Population

Sweden's population – development, composition, and trends

Sweden’s population has steadily increased over several decades. From being a relatively sparsely populated country in the early 1900s, we have now surpassed 10.5 million residents. This growth affects everything from the housing market and labor force to the welfare system and urban planning.

But population growth is not just about numbers – the composition of the population also plays a major role. Here we follow trends in gender distribution, age structure, and marital status – factors that deeply influence the development of society.

How is the population measured?

Statistics Sweden (SCB) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the population. The data is primarily based on the national population register maintained by the Swedish Tax Agency, which makes the statistics highly reliable. Updates are published annually and show how the population changes across municipalities, age groups, gender, and other demographic parameters.

Since the digitalization of the population register, data collection has become both faster and more accurate, allowing us to monitor changes in real time across the country.

Declining Labor Force Participation and Growing Societal Challenges

The chart clearly shows how the share of the labor force (green line) has fallen from over 61 % in the 1980s and 1990s to just under 59 % today, while the number of retirees (purple line) has surged. This means fewer working-age people are now supporting the welfare system, elder care, and pensions compared to past decades.

At the same time, the world of work has become more flexible, and many employees now work part-time or irregular hours—something less common in the past. While part-time work can offer more freedom for education, parental leave, or phased retirement, it also reduces the total volume of working hours in the economy.

Together, these demographic and labor-market trends demand adaptations in economic and social policy: How should tax systems, education initiatives, and labor regulations be designed to ensure a sufficient workforce and sustain the welfare state when the proportion of working-age people is shrinking?

Population growth – births, deaths, and migration

The population change in Sweden consists of three parts:

• Natural increase: The difference between the number of births and deaths.
• Immigration and emigration: The net effect of people moving to or from the country.
• Internal migration: Moves within the country affect local population distribution.

In recent years, immigration has had the greatest impact on population growth, especially in larger cities. At the same time, natural increase is decreasing as birth rates fall.

Gender, age, and marital status

Sweden’s population is evenly divided between men and women, with a slight female majority overall. In the working-age group (18–64 years), the gender distribution is even more balanced.

Looking at marital status, there is a steady increase in unmarried adults, especially in metropolitan areas. Marriages occur later in life, and the number of divorces has stabilized after increasing in the early 2000s.

Impact on society

A growing and aging population places demands on societal resources:

• Senior care: The share of people over 80 is increasing rapidly.
• Education: New generations require more school placements.
• Housing: Urbanization drives the need for housing development in major cities.

Meeting these demands requires long-term planning based on up-to-date population statistics.

Sweden’s population is growing – but not evenly. Metropolitan areas are expanding rapidly while some rural municipalities are shrinking. By monitoring this development, we can understand which parts of society are affected and what actions may be needed to meet future demands.