Foreign born persons living in Sweden have a different breakdown of sex and age than Swedish born persons. There are more foreign born women than men in Sweden, as opposed to Swedish born persons where men are in the majority. Another difference is that foreign born persons are younger on average than Swedish born persons in the population. But immigration and emigration from each individual country has its own story, which affects those from that particular country who live in Sweden today. Here we describe three common countries of birth: Finland, Poland and Iraq.

Finland

Finland is the most common country of birth for foreign born persons in Sweden. Those who immigrated to Sweden from Finland came mainly for economic reasons, and many came to work in industrial jobs here. Today immigration from Finland is relatively low.

Many of those born in Finland immigrated during the 1960s and 1970s and have been in Sweden for a long time. Half of those born in Finland have lived here for at least 45 years. The group consists of more women than men, especially among the older persons.

Poland

The number of persons born in Poland who have immigrated has varied from time to time. The reasons for immigration have also varied. In 1981 many fled from Poland due to political unrest. Following Poland's membership to the EU, immigration as well as emigration has increased and become more dependent on the economy. During the 2000s, Poland has been the most common country of birth for immigrants born in Europe.

During the 1980s immigration from Poland was dominated by women. Many of those who immigrated were women who were married to men in Sweden. Following Poland's membership to the EU, a larger share of men have come to Sweden. Most of them are labour force immigrants. Poland is one of the few countries where a majority of immigrants since 1970 have been women.

Iraq

The situation in Iraq has long been filled with conflicts and many have come to Sweden as refugees. Most Iraqis came to Sweden during 2007. This was due to a temporary change in the law which allowed more persons residence permits. Since then immigration of persons born in Iraq has decreased. This is because security is better in Iraq and that increasingly more countries have accepted refugees.

During certain periods, much of the immigration of persons born in Iraq has consisted of unmarried men, while during other periods, mostly families with children have immigrated. In total, more men than women born in Iraq have immigrated to Sweden. More men than women have usually immigrated, but in recent years the breakdown of the sexes has been more even, and more women than men from Iraq have immigrated in some years.

From Finland to Afghanistan – immigration and emigration since 1970 for persons born in different countries

The entire report is in Swedish but it includes a summary, graphs and table headings in English.