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What happened to Sweden?A data-driven storyChapter 1 of 6

Sweden then and now

One connected chapter — 30–50 years of Swedish development on a single page. No prior knowledge required.

read time
6 min read
charts
10
primary sources
8

After this chapter you will understand

  • How much has Sweden changed — measured in official statistics?
  • When did the shift begin, and which areas moved first?
  • What does the change mean — and what remains to understand?

In five minutes

What will you find here?

Behind the figures below stand Swedish authorities and the OECD. Shares not published ready-made are computed from the agency's own counts, as stated with each series.

indicators
10
charts
15
primary sources
8
period
1995–2025
municipalities covered
290

Overview

How much has Sweden changed?

We start with three figures. Each comes from an official series — and each is of the magnitude usually described as a generational shift.

Sources: Brå, SCB, OECD/Skolverket. Deep dives per row further down.

Timeline

When did the shift begin?

This change did not happen all at once. Five reference points between 1995 and 2025 provide a time frame.

  1. 1995

    Sweden joins the EU (1 January 1995).

  2. 2005

    12.4% of the population is foreign-born at year-end (Statistics Sweden).

  3. 2015

    Record asylum year (162,877). 17.0% foreign-born at year-end (Statistics Sweden).

  4. 2024

    20.8% foreign-born at year-end (Statistics Sweden: 2,200,238 of 10,587,710).

  5. 2025

    43 people killed in shootings according to the Police's preliminary 2025 compilation.

A timeline only shows when. The next question is what — which areas actually changed.

Ten indicators

Which areas changed?

Ten indicators, same format. Grouped into three themes so the breadth becomes visible.

Safety and crime

Crime

Fatal shootings per year

2013

25

2024

45

2013: 252014: 282015: 332016: 302017: 402018: 432019: 452020: 482021: 452022: 632024: 45

Series: Brå, Lethal violence statistics report 2022, table 5 (2013–2022); Brå 2024 (45). 2023 not shown.

According to Brå, lethal firearm violence rose from 25 cases in 2013 to a peak of 63 in 2022. For 2024 Brå reports 45. The Police's own count (44 for 2024) uses a different definition and version and is not mixed in. 2023 is not shown in the series.

Note: Brå's series on lethal violence with firearms. The Police's count of people killed in shootings is a different series (different definition, preliminary) and is not mixed with Brå's.

Source: BråRead more →

Bombings

Completed bombings

2018

90

2025

190

2018: 902019: 1332020: 1072021: 792022: 902023: 1592024: 1362025: 190

Series: Police, completed detonations per calendar year (attempts and preparations excluded). 2023–2025 = annual report 2025, table 4.20 (the Police's separate 2024 annual file gives 139).

The Police's revisable annual series shows 159 completed detonations in 2023, 136 in 2024 and 190 in 2025. The 2025 annual report is the latest comparable full-year source.

Note: The Police series counts completed detonations. Brå counts reported bombings incl. attempts and preparation — two different measures that must not be added or compared directly.

Source: PolisenRead more →

Safety

Women feeling unsafe out late

2007

34 %

2026

32 %

2007: 342008: 332009: 322010: 292011: 312012: 302013: 282014: 292015: 302016: 372017: 362018: 362019: 362020: 382021: 362022: 352023: 342024: 312025: 322026: 32

Series: Brå, Swedish Crime Survey: women aged 16–84 feeling fairly/very unsafe or avoiding going out late at night. 2007–2015 recalculated from the earlier method.

According to Brå's Swedish Crime Survey, 34% of women felt unsafe out late at night, or avoided going out, in 2007. The share was 32% in 2026. It rose markedly in 2016 and has edged down since 2022.

Note: The measure comes from Brå's Swedish Crime Survey. Brå recalculated 2006–2015 because the survey then used a different method; the series here is Brå's comparable series from 2007.

Source: Brå NTURead more →

Vulnerable areas

Police 'vulnerable areas'

2015

53

2025

65

2015: 532025: 65

The concept did not exist in 1990. In 2015 the Police listed 53 areas. By 2025 it is 65, after a methodological revision.

Note: Police classification. The methodology was last revised in the 2025 assessment; levels before and after revisions are not fully comparable. The concept did not exist before 2015.

Source: PolisenRead more →

Economy and school

Economy

OECD rank, GDP per capita

No figure shown: the ranks have not yet been checked against an exact OECD extract with measure and year.

Sweden's OECD rank by GDP per capita depends on the measure (PPP, current or constant prices) and the source.

Note: GDP per capita in current prices and purchasing power parity (PPP). Rank varies slightly between OECD, IMF and World Bank depending on the PPP adjustment.

Source: OECDRead more →

School

PISA — reading literacy

2018

506

2025

466

2018: 5062022: 4872025: 466

Series: Skolverket (PISA 2018 and 2022); OECD (PISA 2025). Study years only; no years in between.

Swedish 15-year-olds scored 506 in reading in PISA 2018, 487 in PISA 2022 and 466 in PISA 2025. The result was above the OECD average in both recent rounds (476 and 461).

Note: PISA runs in study years (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2025); there are no years in between. The three latest rounds are shown here.

The Nordics on the same measure · 2022

  • SE487
  • NO477
  • DK489
  • FI490

Mean score, reading literacy.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Results (Volume I)

Source: OECD / SkolverketRead more →

Housing

Completed dwellings per year

No figure shown: the annual values have not yet been checked against Statistics Sweden's exact table of completed dwellings.

The number of dwellings completed in new construction has swung sharply between decades.

Note: Boverket and Statistics Sweden count completed dwellings in new construction. Net additions (incl. conversions and demolitions) is a different measure.

