One in two single parents cannot afford unexpected expenses

Published October 18, 2023 – By Editorial staff
Across the EU, 26% of single parents live in material poverty.

20 percent of Swedes would not be able to pay a major unforeseen expense today, according to new statistics from SCB (Statistics Sweden). Among single parents, the figure is close to 50 percent.

In the SCB's Survey on Living Conditions (ULF - Undersökning om levnadsförhållanden), several questions are posed to measure material and social poverty, meaning that one cannot afford a certain standard of living. A household that cannot afford at least five of the indicators can be assessed as living in material poverty.

Nearly 1.7 million people in Sweden live in households without a cash margin, that is, the ability to pay an unforeseen expense of at least SEK 13,000, or about 1,130 euros.

– Of these, an estimated 187,000 are single adults with children. In this group, for example, it is more common than in the general population to find it difficult to make ends meet, says Helena Månsson, researcher at the SCB, in a press release.

Can't pay

In Sweden, 14 percent of all single parents with children live in material poverty, with 17.7 percent stating that they find it difficult, or very difficult, to make ends meet. About 13.2 percent of the same group say they are behind on payments.

Across the EU, 26 percent of all single parents with children live in material poverty.

The EU country with the highest material poverty is Romania, where 49 percent of single parents are said to belong to this group, followed by Greece with 47 percent, and Bulgaria with 46 percent.

The lowest proportion of single parents with material poverty can be found in Luxembourg, which has eight percent, and Italy, which is at 12 percent."

Measurement of material and social poverty

It means that one cannot afford a certain standard of living. This is measured by examining whether individuals can afford the following:

  • Can pay unforeseen expenses of at least 13,000 kronor (in 2022) without borrowing or asking for help.
  • Can afford a week's vacation per year.
  • Can pay debts: mortgages, rent, bills, installment purchases.
  • Can afford a meal with meat, chicken, fish or an equivalent vegetarian option every other day.
  • Can afford to keep the house adequately warm.
  • Has access to a car.
  • Has access to the internet.
  • Can afford to replace worn-out furniture.
  • Can afford to replace worn-out clothes.
  • Owns two pairs of shoes.
  • Can afford to spend a small amount on oneself every week.
  • Can afford to regularly participate in a recreational activity that costs money.
  • Can afford to meet family or friends for a coffee or dinner at least once a month.

An individual who cannot afford five or more of these items lives in material and social poverty. A person who cannot afford seven or more of the items lives, according to the EU's definition, in severe material and social poverty.

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Swedish Prison Service opposes plan to lower criminal age to 13

Published today 10:22 am – By Editorial staff

The Swedish government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 is facing strong criticism. In its consultation response, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) states that it is not equipped to receive such young children in prison and that they should be cared for in other ways.

By July 1 next year, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service is expected to have built prison units for children where both 15–17-year-olds and 13–14-year-olds convicted of serious crimes will serve sentences. At the same time, places at the special youth homes (SiS homes, state-run institutions for youth care) will be phased out.

In the consultation response, the Prison and Probation Service writes that imprisonment at a young age can lead to negative consequences, and that children "as young as 13 should be cared for in other ways".

These concerns become more significant the younger the children in question are, says Elisabeth Lager, acting legal director, to TT.

The Prison and Probation Service is clear that the organization does not have the required resources. It lacks both the expertise and suitable facilities to handle children as young as 13 within prisons, detention centers, or community-based sanctions such as probation. Practical issues such as education must also be addressed. At the same time, it is noted that the level of the age of criminal responsibility is ultimately a political matter.

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer writes that the government will "carefully analyze all consultation responses". He emphasizes that society must "care for children in a completely different way than today" in cases of the most serious crimes, both to protect victims and society, but also the children themselves.

Syrian man convicted of rape remains in Sweden six years after deportation order

Migrant violence

Published November 10, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The tent at the Emmaboda Festival 2017 where the Syrian migrant Noraldin Alhamamy, now known as "Emil Jordensson," raped a 15-year-old girl.---**Context note:** Emmaboda Festival is a music festival held in Emmaboda, a small town in southern Sweden. The case refers to a criminal incident that occurred at the festival in 2017.

A migrant who was sentenced to deportation for aggravated rape of a 15-year-old girl at a music festival in 2017 is still in Sweden. During this time, the 30-year-old has committed new crimes and ran as a candidate in the Swedish church elections this summer. Now Swedish Migration Minister Johan Forssell calls the situation "sick" and promises legislative changes.

The 30-year-old Syrian citizen Noraldin Alhamamy came to Sweden in 2015 and received a permanent residence permit in the fall of 2016. Just six days before that decision, he was convicted of his first crime in the country: sexual molestation, reports Fria Tider.

In the summer of 2017, he committed the crime that would lead to deportation. At the Emmaboda Festival in southern Sweden, he raped a 15-year-old girl in her tent. He threatened her with a knife and covered her mouth during the assault. The girl developed post-traumatic stress disorder and has described how she lives in constant fear and anxiety.

He has destroyed my life, the girl said during the trial.

The man, who now goes by the name Emil Jordensson, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and deportation with a ten-year entry ban. However, the deportation has not been carried out because he has claimed several obstacles to enforcement.

Claimed conversion and military service

First, he claimed that he risked being called up for military service in the Syrian army. Later, he claimed that he had converted to Christianity, which he argued would put him in danger in his home country. His case has been heard in the Migration Court of Appeal and has become precedent-setting for other courts. Despite being denied refugee status due to the severity of his crime, he remains in Sweden more than six years after the verdict.

