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What happened to Sweden?

Population

Demographic and cultural change

Sweden's population composition has changed considerably since 1990. In 2025, 20.8 per cent of the population were foreign-born and 27.7 per cent had a foreign background (SCB). That change underlies many of the other investigations on this site.

Three decades in numbers

Foreign-born(SCB 2025)

1990
9 % (790,000)
2025
20.8 % (2,210,638)

Foreign background (foreign-born + Swedish-born with two foreign-born parents)(SCB 2025)

1990
no comparable measure for 1990
2025
27.7 % (2,936,843 of 10,605,529)

Largest foreign-born group(SCB)

1990
Finland
2025
Syria

After 2012 the inflow is driven mainly by asylum and family reunification from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. In 2015 Sweden received ~163,000 asylum applications in a single year — the largest refugee wave in Swedish history — and the Migration Agency granted roughly 150,000 residence permits in 2016, equivalent to one of Sweden's larger cities.

SCB 2024: in 51 of 290 municipalities the share with a foreign background was above the national average; Botkyrka had the highest share (63 %).

Vulnerable areas according to the Police

The Police's 2025 situation report assessed 65 areas as vulnerable to criminal influence to some degree, 19 of them as especially vulnerable (Swedish Police, Situation report on vulnerable areas 2025).

What the change looks like going forward

The page shows no projection of its own. Previously stated values for 2040 and for children in the metropolitan municipalities are not shown, as they could not be checked against SCB's projection or tables.

Why does it matter?

Population composition does not explain everything — but it is one of the variables researchers use when studying employment gaps, social assistance, school results and crime (for example Ruist, ESO 2018:3, and Brå 2021:9). That is why this layer needs to be understood before the other investigations can be interpreted.

Sources

Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.

Back to the overview →

The question this page answers

How fast has Sweden's population composition changed since 1990 — and what does SCB's own definition show today?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

Foreign-born 2025

20.8 %

SCB (2,210,638)

Foreign background 2025

27.7 %

SCB (2,936,843)

Foreign-born 1990

9 %

SCB (baseline)

Asylum applications 2015

163,000

Migration Agency

TFR 2025

1.42

SCB — lowest in the 2000–2025 series

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

  • The share of foreign-born has more than doubled since 1990 (9 % → 20.8 %).
  • The share with a foreign background (SCB definition) reached 27.7 % in 2025.
  • The largest foreign-born group shifted from Finland (1990) to Syria (2025).
  • SCB formally introduced the 'foreign background' definition in 2003 — comparisons with 1990 rely on the older foreign-born series.
  • Fertility (TFR) has fallen to 1.42 (2025) — the lowest in Statistics Sweden's 2000–2025 series.

Method note
All level figures are SCB series as of 31 December. The 1990 comparison uses the foreign-born series; SCB's 'foreign background' category was formalised in 2003.

Definitions

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

Population
Persons registered in Sweden as of 31 December. Counted by SCB via the population register.
Population register
The Swedish Tax Agency's register of where a person lives. The basis for nearly all Swedish demographic statistics.
Foreign-born
Person born outside Sweden regardless of citizenship. SCB has maintained the series since the early 20th century.
Foreign background (SCB)
Foreign-born OR Swedish-born with two foreign-born parents. Formalised by SCB in 2003.
Net migration
Immigrants minus emigrants in a given year. Distinct from 'granted residence permits' (Migration Agency).
Population growth
Natural increase (births minus deaths) plus net migration. Since the 1980s migration has driven most of Sweden's growth.
Cohort
Group of persons born in the same year or arriving in the same period. Used to track outcomes over time.
Age structure
The distribution of the population across age groups. Often shown as a population pyramid.
Dependency ratio
Persons aged 0–19 plus 65+ per 100 persons aged 20–64. Measures how large a share of the population is supported by the working-age group.
Fertility (TFR)
Average number of children per woman. Sweden's TFR was 1.42 in 2025 (SCB) — the lowest in Statistics Sweden's 2000–2025 series.
Mortality
Deaths per 1,000 residents in a year. Used in population projections alongside fertility and migration.
Migration
Persons moving across a national border. Split into immigration and emigration. SCB registers migration via the population register; the Migration Agency counts residence-permit decisions.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

5

agencies/institutions

7

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

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

Corrections for this page

  • Demographics: the paragraph on vulnerable areas follows the Police's situation report

    The paragraph on vulnerable areas stated that 550,000 people live in the 59 areas, more than in Gothenburg, and compared the areas with a large city. Those figures are not in the Police's situation report. The paragraph now reflects the Police's 2023 situation report: 59 areas were assessed as vulnerable to criminal influence to some degree, 17 of them as especially vulnerable. The correction was published and checked on the site on 1 November 2026. Addendum 1 November 2026: the paragraph has since been updated to the Police's 2025 situation report, with 65 areas, 19 of them especially vulnerable. This is an update to a newer report, not a correction. See Updates.

  • Foreign-born 2025: 2,210,638 according to the value published by Statistics Sweden

    The number of foreign-born people on 31 December 2025 was given as 2,210,636. That value was calculated as the total population minus those born in Sweden in a different Statistics Sweden table, where the agency's method for protecting data on individuals causes a small deviation. The value published by Statistics Sweden for foreign-born people is 2,210,638, and it is now used on the home page and the demographics pages. The share, 20.8 per cent, and the conclusions are not affected. The correction was published and checked on the site on 1 November 2026.

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SVERIGEFAKTA, “Demographic and cultural change in Sweden”. Original source: SCB, SCB, Migrationsverket. https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/demographics
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SVERIGEFAKTA, “Demographic and cultural change in Sweden”. Original source: SCB (https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsstatistik/); SCB (https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsframskrivningar/produktrelaterat/rapporter/sveriges-framtida-befolkning-2025-2070/); Migrationsverket (https://www.migrationsverket.se/om-migrationsverket/statistik/beviljade-uppehallstillstand.html). https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/demographics
APA 7
Demographic and cultural change in Sweden. (n.d.). SVERIGEFAKTA. Retrieved 2026-11-04, from https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/demographics Original source: SCB, SCB, Migrationsverket.
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“Demographic and cultural change in Sweden” (n.d.) SVERIGEFAKTA. Available at: https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/demographics (Accessed: 2026-11-04). Original source: SCB, SCB, Migrationsverket.
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@misc{sverigefakta_2026_en_whathappenedtosweden_demographics,
  title        = {Demographic and cultural change in Sweden},
  howpublished = {\url{https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/demographics}},
  note         = {Presented by SVERIGEFAKTA; original source SCB, SCB, Migrationsverket}
}
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