Statistics on integration 2024-2025
The most common occupations among foreign born
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2026-04-14 8.00
The most common occupational field for foreign born women was service, care and shop sales workers in 2024, whereas occupations requiring advanced level of higher education was most common among foreign born men. The occupational fields that are most common vary among foreign born in regard to different grounds for settlement.
Advanced higher education occupations most common among foreign born with studies or work as grounds for settlement
Employment in occupations requiring higher education qualifications is common among both foreign-born and persons born in Sweden. This was the most common occupational field for both men and women born in Sweden, as well as among foreign born men, in 2024. This includes occupations such as doctors, nurses, teachers, software developers and engineering professions, as well as doctoral candidates.
In total, there is a lower share of foreign bord, compared to persons born in Sweden, who work in occupations requiring higher qualifications. Among the foreign-born who migrated with studies or work as reason, however, the share employed in these occupations is higher compared to the native-born. The educational level of the foreign born with this reason of residence is also higher compared to persons born in Sweden.
One in two women who immigrated as refugee or refugee family member are working within service, care and sales occupations
The most common occupational field among foreign born woman is service, care and sales. This includes occupations such as retail workers, assistant nurses, care assistants and childcare assistants. For these occupations, upper secondary education or post‑secondary education of less than two years is normally required
A higher share of foreign‑born persons than of persons born in Sweden work in the field service, care and sales occupations, and it is especially common among women whose reason for residence is refugee/ person in need of protection or refugee family member. However, foreign born with studies or work as reason of residence are less often employed in this type of occupation compared to persons born in Sweden.”
- Around half of the women who immigrated as refugee or refugee family member are working within service, care and sales occupations during 2024. Meanwhile only 15 percent of labour migrant works within in this field, says Karin Lundström, demographer at SCB.
This occupational field is also common among foreign born men, however to a lesser extent. Similarly to the women the prevalence is higher for the men who immigrated to Sweden as refugee/person in need of protection or refugee family member, and the lowest for those with studies or work as reason.
Occupations requiring advanced level of higher education and service, care and shop sales workers are the two most common occupational fields both among foreign born and Swedish born women
Occupational field |
Foreign born, grounds for settlement (women) |
Foreign born, total |
Born in Sweden |
||||||
studies |
work |
family member (not to refugee) |
refugee family member |
refugee/in need of protection |
other |
data missing/not applicable |
|||
Managers |
2 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
Occupations requiring advanced higher education qualifications |
60 |
46 |
20 |
17 |
17 |
22 |
31 |
24 |
34 |
Occupations requiring higher education qualifications or equivalent |
8 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
7 |
12 |
Administration and customer service clerks |
3 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
10 |
Service, care and sales occupations |
5 |
15 |
36 |
54 |
47 |
38 |
23 |
36 |
26 |
Other occupations requiring upper-secondary education or post-secondary education of less than two years* |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
Elementary occupations |
6 |
13 |
16 |
10 |
11 |
16 |
9 |
13 |
3 |
Occupations unidentifiable |
13 |
3 |
9 |
5 |
8 |
5 |
11 |
8 |
3 |
Sum |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
Number of employed women |
6 000 |
28 000 |
142 000 |
48 000 |
121 000 |
78 000 |
125 000 |
548 000 |
1 824 000 |
Service, care and shop sales is a common occupational field among foreign born men, but less common for men born in Sweden
Occupational field |
Foreign born, grounds for settlement (women) |
Foreign born, total |
Born in Sweden |
||||||
studies |
work |
family member (not to refugee) |
refugee family member |
refugee/in need of protection |
other |
data missing/not applicable |
|||
Managers |
3 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
Occupations requiring advanced level of higher education |
59 |
40 |
14 |
11 |
9 |
16 |
21 |
18 |
22 |
Occupations requiring higher education qualifications or equivalent |
7 |
9 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
8 |
16 |
Service, care and shop sales occupations |
3 |
8 |
19 |
29 |
25 |
16 |
10 |
17 |
11 |
Building and manufacturing occupations |
1 |
14 |
13 |
8 |
12 |
14 |
16 |
13 |
16 |
Mechanical manufacturing and transport workers, etc. |
6 |
6 |
13 |
15 |
17 |
14 |
9 |
13 |
10 |
Other occupations requiring upper-secondary education or post-secondary education of less than two years* |
3 |
4 |
9 |
10 |
9 |
7 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
Elementary occupations |
6 |
10 |
12 |
9 |
11 |
12 |
5 |
10 |
3 |
Occupations unidentifiable |
13 |
3 |
10 |
7 |
9 |
10 |
17 |
10 |
6 |
Summa |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
100 |
Number of employed men |
8 000 |
74 000 |
93 000 |
36 000 |
196 000 |
68 000 |
134 000 |
609 000 |
1 913 000 |
One out of four employed persons are foreign born
In 2024, there were 4.9 million employed persons, in the ages 20–65, in Sweden. Nearly 1.2 million of them, just under 24 percent, were foreign born.
