2010
- Total
- 2 000
- Varav islamism
- 200
- Högerextrem
- 1 000
- Vänsterextrem
- 800
Säkerhet · extremism
Terrorism och våldsbejakande extremism
Säkerhetspolisen har sedan 2017 dubblerat sin uppskattning av antalet personer i den våldsbejakande islamistiska miljön. Sverige rankades 2014–2017 i topp tre per capita i EU för utresta jihadister. Denna sida sammanställer Säpos öppna siffror.
Källor: Säpo årsbok 2010–2024, FOI/FHS, CVE, Åklagarmyndigheten.
Last updated: View changelog
Fact pageSources checked
How we measureSäpos miljöuppskattningar →
Extremistmiljöer i Sverige (Säpos uppskattning)
Säpo publicerar sedan 2019 huvudsakligen kvalitativa bedömningar — inte punkttal. Historiska värden nedan är hämtade ur årsböcker och offentliga uttalanden. Kolumnen 'Totalt' är Säpos egen totaluppgift; delposterna summerar därför inte alltid till total.
2017
- Total
- 3 000
- Varav islamism
- 2 000
- Högerextrem
- 700
- Vänsterextrem
- 300
2024
- Total
- —
- Varav islamism
- —
- Högerextrem
- —
- Vänsterextrem
- —
| Year | Total | Varav islamism | Högerextrem | Vänsterextrem |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2 000 | 200 | 1 000 | 800 |
| 2017 | 3 000 | 2 000 | 700 | 300 |
| 2024 | — | — | — | — |
2017: Säpos offentliga uppgift 2017: ~3 000 personer i våldsbejakande miljöer totalt, varav ~2 000 islamister.
2024: Säpo publicerar sedan 2019 inte punkttal. Årsboken 2024 beskriver miljöerna kvalitativt — se rapportlänk.
IS-resenärer från Sverige
Totalt utresta
300
Återkomna
150
Återkomna dömda (öppna domar)
≈10
Topp 3 per capita i EU (2014–2017) — endast ett fåtal återvändare har kunnat dömas för terrorbrott. Beviskraven är höga och stridshandlingarna svåra att bevisa i svensk domstol; det var en central del av den politiska debatten 2015–2020.
Attentat och avstyrda attentat (islamistiskt motiv)
2010
- Location
- StockholmDrottninggatan/Bryggargatan — självmordsbombare (Taimour Abdulwahab). Endast gärningsmannen dog; inga civila offer.
- Typ
- Genomfört
- Dödade
- 1
2017
- Location
- StockholmDrottninggatan — lastbilsattack (Rakhmat Akilov). Fem civila dödade.
- Typ
- Genomfört
- Dödade
- 5
2021
- Location
- VetlandaKnivattack — åtta skadade. Utreddes som terrorbrott; dom: mordförsök, terrormotiv ej fastslaget.
- Typ
- Genomfört
- Dödade
- 0
2023
- Location
- Bryssel (svenskar)Två svenska supportrar skjutna; gärningsman knuten till Sverige.
- Typ
- Genomfört utomlands
- Dödade
- 2
2024
- Location
- Sverige (flera)Flera planerade attentat avstyrda av Säpo enligt årsboken.
