The amount of population living in Konungariket Sverige (Kingdom of Sweden) is 10,415,811 (2021 World Bank statistic), ethnically, religiously and linguistically diverse thanks to immigration.
At first, only ethnic groups lived in Sweden; the only significant minority group was the Sami, a Finno-Ugric people living in the far north of Scandinavia. Also, for centuries, people came from Germany, Finland, Norway, Denmark and others who changed the Swedish gene.
In the middle of the 20th century, it became one of the world's richest and most technological nations, making it attractive to many people seeking opportunity and economic freedom. The largest percentage of migrants are from the countries Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the former Yugoslavia; most of them arrived as refugees from war-torn regions. During the Bosnian war, the biggest number of refugees in the country's history arrived.
The Swedish-language encyclopedia Nationalencyklopedin defines immigrants as: “people who move from one country to another to settle there for a long time, according to the population register in Sweden for at least one year.” (Sanandaji, T. 2018. Swedes and Immigration: End of homogeneity(1)).
Nowadays, about 20% of the Sweden population are foreign-born or have one or both parents born abroad. Creating a good mix of people from all over the world, enriching the country with all kinds of perspectives and experiences, making the biggest Scandinavian country, with approximately 500,000 square kilometres of surface, a multicultural society.
The main reason for migration is asylum seekers, native-born returnees, immigrants due to employment and studies, and immigration due to family reunification between native-born and foreign-born persons.
In the long term, immigration is expected to increase to just over 100,000 per year, with conflicts, political instability, a better quality of life, and greater economic stability, among other factors, as the main reasons.
Sweden is a sparsely populated country. Most people live in the southern half of the country, in the largest cities: Stockholm (the nation's capital), Gothenburg, Malmo and Uppsala; but also foreign people can be found in other parts of the country.
"I live in Jönköping and there are about 60 people from my home country Ghana. And from the African continent, I think more or less about 1,000 people. We sometimes get together to have BBQs, parties, etc. Others meet in churches, and other religious places" (Yaw G.)
Sweden is one of the best places to live as an immigrant, because of the facilities of being part of society, in addition to all the benefits that are offered to people such as access to public health, education, housing, etc.
"When I came to Sweden, I doubted if I could stand the cold; but I didn´t have in mind that houses, shopping malls and all buildings, even bus stops have heating. I thought that I would not find people from my home country (Mexico), but I found wonderful people who supported me and helped me with my doubts. In addition, the population of migrants from many countries of the world facilitates coexistence in the country, since it is a multilingual, multirace, multicultural place. I was also able to work in a place whose technology, innovation and sustainability make it, in my opinion, the wonder of the world". (Andrea L.)
Sweden is a multicultural country, where you can meet people from your home country and establish social relationships with people from different parts of the world, which will enrich you as a person.
If you are having doubts about your future, leaving your country to seek better opportunities and live a better quality of life, you are on the right page.
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