Employment levels are lower among foreign born people than among individuals born in Sweden. In 2024, the employment rate was 67 percent among foreign born women and 73 percent among foreign born men. The employment rate among Swedish born was 84 percent, and the same rate for women and men.
New tables on integration statistics
In the 2025 appropriation directions, Statistics Sweden (SCB) was tasked with developing and making available statistics on integration in light of new objectives for integration policy. This is one of several government assignments that the agency has had related to statistics on integration. In addition, the previous government assignment Register Data for Integration is now being carried out within the framework of grant‑funded statistical production. Taken together, this means that statistics on integration are currently undergoing fairly extensive changes.
Statistics Sweden’s statistical database has been updated with new tables on:
- Labour market and employment, reference year 2024
- Demography, reference years 2024 and 2025
- Education, reference year 2023/24 and 2024/25 (students eligible for upper secondary school)
Additional tables will be published later this year.
Definitions and explanations
Reason for residence
Reason for residence is reported for foreign‑born persons and refers to the most recently registered reason. Please note that an individual’s decision ground may be several years old. The following seven categories are used:
- Studies
- Work
- Family member (not related to a refugee). The reference person in Sweden may be either foreign‑born or Sweden‑born.
- Refugee family member
- Refugee / person in need of protection
- Reason for residence other than any of the categories above. The most common reason is “Other permits (extensions, etc.)”. Most persons in this category have lived in Sweden for at least 15 years.
- Data missing / not applicable. Information on reason for residence is generally missing for persons who immigrated to Sweden in the mid‑1980s or earlier. Citizens of the Nordic countries and the EU are not required to register their right of residence with the Swedish Migration Agency, and for these persons reason for residence is therefore not applicable.
Employment
The number and share of employed persons are based on data from the Register-based Labour Market Statistics (BAS). BAS uses administrative data from several different sources. To classify employed persons, employer declarations at the individual level are mainly used. These data are supplemented with, among other sources, annual income statements and tax return data on business activities.
Occupation
Occupations are reported according to the Swedish Standard Classification of Occupations 2012 (SSYK 2012) at the 1‑digit level. Occupations can be grouped by qualification level, which refers to the level of education normally required for the occupation.
- No requirements for specific vocational education, or requirements for a short introductory training. In principle, this implies no educational requirements beyond compulsory school.
- Upper secondary education and post‑secondary education shorter than two years.
- Requirements for a shorter higher education programme (less than three years), or other post‑secondary education shorter than three years, e.g. folk high school or higher vocational education.
- Requirements for theoretical specialist competence. This implies at least three years of higher education.
Below, occupations are presented by qualification level. Please note that this refers to the level of education normally required for the occupation. In Sweden, there are rarely absolute educational requirements for occupations; this applies to certain licensed professions, mainly within health and medical care, and to some craft occupations, such as electricians.
- Managers (Qualification level 3–4)
- Occupations requiring advanced higher education qualifications (Qualification level 4)
- Occupations requiring higher education qualifications or equivalent (Qualification level 3)
- Administrative and customer service clerical occupations (Qualification level 2)
- Service, care and sales occupations (Qualification level 2)
- Skilled agricultural, horticultural, forestry and fishery occupations (Qualification level 2)
- Building and manufacturing occupations (Qualification level 2)
- Machine operators and assemblers, transport occupations, etc. (Qualification level 2)
- Elementary occupations requiring short training or introduction (Qualification level 1)