STOCKHOLM - Population
Increasing population
Between 1990 and 2003, the population increased by 13.6%, reaching 1.85 millions on the first of January 2003.
In 2002, about 9% of the population were of foreign citizenship, although only a small percentage came from EU Member States. Stockholm has long ranked first by its number of foreign citizens. About 35 percent of all the inhabitants of foreign citizenship in Sweden are resident in the region.
Refugees from several parts of the world affected by wars and other crises have come to Sweden as immigrants. Many of them eventually become residents of the Stockholm region. It is often hard for these people to find permanent jobs.
The birth rate increased regularly between 1999 and 2002, passing from 11.6 births per 1 000 inhabitants in 1999 to 13.0 in 2002, largely the highest rate in the country for this year. Infant mortality is very low.
The migration of young people to the region is remarkable, especially within the 19 to 24 age group and so is the relatively large movement of elderly people to other parts of the country. The population has increased steadily every year between 1990 and 2003.
Migration into the region is common and is a consequence of the prevalence of many job opportunities in the region of Stockholm. Likewise, there is a great deal of commuting between municipalities in the region and to and from municipalities outside.
Stockholm is a region steadily moving from a mono-ethnic towards a multi-ethnic society.
The population of the region has increased continuously, as has the percentage of the country's total immigration, which began to increase after the Second World War and reached its maximum in the 1970s and 1980s. The various immigrant groups are now clearly noticeable. The region has the largest number of immigrants of all eight regions. Another consequence has been the housing shortage, which characterises the southern and central parts of the region. One-person dwellings are common in Stockholm.
|
|