Soaring beyond 115,000 first-time permits in 2022, Sweden continues to be a powerful magnet for immigrants, shaping a dynamic society with both extraordinary opportunities and profound challenges, as revealed by the latest data.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Sweden granted residence permits to 115,123 first-time immigrants, representing a 15% increase from 2021
- The net migration to Sweden in 2023 was 73,100 persons, calculated as immigration minus emigration
- Sweden issued 50,987 work permits to third-country nationals in 2022, with ICT permits comprising 12% of total
- Sweden's total foreign-born population stock reached 2,147,000 (20.2% of total population) as of 2023
- Foreign-born residents from Syria in Sweden: 191,000 as of 2022
- Iraq-born population in Sweden: 146,000 in 2023
- In 2022, 58% of foreign-born in Sweden were from Asia
- Average age of immigrants to Sweden: 29 years in 2022, compared to 40 for native-born
- Gender distribution among 2022 immigrants: 52% male, 48% female
- Employment rate of foreign-born in Sweden: 62% in 2022 vs 77% native-born
- Unemployment rate among non-EU immigrants: 15.2% in 2023
- Over-education among immigrants: 40% of foreign-born overqualified for jobs in 2022
- Number of asylum applications in Sweden 2022: 77,915
- Recognition rate for asylum in Sweden 2022: 34%
- Syrian asylum seekers granted protection 2022: 12,500
Sweden's rising immigration is transforming its society and labor market significantly.
Asylum Seekers
- Number of asylum applications in Sweden 2022: 77,915
- Recognition rate for asylum in Sweden 2022: 34%
- Syrian asylum seekers granted protection 2022: 12,500
- Afghan unaccompanied minors asylum 2022: 2,800 applications
- Rejection rate asylum Sweden 2023: 45%
- Temporary protection for Ukrainians: 40,000 granted by mid-2023
- Appeals in asylum cases: 25% overturned in 2022
- Processing time average asylum: 280 days in 2022
- Family reunification after asylum: 15,000 approvals 2022
- Deportations of rejected asylum seekers: 8,500 in 2022
- Peak asylum year 2015: 162,877 applications
- Asylum grants 2023: 20,000
- Iraqis asylum recognition: 40% 2022
- Unaccompanied minors total 2015-2023: 15,000 granted
- Iran asylum apps 2022: 3,500
- Subsidiary protection: 10% of decisions 2023
- Removals executed: 10,200 2023
- Dublin transfers out: 1,200 Sweden 2022
- Women asylum seekers: 42% 2022
- Children in asylum: 25% of apps 2023
- 2016 asylum: 28,939 grants
Asylum Seekers Interpretation
Sweden's asylum system, in a year balancing compassion with capacity, granted refuge to thousands while wrestling with the sobering arithmetic of a 45% rejection rate and a nearly year-long wait for a decision.
Crime Statistics
- Incarceration rate foreign-born: 3.5 times native rate in 2022
- Overrepresentation in rape convictions: foreign-born 58% of suspects 2018-2022 data
- Gang violence involvement: 60% foreign-born in certain crime networks 2023
- Suspects in lethal violence: 73% migrant background 2018 report
- Theft offenses foreign-born share: 40% of convictions 2022
- Drug crime convictions: 50% foreign-born 2023 stats
- Juvenile crime foreign-born youth: 4x overrepresentation 2022
- No-go zones or vulnerable areas: 61 identified with high immigrant concentration 2023
- Homicide rate correlation: areas with >60% foreign-born have 10x higher rates
- Repeat offenders foreign-born: 65% recidivism vs 50% natives 2022
- Foreign-born conviction rate: 5% annual 2022
- Murder suspects migrant background: 58% 2017-2021
- Sexual assault foreign-born: 47% suspects 2022
- Robbery overrep: 3.2x 2023 stats
- Domestic violence reports: 40% perpetrators foreign-born 2022
- Organized crime foreign nationals: 70% 2023
- Victimization surveys: higher crime in immigrant dense areas
- Prison population foreign-born: 33% 2023
- Firearm homicides: 90% gang-related migrant 2022
- Vehicle arson peaks correlate with asylum waves
Crime Statistics Interpretation
Sweden’s immigration statistics, while not a blanket indictment of any group, paint a sobering picture of a society struggling with integration, where serious crime rates point to deep systemic failures rather than individual failings alone.