- Typ
- Avstyrt
- Dödade
- 0
| Year | Location | Typ | Dödade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Stockholm Drottninggatan/Bryggargatan — självmordsbombare (Taimour Abdulwahab). Endast gärningsmannen dog; inga civila offer. | Genomfört | 1 |
| 2017 | Stockholm Drottninggatan — lastbilsattack (Rakhmat Akilov). Fem civila dödade. | Genomfört | 5 |
| 2021 | Vetlanda Knivattack — åtta skadade. Utreddes som terrorbrott; dom: mordförsök, terrormotiv ej fastslaget. | Genomfört | 0 |
| 2023 | Bryssel (svenskar) Två svenska supportrar skjutna; gärningsman knuten till Sverige. | Genomfört utomlands | 2 |
| 2024 | Sverige (flera) Flera planerade attentat avstyrda av Säpo enligt årsboken. | Avstyrt | 0 |
CVE-budget (mnkr/år)
2018
- Mnkr
- 18
2020
- Mnkr
- 31
2022
- Mnkr
- 48
2024
- Mnkr
- 66
| Year | Mnkr |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 18 |
| 2020 | 31 |
| 2022 | 48 |
| 2024 | 66 |
Bakgrund hos terrordömda 2010–2024
- Totalt antal dömda47
- Non-European background41
- Svensk bakgrund6
- Konvertiter (bland svensk-födda dömda)3
Egen sammanställning från öppna domar (Åklagarmyndigheten, tingsrätts- och hovrättsdomar). Fullständig domlista publiceras stegvis som terrordomar.csv ↗.
Primary sources
The question this page answers
How is the terror threat in Sweden measured — and what is the difference between an extremist milieu, a foiled attack and a final terror conviction?
At a glance
Key figures — the most important numbers on this page
Terror threat level (Säpo 2024)
High
Level 4 of 5 since Aug 2023 — raised after Quran burnings
Persons in violent Islamist milieu
≈2,000
Säpo 2017 — latest published point estimate; 2024 qualitative only
IS travelers from Sweden
≈300
FOI/FHS — ~150 returned, ~65 killed, rest remain in region
Returnees convicted of terror crimes
≈10
Prosecution Authority — out of ~150 returnees; high evidentiary bar
Killed in executed attacks 2010–2024
6
Drottninggatan 2010 (1) and 2017 (5)
Sweden per-capita IS travelers in EU 2014–2017
Top 3
FHS — among the highest in the Western world
Terror convictions 2010–2024
47
Open verdicts — compilation of district and appellate court rulings
CVE budget 2024
66 M SEK
Center against Violent Extremism — up from 18 M SEK in 2018
What does the data show?
Objective observations — not interpretations
- Sweden's terror threat level has been raised to 4 out of 5 (»high threat«) since August 2023 — the second-highest level. Säpo cites the Quran burnings and the image of Sweden spread in extremist propaganda as key drivers.
- The number of people in the violent Islamist milieu was estimated by Säpo in 2017 at around 2,000 — a doubling compared with 2010. Since 2019, Säpo has only published qualitative assessments, breaking longer time series.
- Sweden ranked among the top three EU countries per capita for IS travelers in 2014–2017. FOI/FHS estimates the total at around 300, of whom ~150 have returned, ~65 killed in combat, and the rest remain in the region or have defected.
- Only a handful of returnees (~10) have been convicted of terror crimes. The reason is the high evidentiary bar — combat abroad is hard to prove in Swedish court, and legislation on membership in a terror organisation only took effect in 2016 and 2020.
- Among the 47 persons convicted of terror crimes in Sweden 2010–2024, about 87 % have a non-European background according to open court records. The share is far higher than the group's population share and reflects the global jihadist movement's recruitment base.
- CVE's budget has more than tripled since its 2018 launch — from 18 to 66 million SEK — reflecting the political priority on deradicalisation and municipal prevention.
Method note
Terrorism data has four distinct sources: (1) Säpo's publicly available assessments (qualitative since 2019), (2) verdicts from the Prosecution Authority and courts (quantifiable but lagged), (3) FOI/CVE research (baseline), (4) international reporting (Europol TE-SAT). Milieu size and returnee count estimates are ranges — we show median figures. Foiled attacks are Säpo's own categorisation and are not tested in court.
Definitions
How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover
- Terror crime (Swedish law)
- Offense under the Terrorist Crime Act (2022:666, formerly 2003:148): an act that may seriously harm Sweden, aims to instill fear in a population, or unlawfully coerce authorities. Sentence: minimum 4 years, up to life.The 2022 law replaced four earlier laws and tightened criminalisation of participation in a terror organisation.
