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Demographics by municipality — 108 of 290 have passed 25 %
What happened to Sweden?

Municipal demographics

Demographics by municipality — 108 of 290 have passed 25 %

In 1990, 4 Swedish municipalities had more than 25 % foreign-background residents. In 2023 it is 108.

Memory

Over 33 years the number of such municipalities has grown 27×.

1990

4

of 290 municipalities

2023

108

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.

Antal kommuner där > 25 % av befolkningen har utländsk bakgrund, 1990–2023 (SCB)
4
14
38
62
89
108*
199020002010201520202023
  • 2023*SCB: 108 av 290 kommuner

How to read this chart

Definition

Foreign background per SCB = born abroad OR born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents. Counted per municipality on 31 December each year.

Method

Number of municipalities whose share exceeds the 25 % threshold in a given year. The national average in 2023 was 27 %.

What the chart shows

  • Rapid growth after 2010.
  • The pattern is geographically uneven — the spread between municipalities is widening at the same time.

Limitations

  • Interim years (2000, 2010, 2015, 2020) are taken from SCB but the series is short and the threshold arbitrary — read it as a trend direction, not an exact count.
  • Municipal averages hide large intra-municipal variation (districts, DeSO areas).

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.

The Nordics — same metric

Ingen direkt jämförbar nordisk mätning finns: Danmark och Norge räknar 'indvandrere og efterkommere', inte SCB:s 'utländsk bakgrund'. En kommun-för-kommun-jämförelse på samma tröskel kräver harmonisering som vi inte gör här.

Ingen jämförbar nordisk tidsserie finns publicerad för denna mätning. Se bildtexten ovan för detaljer.

Human consequence

Persona

A municipal director where the share has passed 30 % — composite illustration, not a single municipality.

Then

  • Integration / Swedish-for-immigrants was a limited budget line worth a few percent.
  • Mother-tongue tuition in 3–5 languages.
  • Welfare applications were dominated by Swedish-born residents.

Now

  • Costs for integration/SFI, welfare and interpreters are recurring — the level varies between municipalities (SCB/SKR).
  • Mother-tongue tuition in 30+ languages in the largest municipalities (Skolverket).
  • The share of welfare recipients with a foreign background has grown sharply since 2010 (Socialstyrelsen).

How does it look in your municipality?

See the share of foreign background in your municipality — and compare with neighbours and the national average.

Open the map →

2035

How many municipalities are majority-foreign-background by 2035?

Mechanical extrapolation (not a forecast): on the 2010–2023 trend, ≈ 35 municipalities cross > 50 % by 2035. Actual outcome depends on migration, internal movement and birth rates.

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 many Swedish municipalities have passed SCB's 25 % foreign-background threshold — and how fast has that count grown?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

Municipalities 2023

108

> 25 % foreign background (SCB)

Municipalities 1990

4

SCB (baseline)

Increase 1990 → 2023

27×

number of municipalities (own calc.)

Total municipalities

290

SCB

Botkyrka 2024

62 %

highest share — SCB

DeSO areas

5,984

SCB — finest public division

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

  • The number of municipalities where more than 25 % of residents have a foreign background has grown from 4 (1990) to 108 (2023) per SCB.
  • The rise has been monotonically upward every measured year since 2000.
  • The 25 % threshold is chosen to reflect the Swedish national average ± a few points — not as a political benchmark.
  • The pattern is geographically uneven — the spread between municipalities widens as the national average rises.
  • Small municipalities vary more year on year due to small populations — annual comparisons are not recommended without multi-year averages.

Method note
The count uses SCB's municipal population by background on 31 December. The 25 % threshold reflects the national average (27 % in 2023) — not a political benchmark. Small municipalities show larger relative year-on-year variation; historical comparisons use today's municipal boundaries. Municipal averages hide large intra-municipal variation (DeSO level).

Definitions

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

Municipality
Sweden's 290 basic political units. Responsible for schools, social services, elderly care, water/sewage and detailed plans. The number has changed through mergers (most recently 1974) — historical comparisons normally use today's boundaries.
DeSO
Demographic statistical areas — SCB's finest public sub-municipal division (5,984 areas). Replaced SAMS in 2018 and is used to show intra-municipal variation.
Locality (tätort)
SCB term: contiguous built-up area with at least 200 residents. A municipality usually has one main locality and several smaller ones; the rural area is what lies outside.
Rural area
Areas outside localities. SCB and Tillväxtverket use different rural-area definitions — comparisons between sources require the definition to be stated.
Median age
The age at which half the population is younger and half older. Reflects age structure better than the mean because it is not affected by outliers.
Dependency ratio
Persons aged 0–19 plus 65+ per 100 persons aged 20–64. High values indicate that a smaller working-age share supports a larger share of young and old.
Population growth
Sum of natural increase (births minus deaths) and net migration (in-movers minus out-movers) in a year. Small municipalities have larger relative variation year on year.
Net migration
Domestic plus international in-movers minus out-movers. A municipality can have positive international net migration and negative domestic net migration at the same time.
Foreign-born
Person born outside Sweden regardless of citizenship. Counted at municipal level on 31 December each year.
Foreign background (SCB)
Foreign-born OR Swedish-born with two foreign-born parents. Formalised by SCB in 2003 — historical comparisons use the foreign-born series.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

4

agencies/institutions

5

reports & studies

3

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

It sits close to the national average (27 % in 2023). Counting municipalities above this threshold shows how many are above average — not how many are 'high'.

Related topics

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

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