Religion & infrastructure

Mosques and prayer rooms — what is counted and why figures differ

There is no complete register of mosques and prayer rooms in Sweden. Faith communities, congregations, buildings and temporary premises are different units, and this page shows no counts until a checked inventory exists.

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

MUCF · Annually
MUCF — Trossamfund, antal betjänade (bidragsgrundande medlems- och deltagarstatistik)
Statsbidragsberättigade trossamfund och antal betjänade (inkl. muslimska riksförbund)
Latest data point 31 Dec 2024 · Source published 1 Jan 2025

Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.

Back to overview →

The question this page answers

What can be said about mosques and Muslim prayer venues in Sweden based on verifiable public records?

At a glance

Key figures — the most important numbers on this page

National mosque register

No register

Sweden keeps no official register of mosques or prayer venues. All figures are compiled from separate sources.

Number in 1990

≈ 12

Sorgenfrei (2019) and Larsson (2014): documented Muslim gathering places in Sweden around 1990.

SST umbrellas

6 national bodies

IFiS, FIFS, SIF, IKUS (Turkish), SMR (umbrella), BIS (Bosniak). Many local mosques operate outside the umbrellas.

Reported by FOI 2018

3 funding types

Membership fees/collections, foreign donations (documented from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey/Diyanet), property investments.

Approval process

Permits = municipal

Planning and Building Act. Municipalities assess plan and building permits; religious orientation is not itself grounds for refusal.

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

Sweden has no national register of mosques. Published figures come from three source types measuring different things: SST membership statistics (state-grant communities), municipal building boards (permits for religious activity) and academic inventories (Sorgenfrei/SST 2019, Larsson 2014).
Different counting methods give different numbers: formal communities with premises, prayer rooms in association premises and temporary premises are different units. No counts are shown until an inventory with year and scope has been checked.
A 'mosque' in Swedish statistics is most often not a purpose-built building with minaret but a space — an apartment, basement, industrial building or association room — used for prayer. Purpose-built mosques are a minority.
Claims about foreign funding of Swedish mosques are not presented here: the previously cited FOI report (FOI-R--4547--SE) has not been checked as support.
Building permits for mosques are assessed under the Planning and Building Act like any other assembly hall. Religious orientation is not grounds for refusal; administrative-court appeals normally concern noise, parking, zoning and neighbour interests.

Method note
We separate counting methods: formal faith communities with state grants, congregations with premises, prayer rooms without formal community structure and purpose-built mosques. None is presented here as a checked count.

Definitions

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

Mosque: Building or space intended for Muslim prayer. No uniform Swedish statistical definition — SST counts 'mosques and prayer venues' as one category.
Prayer room: Simple prayer space, often in association premises, basements or industrial buildings. Constitutes the majority of what is counted as 'mosques' in Swedish mappings.
Purpose-built mosque: Building erected as a mosque, often with minaret and dome. A minority of Sweden's mosques — Malmö, Uppsala, Gothenburg and others.
Minaret: Tower attached to a mosque. Only a few Swedish mosques have one; call to prayer is regulated municipally and rare.
Imam: Prayer leader in Muslim worship. Sweden has no state imam training; training happens abroad or via communities.
Islamic centre: Umbrella term often housing a mosque, teaching room, café/shop and association activity. May be run by a community or a separate association.
Faith community: Religious organisation. May be registered under the Faith Communities Act (1998:1593) with the Chamber Collegium and apply for state grants via SST.
SST: Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities. Distributes state grants and publishes statistics on affiliated communities and members.
National body: Umbrella of local communities. Six Muslim national bodies within SST: IFiS, FIFS, SIF, IKUS, SMR, BIS.
Member association: Local association affiliated with a national body. Reports membership to SST as basis for state grants.
Building permit: Municipal approval under the Planning and Building Act (2010:900). Required for new construction and change of use to assembly hall.
Detailed development plan: Municipal land-use plan. A new mosque on unplanned land normally requires a plan amendment — often the source of delay rather than religious review.
Call to prayer: Muezzin call from a mosque. Requires permit under the Public Order Act; issued by police after municipal referral. Only a handful of Swedish mosques hold permits.
Diyanet: Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs. Funds and appoints imams in Turkish-linked mosques across Europe, including Sweden (documented by FOI 2018).
Cultural centre: Activity with cultural, linguistic and religious elements. May be religious or secular — not always synonymous with a mosque.

