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Big cities — Malmö passed 50 % in 2023
What happened to Sweden?

Big cities

Big cities — Malmö passed 50 % in 2023

In 1990, about 16 % of Malmö's residents were foreign-born. In 2023, 50 % of Malmö's residents have a foreign background under SCB's current definition. Stockholm and Gothenburg are following the same path.

Memory

Over roughly 30 years Malmö's foreign-background share has about doubled — passing 50 % in 2023.

1990 (foreign-born)

≈ 16 %

SCB

2023 (foreign background)

50 %

SCB

How to read this

Data in context

How to read this

The charts below show what the numbers say — not an interpretation. Where data point in different directions (e.g. stable trust but rising insecurity) we show both series rather than pick a narrative.

Andel personer med utländsk bakgrund i Malmö, 1990–2023 (SCB)
16
27
38
43
47
50*
199020002010201520202023
  • 2023*SCB: Malmö passerar 50 %

How to read this chart

Definition

Foreign background per SCB = born abroad OR born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents.

Method

Resident (registered) population on 31 December, calculated at the municipal level.

What the chart shows

  • The level in Malmö municipality passed 50 % in 2023.
  • The trend has been monotonically upward every measured year since 1990.

Limitations

  • The 1990 baseline uses the foreign-born series; SCB's 'foreign background' category was formalised in 2003, so start- and end-year levels are not perfectly symmetric.
  • The share says nothing about integration, labour-market outcomes or safety — it is a pure population count.

Where research shows strong associations, they are cited. Where the evidence is uncertain or contested, this is stated. The page draws no causal conclusion beyond what the data supports.

Malmö 2023 — what 100 % looks like

Svensk bakgrund (inrikes född, minst en inrikes förälder)50 %Utländsk bakgrund: inrikes född med två utrikes födda föräldrar15 %Utländsk bakgrund: utrikes född35 %
Malmö 2023: foreign vs domestic background under SCB's definition (one dot = 1 % of residents). The two red shades together are the 50 % with a foreign background.

How to read this chart

Definition

Share of foreign background in each Nordic capital (SCB/SSB/DST/Tilastokeskus, each with its own national definition).

Method

Approximate comparison based on each country's own population register.

What the chart shows

  • Malmö is the highest in the Nordics.
  • All four countries move in the same direction, at different speeds.

Limitations

  • The countries use slightly different definitions ('foreign background', 'innvandrere og norskfødte', 'indvandrere og efterkommere', 'ulkomaalaistaustaiset') — levels are not fully comparable.

Where research shows strong associations, they are cited. Where the evidence is uncertain or contested, this is stated. The page draws no causal conclusion beyond what the data supports.

Human consequence

Persona

A shop owner in central Malmö (composite illustration based on chamber-of-commerce surveys, not a single report).

Then

  • The shop was vandalised only occasionally during the 1990s.
  • Hired Swedish-speaking cashiers with no special outreach.
  • Stayed open late without hired security.

Now

  • Closes earlier after a wave of break-ins nearby.
  • Advertises jobs in Arabic, Swedish and English to fill vacancies.
  • Guards, cameras and reinforced windows are recurring costs — not one-off expenses.

How does it look in your municipality?

See the share of foreign background municipality by municipality — and compare Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm with their neighbours.

Open the map →

2035

What happens to a school's language environment and to everyday small talk when the majority in the neighbourhood does not have Swedish as a first language?

Mechanical extrapolation (not a forecast): on the 1990–2023 trend, Gothenburg and Stockholm reach Malmö's 2023 level around 2035 and 2040.

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.

Back to overview →

The question this page answers

How fast has the population composition of Sweden's three big cities changed — and what does SCB's own definition show for 2023?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

Malmö 2023

50 %

foreign background (SCB)

Malmö 1990

≈ 16 %

foreign-born (SCB)

Gothenburg 2023

≈ 39 %

foreign background (SCB)

Stockholm 2023

≈ 36 %

foreign background (SCB)

Metropolitan regions (SCB)

3

Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö

Population in metro regions

≈ 40 %

SCB 2024

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

  • The share of residents with a foreign background in Malmö has grown from roughly 16 % (foreign-born, 1990) to 50 % (foreign background, 2023) per SCB.
  • Gothenburg and Stockholm follow the same direction, a few years behind Malmö.
  • Figures refer to the resident (registered) population on 31 December in each municipality.
  • Metropolitan regions as a whole have lower shares than the central municipalities because they include more suburban municipalities.
  • Housing market, commuting and segregation are measured at different geographic levels — the same question can give different answers depending on whether it applies to a municipality, locality or functional region.

Method note
Figures refer to the resident population on 31 December in each municipality (Malmö, Gothenburg, Stockholm). The 1990 comparison uses the foreign-born series because 'foreign background' was only formalised in 2003. Metropolitan regions per SCB show lower shares than the central municipalities. Nordic comparisons use each country's own definition and are therefore not perfectly symmetric.

Definitions

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

Metropolitan region
SCB defines three metropolitan regions: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The definition is based on commuting and covers more municipalities than the central one.
Municipality
Sweden's basic local political unit — 290 in total. The metropolitan municipalities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö have the largest populations but cover a smaller area than their metropolitan regions.
Locality (tätort)
SCB term: contiguous built-up area with at least 200 residents and buildings no more than 200 metres apart. A metropolitan municipality contains a main locality and several smaller ones.
Functional region
Areas linked economically via commuting and local labour markets (LA region). Used by Tillväxtanalys alongside SCB's metropolitan regions.
Segregation
Uneven geographic distribution of groups by e.g. income, employment, foreign background or education. Usually measured with indices (e.g. dissimilarity index) at DeSO or SAMS area level.
Population density
Residents per square kilometre. Stockholm and Gothenburg have high density in the centre but sparse suburbs — the average hides large variation.
Housing market
Supply and demand for housing in an area. Metropolitan regions are characterised by housing shortages according to Boverket's annual housing-market survey.
Commuting
Daily travel between home and work across municipal borders. Trafikanalys and SCB publish commuting data at DeSO level.
Socioeconomic structure
Distribution of income, education and employment in an area. Used in the Police's situation report on vulnerable areas and in SCB's regional accounts.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

5

agencies/institutions

6

reports & studies

4

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

SCB's definition since 2003: foreign-born OR Swedish-born with two foreign-born parents. Children with one foreign-born and one Swedish-born parent are classified as Swedish background.

Related topics

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

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