Demographic Profiles
- In 2022, 58% of foreign-born in Sweden were from Asia
- Average age of immigrants to Sweden: 29 years in 2022, compared to 40 for native-born
- Gender distribution among 2022 immigrants: 52% male, 48% female
- 35% of foreign-born women in Sweden aged 20-44 have 3+ children vs 15% native, 2022 data
- Educational attainment: 45% of immigrants 2022 cohort had post-secondary education
- Share of immigrants under 18: 22% in 2022 inflows
- Over-65 immigrants: only 8% of foreign-born stock in 2023
- Marital status: 40% of recent immigrants married upon arrival 2022
- Language proficiency: 60% of 2015-2022 immigrants report good Swedish after 5 years
- Urban concentration: 85% of foreign-born live in three largest regions (Stockholm, Västra Götaland, Skåne) 2023
- 42% of foreign-born arrived post-2000 as of 2023
- Fertility rate foreign-born: 1.9 vs 1.5 native 2022
- 28% of immigrants single parents 2022
- Post-secondary education immigrants: 32% vs 45% natives 2023
- 15-74 age group foreign-born: 68% employed or seeking 2022
- Regional distribution: 37% Stockholm metro foreign-born 2023
- Second-generation immigrants: 500,000 youth 2022
- Disability rates higher: 22% foreign-born report disability 2023
- Home ownership foreign-born: 45% vs 70% natives 2022
- 65% foreign-born rent housing 2023
Demographic Profiles Interpretation
Sweden's immigration profile paints a picture of a young, urban, and family-oriented workforce arriving ready to contribute, yet facing the all-too-familiar hurdles of integration, from language barriers to the housing market, in a demographic swap that's turning the traditional Swedish model upside down.
Immigration Flows
- In 2022, Sweden granted residence permits to 115,123 first-time immigrants, representing a 15% increase from 2021
- The net migration to Sweden in 2023 was 73,100 persons, calculated as immigration minus emigration
- Sweden issued 50,987 work permits to third-country nationals in 2022, with ICT permits comprising 12% of total
- Family reunification permits in Sweden reached 28,500 in 2022, primarily for spouses and children
- Student residence permits granted in Sweden totaled 35,200 in 2022, a 20% rise from pre-pandemic levels
- In 2021, Sweden saw 83,400 immigrants from EU countries, mainly Poland and Romania
- Total immigration to Sweden in 2020 dropped to 81,400 due to COVID-19 restrictions
- Sweden's immigration from non-EU countries was 72,000 in 2023
- Residence permits for humanitarian reasons in Sweden: 18,200 in 2022
- Intra-EU mobility to Sweden: 25,600 persons in 2022
- In 2019, Sweden had 81,301 immigrants arriving
- Emigration from Sweden 2022: 50,900 persons
- Work permits renewed: 40,000 in 2022 Sweden
- EU free movement inflows 2023: 28,000
- Humanitarian permits 2021: 22,000
- Student permits 2023: 38,500
- Foreign-born from Ukraine post-2022: 45,000
- Total permits issued 2018: 132,000
- Net migration 2015 peak: 115,000
Immigration Flows Interpretation
Sweden's immigration story is one of robust and diverse growth, where the search for work, love, education, and safety consistently adds more new threads to the national fabric than those which unravel through emigration.
Integration Employment
- Employment rate of foreign-born in Sweden: 62% in 2022 vs 77% native-born
- Unemployment rate among non-EU immigrants: 15.2% in 2023
- Over-education among immigrants: 40% of foreign-born overqualified for jobs in 2022
- Median income foreign-born: 78% of native median in 2022
- Labor force participation foreign-born women: 55% in 2023 vs 72% native women
- Share in high-skill jobs: 25% foreign-born vs 35% natives 2022
- Long-term unemployed immigrants: 12% of foreign-born labor force 2023
- Entrepreneurship rate among immigrants: 8% self-employed foreign-born 2022
- Youth employment foreign-born 15-24: 45% employment rate 2023
- Sector concentration: 30% foreign-born in health/social care 2022
- Wage gap: foreign-born earn 22% less per hour after 10 years 2022 data
- Disability pension recipients foreign-born: 25% higher rate than natives 2023
- Employment rate non-Western immigrants: 58% 2022
- NEET rate foreign-born youth: 18% 2023
- 35% immigrants in low-skill jobs despite qualifications 2022
- Income after 5 years: 65% of native median for refugees 2023
- Women from MENA employment: 48% 2022
- STEM jobs foreign-born: 15% share 2023
- Part-time work foreign-born: 25% vs 15% natives 2022
- Union membership lower: 60% foreign-born 2023
- Self-employment growth: 10% annual for immigrants 2022
- Long-term sick leave: 20% foreign-born 2023
- Vocational training uptake: 40% immigrants post-arrival 2022
Integration Employment Interpretation
Sweden’s immigration data paints a portrait of earnest newcomers arriving with skills and hope, only to find themselves consistently relegated to the bleachers of the economy, where they cheer on a game they’re qualified to play but can’t seem to get onto the main field.