Source: SCB / BoverketRead more →

Population and society

Demographics

Share with foreign background

2002

15,2 %

2025

27,7 %

2002: 15.22003: 15.52004: 15.82005: 16.22006: 16.72007: 17.32008: 17.92009: 18.62010: 19.12011: 19.62012: 20.12013: 20.72014: 21.52015: 22.22016: 23.22017: 24.12018: 24.92019: 25.52020: 25.92021: 26.32022: 26.92023: 27.22024: 27.52025: 27.7

Series: Statistics Sweden, UtlSvBakgFin: foreign-born + born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents, share of population on 31 December. The table starts in 2002.

In 2002, 15.2% of the population had a foreign background (foreign-born or born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents). In 2025 the share was 27.7% (2,936,843 people). The foreign-born were 20.8% in 2025.

Note: Statistics Sweden defines foreign background as either foreign-born or born in Sweden to two foreign-born parents. Having one foreign-born parent does not count.

Source: SCBRead more →

Trust

High interpersonal trust

1996

62 %

2025

57 %

1996: 621998: 582000: 572002: 582004: 552005: 552006: 542007: 582008: 552009: 552010: 602011: 572012: 582013: 602014: 622015: 612016: 602017: 562018: 602019: 582020: 572021: 582022: 592023: 562024: 562025: 57

Series: SOM Institute, Swedish democracy trends 1986–2025, table 18. 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2003 are missing from the series.

The share answering 7–10 on whether people in general can be trusted was 62% in 1996 and 57% in 2025 per the SOM Institute. In between it has varied between 54% and 62%.

Note: SOM Institute question: share answering 7–10 on a 0–10 scale on whether people in general can be trusted. OECD Trust uses a different question and is not directly comparable.

Source: SOM-institutetRead more →

Fertility

Total fertility rate

2000

1,54

2025

1,42

2000: 1.542001: 1.572002: 1.652003: 1.712004: 1.752005: 1.772006: 1.852007: 1.882008: 1.912009: 1.932010: 1.982011: 1.92012: 1.92013: 1.892014: 1.882015: 1.852016: 1.852017: 1.782018: 1.752019: 1.72020: 1.662021: 1.672022: 1.522023: 1.452024: 1.432025: 1.42

Series: Statistics Sweden, FruktsamhetSum (Sweden, women), 2000–2025.

The total fertility rate was 1.98 in 2010 and has since fallen to 1.43 (2024) and 1.42 (2025) — the lowest in Statistics Sweden's 2000–2025 series.

Note: Total fertility rate (TFR) — expected children per woman if the age cohort's fertility stayed constant. Replacement level is about 2.1.

Source: SCBRead more →

Geography

Where did it change most?

This was not an average change. Where it happened matters at least as much as how much.

The national series on this page do not show how developments differ between municipalities or regions.

Local differences can be explored on the map and in the municipality comparison below.

Open the map Beta →Compare municipalities →

Takeaways

What does this mean?

What can be said once the picture is assembled?

The breadth

The change appears in several series from different agencies — crime, school results, demographics and fertility. Not all series move in the same direction.

The pace

Lethal firearm violence and bombings rose over the last decade. Fertility has fallen since 2010. Trust and women's insecurity have varied without a clear trend.

The geography

The national average hides local differences. The municipality pages show each municipality's own values on the same measures.

What remains to understand?

  • Why did the curves begin to move when they did?
  • Which decisions and reforms preceded the change — and which followed?

Sources

Every figure on this page cites its primary source in the indicator card. The composite is compiled by SVERIGEFAKTA.

Summary

Key takeaways

  • Several indicators — among them fatal shootings, bombings, vulnerable areas, PISA and foreign background — have changed over the period, with different start years and measures; the page states no established trend breaks or causes.
  • The national series do not show differences between municipalities; local data are on the map.
  • The sources are Swedish authorities and the OECD. No single actor owns the whole picture.
  • What the change means is a matter of interpretation. That it happened is not.

Further reading

Sources for this page

The data comes from official primary sources.

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Short source
SVERIGEFAKTA, “Sweden then and now — how has the country changed in 50 years?”. Original source: SCB, Brå, Brå, Polisen, OECD, SOM-institutet. https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/then-and-now-overview
Full reference
SVERIGEFAKTA, “Sweden then and now — how has the country changed in 50 years?”. Original source: SCB (https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning-och-levnadsforhallanden/befolkningens-sammansattning-och-utveckling/befolkningsstatistik/); 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/om-polisen/polisens-arbete/utsatta-omraden/); OECD (https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/pisa.html); SOM-institutet (https://www.gu.se/sites/default/files/2026-03/Svenska%20f%C3%B6rtroendetrender%201986-2025.pdf). https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/then-and-now-overview
APA 7
Sweden then and now — how has the country changed in 50 years?. (n.d.). SVERIGEFAKTA. Retrieved 2026-11-05, from https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/then-and-now-overview Original source: SCB, Brå, Brå, Polisen, OECD, SOM-institutet.
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“Sweden then and now — how has the country changed in 50 years?” (n.d.) SVERIGEFAKTA. Available at: https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/then-and-now-overview (Accessed: 2026-11-05). Original source: SCB, Brå, Brå, Polisen, OECD, SOM-institutet.
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@misc{sverigefakta_2026_en_whathappenedtosweden_thenandnowoverview,
  title        = {Sweden then and now — how has the country changed in 50 years?},
  howpublished = {\url{https://sverigefakta.com/en/what-happened-to-sweden/then-and-now-overview}},
  note         = {Presented by SVERIGEFAKTA; original source SCB, Brå, Brå, Polisen, OECD, SOM-institutet}
}
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