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Demographic analysis: Worlds apart? Demographic inequalities in Sweden

Sociodemographic inequalities in Sweden

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2018-11-20 9.30

Foreign born adults are more likely to live in overcrowded housing than Swedish born adults, and persons with a post-secondary education have better health and higher life expectancy.

Large differences in family situations by educational attainment

Nearly all women with children under 18 years also live with all their children. This is less common among men. However, among men, there are major differences between groups with regard to the proportion living with all their children. In particular, there is a gradient by educational attainment. This proportion is highest among women and men with a long post-secondary education, followed by those with a short post-secondary education, and then by those with upper secondary education, and it is lowest among those with compulsory education. The gradient is more pronounced among men than among women.

An explanation for this gradient is that divorce and separation varies by educational attainment. The prevalence of single parents is highest among those with compulsory education and lowest among those with a long post-secondary education.

Proportion of parents 20 years and older living with all their biological children, by sex and educational attainment, 2017

Diagram: Proportion of parents 20 years and older living with all their biological children, by sex and educational attainment, 2017

“Children” refers to biological children under 18 years.

Highest proportion overcrowding among those born outside Europe

Differences in housing conditions vary by type of municipality. In small towns, most people live in detached houses and the average living space per person is higher than in major cities. In the major cities, it is more common to live in owner-occupied apartments. Regarding home ownership, the proportion of homeowners is higher among Swedish born persons and those with higher educational attainment. Residential overcrowding, defined as living with less than 20 square metres per person, is most common in the group of persons born outside Europe.

Proportion living in homes with less than 20 square metres of living space per person, by sex, age and country of birth group, 2017

Diagram: Proportion living in homes with less than 20 square metres of living space per person, by sex, age and country of birth group, 2017

Highly educated persons have better health and longer life expectancy
Life expectancy varies between different groups. This applies, in particular, to inequalities by educational attainment. Life expectancy at age 30 is over 57 years for women with at least three years of post-secondary education and nearly 55 years for men with the same educational attainment. Life expectancy is 5 to 6 years shorter for those with a compulsory education, 52 years for women and 49 years for men. There are also differences by educational attainment in the number of years lived with and without limiting long-term illness. Educational groups with shorter life expectancy also have a larger number of years lived with illness that limits everyday activities.

More about the report

Differences in domestic migration, birth rates, family situations, distance between family members who live apart, housing conditions and life expectancy are documented in the report. The focus lies on inequalities by educational attainment, country of birth group, type of municipality and part of Sweden. The study uses total administrative registers and the Survey of Living Conditions (ULF/SILC). More detailed information on data sources, methods and data quality is found in the section entitled “Kort om statistiken” in the report (only available in Swedish). The report is in Swedish with a summary in English at the end of the report.

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Statistics Sweden, Section for Coordination and Interdisciplinary Operations

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