The question this page answers
The question this page answers
How does serious gang violence affect Swedish businesses, investment and local commerce — and what can actually be documented in the data?
At a glance
At a glance
Key figures — the most important numbers on this page
2016
1 in 10
Business owners in disadvantaged Stockholm areas considering closing or moving due to crime (Chamber, Brottsplats Stockholm)
2024
36 %
Firms hit by crime the previous year (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Crime Barometer 2024)
2024
44
Fatal shootings in Sweden (Police)
2025
190
Completed detonations (Police), revised full year
2024
1 in 10
Firms refraining from investments due to concern about crime (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Crime Barometer 2024)
2025
65
Areas on the Police 'Lägesbild' list
Ten years, two records
Deaths in shootings per year(Police)
- 2017–2018
- 34 (2017)
- 2022–2025
- 62 (2022) → 54 (2023) → 44 (2024) → 43 (2025)
Confirmed shootings(Police)
- 2017–2018
- 281 (2017)
- 2022–2025
- 391 (2022) → 368 (2023) → 296 (2024) → 158 (2025)
Completed bombings (detonations)(Police)
- 2017–2018
- 90 (2018)
- 2022–2025
- 159 (2023) → 136 (2024) → 190 (2025) — table 4.20
Police vulnerable areas(Police)
- 2017–2018
- 53 (2015)
- 2022–2025
- 65 (2025)
| Measure | 2017–2018 | 2022–2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in shootings per year(Police) | 34 (2017) | 62 (2022) → 54 (2023) → 44 (2024) → 43 (2025) |
| Confirmed shootings(Police) | 281 (2017) | 391 (2022) → 368 (2023) → 296 (2024) → 158 (2025) |
| Completed bombings (detonations)(Police) | 90 (2018) | 159 (2023) → 136 (2024) → 190 (2025) — table 4.20 |
| Police vulnerable areas(Police) | 53 (2015) | 65 (2025) |
The Police series start in 2017 (shootings) and 2018 (bombings); earlier years are not shown here. For the Nordic comparison, see shootings in the Nordics.
How to read this: The table shows register data from Brå and the Police — not surveys. It does not show how firm turnover or the number of establishments has changed; that requires separate survey data and register-based establishment decisions.
What the data shows
What does the data show?
Objective observations — not interpretations
- Business surveys (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Chamber of Commerce) show that a substantial share of firms are hit by crime and some refrain from investing or consider moving. These are member surveys, not booked outcomes.
- Register data (Brå, Police) show a rising trend for bombings and a continued high level of fatal shootings in or near commercial environments.
- Individual cases — burned-down restaurants, closed shops, cancelled bus lines — are documented in local media but there is no national aggregate statistic.
- Insurance-industry claims data are not published as an open time series by area; the page therefore makes no claims about premium levels or exclusions in exposed areas.
- Research on the economic consequences of gang violence in Sweden is still thin — a handful of studies from IFN and Ratio, but no established consensus model.
Definitions
Definitions
How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover
- Crime-exposed business
- A business that during a given period has been subjected to at least one crime — theft, vandalism, threats, robbery, extortion or fraud. Measured in the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's business panel and Brå's Business Survey.Source: Brå — Business Survey; Confederation of Swedish Enterprise — business panel.
- Extortion / protection racket
- Demand for payment from a criminal actor as a condition for a business to operate unmolested. Regulated as extortion (Penal Code ch. 9 §4). Brå judges the dark figure to be very large — few incidents are reported for fear of reprisal.Source: Brå — Unlawful influence on business owners (2022).
- Business climate survey
- The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's annual survey of about 30 000 owners in every municipality. Since 2016 it includes questions on insecurity and crime as barriers to enterprise. It is a subjective perception measure, not a register source.Source: Confederation of Swedish Enterprise — Business Climate.
- Establishment decision
- A firm's choice to start, expand, relocate or shut down operations at a given site. Driven by rents, skills supply, customer base, infrastructure — and in recent years increasingly also by the security situation. No Swedish agency publishes aggregate data directly linking establishments to crime.Source: Tillväxtverket — Firms' conditions and reality.