Primary sources

Agencies and research institutions behind this page

agencies/institutions

reports & studies

primary datasets

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

There is no checked national count. The answer depends on whether communities, congregations, buildings or prayer rooms are counted, and no inventory with year and scope could be checked here.

Logical next steps if you want to understand the background

Mosques and prayer rooms — what is counted and why figures differ

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

MUCF · Annually
MUCF — Trossamfund, antal betjänade (bidragsgrundande medlems- och deltagarstatistik)
Statsbidragsberättigade trossamfund och antal betjänade (inkl. muslimska riksförbund)
Latest data point 31 Dec 2024 · Source published 1 Jan 2025

Read the full investigation of how Sweden has changed.

Back to overview →

What does the data show?

Objective observations — not interpretations

Sweden has no national register of mosques. Published figures come from three source types measuring different things: SST membership statistics (state-grant communities), municipal building boards (permits for religious activity) and academic inventories (Sorgenfrei/SST 2019, Larsson 2014).

Different counting methods give different numbers: formal communities with premises, prayer rooms in association premises and temporary premises are different units. No counts are shown until an inventory with year and scope has been checked.

A 'mosque' in Swedish statistics is most often not a purpose-built building with minaret but a space — an apartment, basement, industrial building or association room — used for prayer. Purpose-built mosques are a minority.

Claims about foreign funding of Swedish mosques are not presented here: the previously cited FOI report (FOI-R--4547--SE) has not been checked as support.

Building permits for mosques are assessed under the Planning and Building Act like any other assembly hall. Religious orientation is not grounds for refusal; administrative-court appeals normally concern noise, parking, zoning and neighbour interests.

Definitions

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

Mosque

Building or space intended for Muslim prayer. No uniform Swedish statistical definition — SST counts 'mosques and prayer venues' as one category.

Prayer room

Simple prayer space, often in association premises, basements or industrial buildings. Constitutes the majority of what is counted as 'mosques' in Swedish mappings.

Purpose-built mosque

Building erected as a mosque, often with minaret and dome. A minority of Sweden's mosques — Malmö, Uppsala, Gothenburg and others.

Minaret

Tower attached to a mosque. Only a few Swedish mosques have one; call to prayer is regulated municipally and rare.

Imam

Prayer leader in Muslim worship. Sweden has no state imam training; training happens abroad or via communities.

Islamic centre

Umbrella term often housing a mosque, teaching room, café/shop and association activity. May be run by a community or a separate association.

Faith community

Religious organisation. May be registered under the Faith Communities Act (1998:1593) with the Chamber Collegium and apply for state grants via SST.

SST

Swedish Agency for Support to Faith Communities. Distributes state grants and publishes statistics on affiliated communities and members.

National body

Umbrella of local communities. Six Muslim national bodies within SST: IFiS, FIFS, SIF, IKUS, SMR, BIS.

Member association

Local association affiliated with a national body. Reports membership to SST as basis for state grants.

Building permit

Municipal approval under the Planning and Building Act (2010:900). Required for new construction and change of use to assembly hall.

Detailed development plan

Municipal land-use plan. A new mosque on unplanned land normally requires a plan amendment — often the source of delay rather than religious review.

Call to prayer

Muezzin call from a mosque. Requires permit under the Public Order Act; issued by police after municipal referral. Only a handful of Swedish mosques hold permits.

Diyanet

Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs. Funds and appoints imams in Turkish-linked mosques across Europe, including Sweden (documented by FOI 2018).

Cultural centre

Activity with cultural, linguistic and religious elements. May be religious or secular — not always synonymous with a mosque.

Frequently asked questions

Short answers to what is most often discussed

There is no checked national count. The answer depends on whether communities, congregations, buildings or prayer rooms are counted, and no inventory with year and scope could be checked here.

Mosques and prayer rooms — what is counted and why figures differ

How to read this

The Nordics — same metric

Human consequence

Sources for this page

At a glance

What does the data show?

Definitions

Primary sources

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

Culture & values — overview

Mosques and prayer rooms — what is counted and why figures differ

How to read this

The Nordics — same metric

Human consequence

Sources for this page

At a glance

What does the data show?

Definitions

Primary sources

Frequently asked questions

Related topics