During this time, he has committed additional crimes. Last year, he was convicted of aggravated assault against a public official after making a revenge visit to a police officer who had arrested him, as well as for assaulting his wife, car theft, and harassment. The crimes were deemed to have been committed during a psychosis and he was sentenced to probation with supervision.

This summer, it was revealed in the regional newspaper Smålandsposten that the man was running as a candidate in the Church elections, which was possible because he is registered in the Swedish population register. He withdrew his candidacy after the revelation.

New legislation planned

It is of course sick. It is completely unacceptable, says Migration Minister Johan Forssell to the Bonnier newspaper Expressen.

The government will propose a new law called "tolerated stay" to handle people in this situation. They will then not receive temporary residence permits, be prohibited from leaving a certain area, have reporting obligations, and not be able to access Swedish welfare or register in the population register.

The man has been in detention since September after the Swedish Migration Agency decided that he cannot be held in regular detention due to his criminal record.

25 years since the murder of Daniel Wretström

Migrant violence

Updated November 9, 2025, Published November 9, 2025 – By Editorial staff
The artist Markus Andersson holds up a painting of Daniel Wretström, who became a victim and symbol of anti-Swedish violence.

The young nationalist Daniel Wretström was brutally assaulted and stabbed to death in a ditch on December 9, 2000, in Salem, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, by a gang of immigrants.

The murderer Khaled Odeh, who slit the throat of the 17-year-old, and his four accomplices all escaped prison sentences, and the murder has become symbolic of the increased anti-Swedish violence in Sweden.

Now a memorial demonstration is being held on December 6, 25 years after his murder, which aroused strong revulsion among young Swedes.

The murder of Wretström occurred at a time when Swedish media the year before had exposed 62 people as nazis and a "threat to democracy." Prime Minister Göran Persson and other leading Social Democrats promised in major media statements the same year as the murder to "crush" the racists.

Mass immigration to Sweden had at that time seriously begun to affect the country's demographic composition, creating deep ethnic and cultural divisions while the pursued policy was driven in the direction of systematically transforming one of the world's most homogeneous countries into a multicultural society.

The policy, which was declared by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme as early as 1975 and which from the 1990s was seriously driven from the highest political level, contributed to increased insecurity and became the starting point for the gang violence that has today spiraled out of control and made Sweden one of Europe's most unsafe countries.

The counter-reaction, primarily among Sweden's youth who were earliest affected by the insecurity and societal transformation, became an increased nationalism. The development gained momentum in a national movement that encompassed both politics, culture, music and other expressions with emphasis on patriotism, the preservation of Swedishness and an increased national self-awareness with demands to stop mass immigration.

Swedish mass media were a driving force in the same direction as the government with the transformation of Sweden toward multiculturalism and contributed to demonizing all expressions and reactions against this direction, which promoted subcultures and diminished the legitimacy of all forms of resistance. The mass media's actions also contributed to holding back nationalist parties like the Sweden Democrats in public opinion and drove unserious individuals into organizations working for national self-preservation.

Young Swedes who reacted against the development lacked channels and were demonized as "xenophobic," which strongly drove polarization and spurred young immigrants to threats and acts of violence against Swedes.

The young nationalist Daniel Wretström became a victim of the political and media campaign and was murdered in Salem, a Stockholm suburb, which came to be symbolic of the increased anti-Swedish violence in Sweden. In his memory, a torch-lit procession was organized and the so-called Salem Demonstration gathered thousands of Swedes annually during the early 2000s, primarily younger people.

On December 6, 25 years after the murder, a demonstration is once again being arranged to honor the memory of the murdered young nationalist. The organizer writes on their website that the demonstration is politically independent. As with the demonstrations of the 2000s, participants gather at Rönninge commuter train station to march to the place where Wretström lost his life.

Bullying doubled in Sweden – one in six girls affected

Published November 8, 2025 – By Editorial staff

Three students in every classroom are estimated to be victims of bullying, according to a new report from Friends, a Swedish anti-bullying organization. The organization is now raising the alarm that Sweden has the worst record in the Nordic region and argues that the government's school reform lacks the preventive measures needed to reverse the trend.

The new Friends report is based on a survey conducted by Novus during spring, in which 1,026 students aged 9-16 (grades 4-9) participated. The findings show that bullying continues to be a widespread problem in Swedish schools. Six out of ten students report having experienced some form of harassment, threats, or violence this year.

On average, three students per class are victims of bullying, and four out of ten do not feel comfortable at school. Although the majority of students believe that teachers take action against bullying, one in three still feel that adults turn a blind eye. One in four affected students also report that they lack a trusted adult at school.

According to Maja Frankel, secretary general of Friends, bullying in Sweden has doubled over the past decade.

We have the worst record in the Nordic region. We don't prioritize children's rights highly enough. If we want to turn this around, schools need resources to invest time in prevention – before something happens, not when it's too late. That costs money. We need more trusted adults in schools, says Maja Frankel in Nyhetsmorgon, a Swedish morning news program.

Girls most affected

Girls are particularly affected, with one in six girls experiencing bullying compared to one in nine boys. There are also differences in how they are affected: girls are more exposed to relational bullying – such as social exclusion, spreading rumors, peer pressure, or harassment of a sexual nature. Boys are more exposed to physical violence.

The Swedish government is currently implementing one of the largest reforms in the country's education system in thirty years, but Friends argues that the proposals fall short and lack preventive measures.

The proposals we're seeing right now are truly a betrayal of children. It's not about forcing safety through punishment or achieving better results through stricter measures. It's about protecting children and building warm, secure relationships, says Frankel.