At the turn of the year, at least 34.62% of the population in Sweden had a foreign background. In several municipalities, people with an immigrant background are already in a clear majority, according to statistics from Statistics Sweden.
More than a third of the population now has a non-Swedish background if one uses the statistics available and adds the number of people born abroad to those born in Sweden with one or two foreign parents.
It can also be noted that for younger residents, the proportion with a foreign background is even higher. For people between 35 and 44 years old, it is 44.12%, for residents between 25 and 34 and 41.19% and among residents in Sweden between 5 and 9 years old, 40.37% have an immigrant background.
It can also be seen that it is particularly in the metropolitan regions (Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg) that the highest proportion of people with a foreign background is found – while in many rural municipalities the proportion of people with a foreign background is much lower.
At the same time, the actual proportion of inhabitants with a foreign background may be significantly higher than that presented by Statistics Sweden, as third generation immigrants are counted as Swedes in the statistics – partly because it is forbidden to keep statistics based on ethnicity in Sweden.
The most common countries of birth for foreign-born people are Syria, Iraq and Finland – followed by Poland, Iran, Somalia and Afghanistan.
In municipalities such as Botkyrka and Södertälje, those with a foreign background are already in a clear majority (61.6 and 58.9 % respectively) according to official statistics. Many other municipalities such as Järfälla, Malmö, Burlöv, Sundbyberg and Upplands Väsby are rapidly moving in the same direction.
