Immigration has helped move the population of Sweden towards the 10 million mark for the first time.
New Statistics Sweden figures show that the country’s population grew by approximately 55,300 people in the first six months of 2016. This is an increase of around 9,500 from the same period last year.
Immigration accounted for much of the increase, with a record 62,200 people moving to Sweden in the first six months of the year – 4 per cent more than in the first half of 2015. During the same period the number of people leaving the country decreased by 16 per cent to 21,800 people.
While roughly 18,000 of the newcomers were Syrian refugees, immigration from other Nordic countries and the EU also remained high.
Sweden’s total population is now 9,906,331, meaning the country is likely to hit the ten-million landmark before the end of 2017.
The last time Sweden reached a ‘million milestone’ was in 2004, when the 9 millionth citizen was registered. The population had previously surpassed 8 million back in 1969.
Article population 18th August 201