Immigrants into Sweden
Anna Wilson
12/10/15
Period 3
Immigrants into Sweden
wikipedia (2008) Immigrants and emigrants, Sweden 1850–2007
retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Sweden#/media/File:Invandrare_utvandrare_Sverige_1850-2007.svg
Since the Late Middle Ages, Sweden has accepted
settlers from neighboring countries. However, during the
20th and 21st century, they had a substantial increase
in immigrants entering the country.
“In 2011, 27% of the Swedish population being of at
least partly foreign descent.” (Wikipedia, 2015).
The years that Sweden has gained mass numbers of
Immigrants, have been during or after wars. As you can
see on the graph below, there was a spike of
immigrants entering Sweden during 1944 and post
WWII. Another peak was in 2000-2015 with the wars in
Iraq and Syria.
1500’s- Finnish and Roma settlers – internal, voluntary
1600’s- Walloons, a group of people from Belgium –
internal, voluntary
Syrian Workers
Since civil war broke out in Syria in
2011, Syrian citizens have left their
homes seeking shelter in
neighboring countries. Sweden has
been a popular destination for
refugees due to their humanist
appearance, benefits such as
temporary housing, money ($769 a
month to be exact), permanent
residency, and the high likeliness of
being accepted into the country.
Sweden currently has the
highest rate of accepting asylum
seekers. The most recent
update in number of asylum
applications was done in midOctober, 2015, with a count of
86,223 applicants, a 50%
increase since 2013 (Wikipedia,
2015).
1950-60’s- High demand for immigrants in order to
stabilize tax-base, external, voluntary
1945 and post WWII- 70,000 war children and 7,000
Jews enter Sweden from neighboring country, Finlandexternal, forced, voluntary
1970’s- Immigrants from Middle Eastern and Latin
American countries- internal, external, voluntary, forced
1990’s- Yugoslavian refugees fleeing to Sweden due to
the war in Yugoslavia. EU/EES free movement laws
allowing immigration in Europe- external, internal,
forced, voluntary
2006-2007- Iraqi citizens left Iraq in the midst of war, to
find refuge in Sweden- external, forced
2015- Total of 200,000 Syrian refugees are to arrive in
Sweden this year- external, forced
Mahmoud Bitar(2015) Don’t come to Sweden retrieved from:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/variety/2015/08/18/-Don-t-cometo-Sweden-Syrian-refugee-warns.html
Migrants – illegal and legal
In November 2015, Sweden
stopped it’s Open Door policy
allowing refugees into the country,
as a result of overcrowding.
21,748 refugees fleeing their war
torn countries, were banned from
staying inside the country's
borders (Independent, 2015). Of
that number 14,140 stayed
illegally. Whilst actions are being
taken to locate Illegal refugees,
Sweden does not have the
resources due to the large fraction
of their police forces operating at
the border.
In October, 2015, the total number
of legal Syrian refugees in
Sweden was around 78,000
(almost double the amount that
was recorded in March, 2015).
The graph below shows the
demography of the refugees.
Most of the immigrants are
from ages 18-59 as well as
children ages 5-11.
Syria Regional Refugee Response (2015) demography retrieved from:
http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
Jobs taken by migrant
workers
Refugees coming into a new country are presented
with many struggles varying on the country and the
circumstances. For many, they deal with the
challenges of discrimination, language barrier, and
the interviews, after interviews for jobs, despite their
qualifications. Luckily, the Swedish government
offers free classes to refugees and pays them
monthly whilst job searching.
Specific information of the employment of Syrian
refugees is scarce. Other than personal stories of
individuals describing their life in Sweden from news
agency, Reuters, it is hard to understand the jobs
that are taken up by Immigrants. One trend that can
be found from the accounts is that the individuals
tend to have multiple jobs. Some of these jobs
include:
•
•
•
•
•
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a controller at Sodexo: a French food
service
Royal Coin Cabinet: a national museum in
Stockholm
tax analyst for Spotify: a music streaming
service
The London Weekly (2015) Syrian refugees take fast-track to new life in Sweden
retrieved from: http://www.thelondonweekly.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1233:syrian-refugees-takefast-track-to-new-life-in-sweden&catid=35:world-news&Itemid=62
Swedish History Museum: museum in
Stockholm
waiting tables in restaurants
security guard
Syrians in Stockholm
With a population of roughly, of 9.5
million, 16% of the citizens are foreign
born. wikipedia (2013) Population by ancestry, Sweden 2002-2011
retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Sweden#/media/File:Number_of_persons_by_foreign_Swedish_background_in_2002-2011.jpg
References
(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Sweden
(n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugee-crisis-sweden-admits-we-simply-don-tknow-where-they-are-after-14000-illegal-immigrants-go-a6752491.html
For some refugees, Sweden offers good jobs not welfare. (2015, September 21). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-sweden-employment-idUKKCN0RL17C20150921
How Sweden, the most open country in the world, was overwhelmed by migrants. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/sweden/11992479/How-Sweden-the-most-open-country-in-the-world-wasoverwhelmed-by-migrants.html
How many migrants can Sweden stomach? | GRI. (2015, November 16). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://globalriskinsights.com/2015/11/how-many-migrants-can-sweden-stomach/
Sweden Emigration and ImmigrationEdit This Page. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Sweden_Emigration_and_Immigration
Sweden and migration. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from https://sweden.se/migration/#1887
Sweden: Restrictive Immigration Policy and Multiculturalism. (2006, June 1). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/sweden-restrictive-immigration-policy-and-multiculturalism
Syrian And Iraqi Refugees Are Half The Population Of This Swedish City. (2014, July 3). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from
http://www.ibtimes.com/syrian-iraqi-refugees-are-half-population-swedish-city-1619232
UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response. (n.d.). Retrieved December 9, 2015, from http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php
APA formatting by BibMe.org.