- Violent extremism
- Ideologies or milieus that advocate, legitimise or use violence for political ends. Säpo reports three main milieus: violent Islamism, violent right-wing extremism, and violent left-wing extremism.Sympathising with an ideology is not criminal — the acts (incitement, financing, participation) are what is punishable.
- Foiled attack
- Säpo's own categorisation for events where intelligence, arrests or other measures are judged to have prevented an act in late planning. Not tested in court, and Säpo's assessment cannot be independently reviewed.
- IS traveler (foreign fighter)
- Person who traveled from Sweden to conflict zones in Syria/Iraq to join the Islamic State or another jihadist group. FOI/FHS estimate: ~300 persons 2012–2017, of whom ~90 women.
- Participation in a terror organisation
- Crime since 2016 (recruitment, travel) and 2020 (participation itself). Criminalisation made it legally possible to prosecute returnees even without proof of specific combat acts.
- Threat level (Säpo)
- Five-level scale for the terror threat against Sweden: 1 low, 2 moderate, 3 elevated, 4 high, 5 very high. Since August 2023 the level is at 4 — the second-highest.
- CVE — Center against Violent Extremism
- National knowledge center since 2018 (housed at Brå). Mandate: support municipalities, social services and schools in prevention work. Has no operational intelligence role.
- Ranstorp study
- FHS professor Magnus Ranstorp's mapping of Swedish IS travelers and their background. Central source for Sweden's international per-capita ranking and profile (gender, age, geography).
- Europol TE-SAT
- Europol's annual terrorism situation and trend report. Provides comparable figures per EU country for executed attacks, arrests and convictions. Sweden's 2010 and 2017 attacks are included.
- Radicalisation
- Process where a person moves from ordinary political/religious convictions to support for political violence. Rarely spontaneous — CVE and FOI point to networks, social media and specific milieus (mosques, prisons, youth groups) as common drivers.
Primary sources
Agencies and research institutions behind this page
5
agencies/institutions
7
reports & studies
3
primary datasets
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what is most often discussed
Since 2019, Säpo has shifted to qualitative assessments in the annual report. The reasons are partly that exact numbers created false precision (the estimates are ranges), and partly that detailed numerics would reveal intelligence methods. For time series this means 2010–2017 can be compared, but 2019 onwards requires qualitative reading of the annual reports.
Related topics
Logical next steps if you want to understand the background
Overrepresentation in serious crime
Register data from Brå 2021:9 — background of suspects for serious crime in Sweden.
Antisemitism and hate crime
A specific consequence of extremism — threats against the Jewish minority and other groups.
Cases we cannot forget
Final terror convictions in concrete form — including Drottninggatan 2010 and 2017.
What were the consequences?
Chapter 4 — how the security situation has affected daily life, symbol choice and institutions.
Sources for this page
The data comes from official primary sources.
Säkerhetspolisen · Annually
Säkerhetspolisens lägesbild (årlig)Säkerhetspolisens bedömning av terrorhot och våldsbejakande extremism
Latest data point · Source published
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Content and our own calculations are CC BY 4.0. Please also cite the primary source.
APA 7
Sverigefakta.com. (2026). Sverigefakta. Retrieved 2026-08-15, from https://sverigefakta.com/en/terrorism-extremism
Harvard
Sverigefakta.com (2026) Sverigefakta. Available at: https://sverigefakta.com/en/terrorism-extremism (Accessed: 2026-08-15).
Simple web citation
Sverigefakta.com, "Sverigefakta", https://sverigefakta.com/en/terrorism-extremism (accessed 2026-08-15).
BibTeX
@misc{sverigefakta_2026_en_terrorismextremism,
author = {Sverigefakta.com},
title = {Sverigefakta},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://sverigefakta.com/en/terrorism-extremism}},
note = {Dataset v2026.2, accessed 2026-08-15}
}Permanent link
https://sverigefakta.com/en/terrorism-extremism