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Population, 2021: 10,467,000
Annual Population Growth Rate, 2020-2030: 0.5%
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2021: 83
Share of Urban Population, 2021: 88%
Annual Growth Rate of Urban Population, 2020-2030: 0.8%
Share of Household Income, 2010-2019
– Bottom 40%: 21%
– Top 20%: 38%
– Bottom 20%: 8%
Gini Coefficient, 2010-2019: 28
Palma Index of Income Inequality, 2010-2019: 1.0

Note: Gini coefficient – Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or, in some cases, consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 100 implies perfect inequality.
Palma index of income inequality – Palma index is defined as the ratio of the richest 10% of the population’s share of gross national income divided by the poorest 40%’s share.

Source: United Nations Children’s Fund, The State of the World’s Children 2023: For every child, vaccination, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, April 2023.

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Population, Midyear 2022: 10,549,347
Population Density (Number of Persons per Square Kilometer): 25.90
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2022: 83.51
Projected Population, Midyear 2030: 11,007,228
Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2022: 20.25%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2030: 21.84%
Projected Percentage of Total Population Aged 65 and Older, Midyear 2050: 24.76%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2023). Data Portal, custom data acquired via website. United Nations: New York. Accessed 12 May 2023.

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Life expectancy at birth, 2021: 83.1
Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2021: 20.0%
Share of the population aged 65 and over, 2050: 23.7%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2021: 5.2%
Share of the population aged 80 and over, 2050: 9.0%

Source: OECD (2023), Health at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, doi.org/10.1787/7a7afb35-en.

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“Sweden is located in northern Europe, bordering Finland and Norway, and covers an area of 449 964 km2, making it one of the largest countries by area in Europe (Fig.1.1). The Swedish mainland coastline (2 400 km) is one of the longest in Europe. More than 57% of the country is covered by forest, and mountains dominate the sparsely populated north-western part. Due to the Gulf Stream, the climate is mild compared with other geographical areas this far north.

“Since 1995, the Swedish population has increased by approximately 20% (from around 8.8 million in 1995 to above 10.4 million in 2021) as the result of high net migration, increased fertility rates and life expectancy. Immigration has been the main reason behind the population growth, especially between 2010 and 2020. In 2016, immigration was at a record high, amounting to 163 000 people, as a result of the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, where Sweden was one of the countries in the EU that received the most refugees, especially from Syria (Eurostat, 2016; Statistics Sweden, 2022b). Since then, immigration has fallen significantly. In 2021, around 95 000 residence permits were granted. The largest group (around 10 500 individuals) were Swedes who re-immigrated after having lived abroad. The second largest group came from India, followed by Syria and Germany (Statistics Sweden, 2022b).”

Source: Janlöv N, Blume S, Glenngård AH, Hanspers K, Anell A, Merkur S. Sweden: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2023; 25(3): i–198.

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“In 2022, about 20% of the Swedish population was born abroad. Inhabitants born outside Europe in general have lower life expectancy and worse health status than those born in Sweden or other parts of Europe. To become a Swedish citizen as an adult (over 18 years of age), one must have lived in Sweden continuously (generally for 5 years) with a residence permit or other right to reside in the country. A person who has been convicted of a crime in Sweden or has a debt to the Enforcement Agency (Kronofogdemyndigheten) cannot acquire Swedish citizenship.

“The gender and age distributions of the population in 2021 are shown in Fig. 1.2. Up to the age of 60 years, there are slightly more men than women. This is mainly because more boys than girls are born. Among the older groups, it is the opposite, and this is because women have higher longevity. The group aged 30–34 stands out because many children were born in the early 1990s, and because a large proportion of those who have immigrated belong to this age group (Statistics Sweden, 2022c). The age-cohorts after 60 years are decreasing, in particular in higher ages, due to higher levels of mortality. The percentage of the population aged 65 years and older is increasing, but at a lower rate since 2015 compared with the previous 5-year period, in part explained by the increase in net immigration (Sveriges Riksbank, 2019).”

Source: Janlöv N, Blume S, Glenngård AH, Hanspers K, Anell A, Merkur S. Sweden: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2023; 25(3): i–198.

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World Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems and policies in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated March 31, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.