Demographics of Sweden

The demography of Sweden is monitored by Statistics Sweden (SCB). As of 31 December 2015, the population of Sweden was estimated to be 9.85 million people, making it the 90th most populous country in the world. The figure is projected to reach ten million in the course of 2016. The three biggest cities are , Gothenburg and Malmö. Approximately 85% of the country's population resides in its urban areas.

At the housing and population census 1990 the Swedish population stood at 8 587 353 out of which 4 242 351 male and 4 345 002 female. According to a 2012 survey there were 1 473 256 foreign born within the country making up 15% of the population.

The 2005 Swedish census showed an increase of 475,322 compared to the 1990 census, an average increase of 31,680 annually. During the 1990s, birth rate increased by more than 100,000 children per year while death rates fell and immigration surged. In the early 2000s, birth rate declined as immigration increased further, with the context of unrest in the Middle East, upholding steady population growth.

The majority of the population are Swedes. The Sweden Finns are a large ethnic minority comprising approximately 50,000 along the Swedish-Finnish border, and 450,000 first and second generation immigrated ethnic Finns, mainly living in the Mälaren Valley region. Meänkieli Finnish has official status in parts of northern Sweden near the Finnish border. In addition, Sweden's indigenous population groups includes the Sami people, historically a nomadic reindeer herding group that has been native to Fenno-Scandinavia for at least 5000 years. Today, the Sami language holds the status of official minority language in four municipalities in the Norrbotten county.

Immigrants from the Middle East have been a rapidly growing share of Sweden’s population. According to the government agency Statistics Sweden, the number of Swedes born in all of Asia (including the Middle East) rose from just 1,000 in 1950 to 295,000 in 2003. Most of those immigrants came from Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Syria, according to Statistics Sweden. A significant number of Syriac Christians have settled.

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