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.
Ingen tidsserie visas: värdena för Malmö har inte kunnat kontrolleras mot ett exakt SCB-tabelluttag.
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
- No time series is shown until the Malmö values have been checked against SCB's table.
Limitations
- The series uses SCB's foreign-background measure throughout and therefore starts in 2000. The 1990s foreign-born series is a different measure and is not shown in the same series.
- 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 — distribution shown after source check
No dot chart is shown: the Malmö distribution has not been checked against an exact SCB table. A population chart also does not show language or religion.
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
- No ranking is made: four selected cities with different national definitions are not comparable.
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
Illustrative persona — not a documented observation
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.
In closing
What would be needed to describe the language environment in the big cities?
A separate language measurement. Background by own or parents' country of birth does not show mother tongue. No projection is made here.
Sources for this page
The data comes from official primary sources.
SCB · Annually
BE0101 Befolkningsstatistik — utrikes födda och utländsk bakgrundUtrikes födda och utländsk bakgrund
Latest data point · Source published
Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.
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