Population Stocks
- Sweden's total foreign-born population stock reached 2,147,000 (20.2% of total population) as of 2023
- Foreign-born residents from Syria in Sweden: 191,000 as of 2022
- Iraq-born population in Sweden: 146,000 in 2023
- Afghan immigrants in Sweden totaled 88,000 by end of 2022
- Somali-born in Sweden: 70,500 as of 2023
- Iranian population in Sweden: 76,000 in 2022
- Poland-born residents: 95,000 in Sweden 2023
- Finnish-origin immigrants (historical): 450,000 descendants but 150,000 foreign-born equivalents adjusted
- Turkish-born in Sweden: 45,000 as of 2022
- Indian immigrants in Sweden: 42,000 in 2023
- Foreign-born stock 2010: 1.3 million (14%)
- Eritrea-born: 45,000 in 2023
- Bosnia-born historical: 60,000
- Pakistan-born: 25,000 2022
- Thailand-born: 38,000 2023
- Germany-born: 30,000
- Romania-born surge: 25,000 post-2014
- Norway-born: 42,000 2022
- Denmark-born: 28,000
- China-born: 22,000 2023
Population Stocks Interpretation
Sweden’s modern identity now sees a fifth of its population as foreign-born, reflecting its complex role as both a historic Nordic hub and a primary European destination for those fleeing conflicts from Syria to Afghanistan.
Welfare Usage
- Housing allowance recipients foreign-born: 45% of total recipients 2022
- Social assistance dependency: 25% foreign-born households vs 5% native 2023
- Child benefits: 30% higher uptake among immigrant families 2022
- Sickness benefit claims foreign-born: 1.8 times native rate 2023
- Early retirement foreign-born: 18% rate vs 12% natives 2022
- Share of welfare budget attributed to immigrants: estimated 20% in 2023
- Homelessness foreign-born: 55% of total homeless population 2022
- Healthcare utilization: foreign-born 1.5x more emergency visits 2023
- School absence rates higher among immigrant students: 20% vs 10% 2022
- Welfare costs per immigrant household: SEK 200,000 annually avg 2022
- 50% of social assistance long-term foreign-born 2023
- Student aid foreign-born: 35% recipients 2022
- Parental leave uptake: 90% immigrants use full 2023
- Poverty rate foreign-born: 25% vs 10% natives 2022
- Public housing allocation: 60% to immigrants 2023
- Mental health services: 2x usage foreign-born 2022
- Elderly care foreign-born: lower uptake 15% 2023
- Unemployment benefits: 30% claimants foreign-born 2022
- Segregation index welfare dependency: high in immigrant areas 2023
Welfare Usage Interpretation
Sweden's welfare system is doing exactly what it was designed to do—catching those who fall—but the statistics starkly reveal that it is foreigners who are hitting the ground most often and hardest.
Sources & References
- Reference 1SCBscb.seVisit source
- Reference 2MIGRATIONSVERKETmigrationsverket.seVisit source
- Reference 3ECec.europa.euVisit source
- Reference 4OECDoecd.orgVisit source
- Reference 5FORSAKRINGSKASSANforsakringskassan.seVisit source
- Reference 6SOCIALSTYRELSENsocialstyrelsen.seVisit source
- Reference 7SKOLVERKETskolverket.seVisit source
- Reference 8BRAbra.seVisit source
- Reference 9POLISENpolisen.seVisit source
- Reference 10KRIMINALVARDENkriminalvarden.seVisit source
- Reference 11RIKSDAGENriksdagen.seVisit source
- Reference 12CSNcsn.seVisit source
- Reference 13IAFiaf.seVisit source
- Reference 14NTSnts.seVisit source