observation in the data — explanations (segregation, socio-economics, family background) are discussed separately.
• School results only partially converge. The second generation performs better than the first — but the gap to the Swedish reference remains, especially in maths and science. Skolverket points to residential segregation as a main explanation (PISA 2022).

Definition comparison

How other countries count it

There is no international standard for who counts as the second generation. The criteria below are taken from each statistics agency's own definition. We do not recalculate Swedish population figures to another definition: a definition is not a conversion factor, and shares can only be shown when the respective agency has itself published them.

• 🇸🇪 Sweden · SCB — Statistiska centralbyrån

  Utländsk bakgrund

  Definition version: MIS 2002:3 (gäller fortfarande)

  Persons with a foreign background are those born abroad and those born in Sweden with two foreign-born parents.

  Included

  • Persons born abroad
  • Persons born in Sweden with two foreign-born parents

  Excluded

  • Persons born in Sweden with at least one parent born in Sweden
  • The third generation (grandchildren of immigrants)

  Comparability: Based solely on country of birth. Citizenship is not part of the criterion.

  Published share: 26.5 % (2023) — SCB, Befolkningsstatistik BE0101 (utländsk/svensk bakgrund)

  SCB — Personer med utländsk bakgrund (MIS 2002:3) ↗

• 🇩🇰 Denmark · Danmarks Statistik (DST)

  Indvandrere og efterkommere (herkomst)

  Definition version: Herkomst-typologi, dokument daterat 2024-09-20

  Immigrants: persons born abroad where neither parent is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark. Descendants: persons born in Denmark where neither parent is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark. Persons of Danish origin: persons — regardless of birthplace — with at least one parent who is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark.

  Included

  • Indvandrere (born abroad per the criterion above)
  • Efterkommere (born in Denmark to two parents who do not both meet the Danish-citizen-and-born-in-Denmark criterion)

  Excluded

  • Persons with at least one parent who is both a Danish citizen and born in Denmark
  • The third generation (children of descendants with a Danish parent)

  Comparability: Combines country of birth AND citizenship. Differs from Statistics Sweden, which uses country of birth only — the same person can be classified differently.

  Published share: 14.4 % (1 januari 2022) — Danmarks Statistik, Bagtal: Fakta om indvandrere og efterkommere (2022-08-18)

  Danmarks Statistik — definition av indvandrere, efterkommere og personer med dansk oprindelse (2024-09-20) ↗

• 🇩🇪 Germany · Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)

  Einwanderungsgeschichte

  Definition version: Mikrozensus 2022 och framåt (första publicering 2023)

  The definition covers all persons who either themselves (immigrants) or whose both parents (descendants of immigrants) immigrated to present-day Germany since 1950.

  Included

  • Persons who themselves immigrated to Germany since 1950
  • Persons born in Germany whose BOTH parents immigrated since 1950

  Excluded

  • The third generation and later
  • Persons with only one immigrated parent
  • Immigration before 1950

  Comparability: Narrower than the older Migrationshintergrund concept and not comparable with it. The requirement that BOTH parents immigrated resembles Sweden's two-foreign-born-parents rule, but Germany also applies a 1950 cut-off and counts immigration rather than country of birth alone.

  Published share: 25.6 % (2024) — Destatis, Pressemitteilung Nr. 181 (2025-05-22): 21,2 miljoner personer med Einwanderungsgeschichte

  Destatis — Hintergrundpapier: Einwanderungsgeschichte ↗

The full definition comparison with sources, versions and comparability flags is available at /definitioner.