- Claims frequency (insurance)
- Compensated claims per insured unit per year. Used in property insurance to set premiums. Higher fire and vandalism frequencies in certain postal areas lead to higher premiums or exclusions in the terms.Source: Svensk Försäkring — statistics and key figures.
- Completed bombing
- Detonation of an explosive that was actually carried out (as opposed to preparation or a discovered unexploded device). The Police time series counts completed bombings; Brå's statistic for 'public endangerment' is broader and includes attempts.Source: Police — annual bombing statistics.
- Organised crime
- Structured criminal activity in a group with an economic purpose that continues over time. The Police and the EU (Europol) use overlapping definitions.Source: Police — organised-crime situational picture.
- Criminal economy
- Umbrella term for financial flows in organised crime — narcotics, welfare fraud, scams, extortion, labour exploitation, money laundering. Brå (2023) estimated the size at SEK 100–150 bn per year, with a wide uncertainty range.Source: Brå 2022:1 — Criminal networks and their economy.
What happens to businesses
The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's Crime Barometer 2024 shows that 36 % of firms were hit by crime the previous year and one in ten refrains from investments out of concern about crime. The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce's 2016 survey found that one in four business owners in disadvantaged areas had worse finances because of crime and one in ten considered closing or moving. Surveys from business organisations are member voices, not independent statistics — we report register data from Brå and the Police alongside them wherever it exists.
Method and uncertainty
- Shooting and bombing series come from ongoing Police statistics. "Completed bombings" is narrower than Brå's "public endangerment incl. attempts".
- Surveys from business organisations reflect members' perceptions, not independent crime statistics.
- Insurers' claims frequencies and premiums are not published openly per postal area; the picture builds on Svensk Försäkring aggregates and interviews.
Primary sources
Primary sources
Agencies and research institutions behind this page
6
agencies/institutions
8
reports & studies
3
primary datasets
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what is most often discussed
Related topics
Related topics
Logical next steps if you want to understand the background
The question this page answers
How does serious gang violence affect Swedish businesses, investment and local commerce — and what can actually be documented in the data?
At a glance
Key figures — the most important numbers on this page
2016
1 in 10
Business owners in disadvantaged Stockholm areas considering closing or moving due to crime (Chamber, Brottsplats Stockholm)
2024
36 %
Firms hit by crime the previous year (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Crime Barometer 2024)
2024
44
Fatal shootings in Sweden (Police)
2025
190
Completed detonations (Police), revised full year
2024
1 in 10
Firms refraining from investments due to concern about crime (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Crime Barometer 2024)
2025
65
Areas on the Police 'Lägesbild' list
What does the data show?
Objective observations — not interpretations
- Business surveys (Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Chamber of Commerce) show that a substantial share of firms are hit by crime and some refrain from investing or consider moving. These are member surveys, not booked outcomes.
- Register data (Brå, Police) show a rising trend for bombings and a continued high level of fatal shootings in or near commercial environments.
- Individual cases — burned-down restaurants, closed shops, cancelled bus lines — are documented in local media but there is no national aggregate statistic.
- Insurance-industry claims data are not published as an open time series by area; the page therefore makes no claims about premium levels or exclusions in exposed areas.
- Research on the economic consequences of gang violence in Sweden is still thin — a handful of studies from IFN and Ratio, but no established consensus model.
Method note
The page combines three data sources: (1) register data from Brå and the Police (shootings, bombings), (2) survey data from the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and the chambers of commerce (member firms), (3) industry statistics from Insurance Sweden (aggregates). Survey data are not independent crime statistics — they reflect employers' perceptions.
Definitions
How the numbers are counted — and what they do not cover
- Crime-exposed business
- A business that during a given period has been subjected to at least one crime — theft, vandalism, threats, robbery, extortion or fraud. Measured in the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's business panel and Brå's Business Survey.Source: Brå — Business Survey; Confederation of Swedish Enterprise — business panel.
- Extortion / protection racket
- Demand for payment from a criminal actor as a condition for a business to operate unmolested. Regulated as extortion (Penal Code ch. 9 §4). Brå judges the dark figure to be very large — few incidents are reported for fear of reprisal.Source: Brå — Unlawful influence on business owners (2022).
- Business climate survey
- The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise's annual survey of about 30 000 owners in every municipality. Since 2016 it includes questions on insecurity and crime as barriers to enterprise. It is a subjective perception measure, not a register source.Source: Confederation of Swedish Enterprise — Business Climate.
- Establishment decision
- A firm's choice to start, expand, relocate or shut down operations at a given site. Driven by rents, skills supply, customer base, infrastructure — and in recent years increasingly also by the security situation. No Swedish agency publishes aggregate data directly linking establishments to crime.Source: Tillväxtverket — Firms' conditions and reality.
- Claims frequency (insurance)
- Compensated claims per insured unit per year. Used in property insurance to set premiums. Higher fire and vandalism frequencies in certain postal areas lead to higher premiums or exclusions in the terms.Source: Svensk Försäkring — statistics and key figures.
- Completed bombing
- Detonation of an explosive that was actually carried out (as opposed to preparation or a discovered unexploded device). The Police time series counts completed bombings; Brå's statistic for 'public endangerment' is broader and includes attempts.Source: Police — annual bombing statistics.
- Organised crime
- Structured criminal activity in a group with an economic purpose that continues over time. The Police and the EU (Europol) use overlapping definitions.Source: Police — organised-crime situational picture.
- Criminal economy
- Umbrella term for financial flows in organised crime — narcotics, welfare fraud, scams, extortion, labour exploitation, money laundering. Brå (2023) estimated the size at SEK 100–150 bn per year, with a wide uncertainty range.Source: Brå 2022:1 — Criminal networks and their economy.
Primary sources
Agencies and research institutions behind this page
6
agencies/institutions
8
reports & studies
3
primary datasets
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to what is most often discussed
Related topics
Logical next steps if you want to understand the background
Sources for this page
The data comes from official primary sources.
Brå · Annually
Anmälda brottAnmälda brott
Latest data point · Source published
Brå · Annually
Konstaterade fall av dödligt våld (inkl. skjutvapenvåld)Konstaterade fall av dödligt våld med skjutvapen
Latest data point · Source published
Polisen · Monthly
Sprängningar per polisregion — årsserieFullbordade detonationer per kalenderår
Latest data point · Source published
Use this statistic
Copy a reference or the canonical link. The original source is included when registered for this page.
SVERIGEFAKTA, “Gang violence and its impact on Swedish business”. Original source: Brå, Brå, Polisen. https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence
SVERIGEFAKTA, “Gang violence and its impact on Swedish business”. Original source: Brå (https://bra.se/statistik/statistik-om-rattsvasendet/anmalda-brott); Brå (https://bra.se/statistik/statistik-om-rattsvasendet/konstaterade-fall-av-dodligt-vald); Polisen (https://polisen.se/96edf5437e1017b04b2c3818f8896dc8/contentassets/5fe3039dff9745e39999f5ff4e67e27f/sprangningar-per-polisregion-2025.pdf). https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence
Gang violence and its impact on Swedish business. (n.d.). SVERIGEFAKTA. Retrieved 2026-11-04, from https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence Original source: Brå, Brå, Polisen.
“Gang violence and its impact on Swedish business” (n.d.) SVERIGEFAKTA. Available at: https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence (Accessed: 2026-11-04). Original source: Brå, Brå, Polisen.
@misc{sverigefakta_2026_en_whathappenedtosweden_gangviolence,
title = {Gang violence and its impact on Swedish business},
howpublished = {\url{https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence}},
note = {Presented by SVERIGEFAKTA; original source Brå, Brå, Polisen}
}https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/gang-violence
Sources
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