Photo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Reto Stöckli

Sweden: population and ages

Sweden: 10.7 million people on 1 January 2026.

The UN projects growth until 2079, to a peak of 11.4 million, and a decline after that.

Figures for 2026 are UN projections (medium variant). Estimates end in 2023.

Population, 1 January 2026
10,680,346
Median age
40.4
Births in 2026
96,301
Deaths in 2026
97,652
Life expectancy at birth
83.7
Children per woman
1.44
Under 15
16.6%
65 and over
21.0%
Population pyramid, Sweden, 1 January 2026MaleFemale0102030405060708090100+050K50K100K100K
Population pyramid, Sweden, 1 January 2026 Projection

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Population over time

In mid-1950 there were 7.02 million people, so the population is now 1.5 times as large.

The UN projects 96,300 births and 97,700 deaths in 2026, 1,350 more deaths than births.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2026.

More people move in than leave: net migration in 2026 is projected at plus 42,800.

Population, 1950 to 2100Projected from 202402M4M6M8M10M12M1950197520002025205020752100
2026 Sweden: 10.7M

Ages

The median age is 40.4, which is 9.3 years above the world’s 31.1.

17% of the people are under 15 and 21% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).

People aged 65 and over have outnumbered children under 15 since 2006.

Women have 1.4 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 2.3 in 1950.

Life expectancy at birth is 83.7 years, above the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 71.1.

Median age, 1950 to 2100Projected from 2024010203040501950197520002025205020752100SwedenWorld
2026 Sweden: 40World: 31

See how the pyramid changes from 1950 to 2100

Births, deaths and the years ahead

For mid-2050 the UN projects 11.3 million people, 5.7% more than now, with a median age of 44.1.

Births and deaths per year, 1950 to 2100Projected from 2024050K100K150K1950197520002025205020752100DeathsBirths
2026 Births: 96.3KDeaths: 97.7K

Compare Sweden with other countries

Development and urbanisation

In 2025, 33% of the people lived in cities, 36% in towns and semi-dense areas and 31% in rural areas. For 2050 the UN projects 36% in cities.

Degree of urbanisation: one rule for every country, a city has at least 50,000 people at 1,500 or more per km². National definitions of “urban” differ.

IndicatorLatest valueYear
People using the internet95.8%2025
Access to electricity100.0%2024
99.8%2024
98.7%2024
100.0%2024
Human Development Index0.9592023

Each value is the latest one published, with the year it refers to. Countries publish in different years. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ITU, SDG 7.1.1, UNESCO UIS), UNDP, Human Development Report, UN, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.

Longevity, ageing and the future

By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 83.3 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 22.2 more years for women and 19.6 for men.

On 1 January 2026, there are 33.6 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 42.6.

For 2100 the UN projects a population of 11.4 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 5.13 million to 20 million.

Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, life tables, probabilistic projections, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

International migrants

In mid-2024, 2.27 million international migrants lived here, 21.4% of the population.

In mid-2024, 224,000 people from here lived in other countries.

Largest countries of origin
CountryPeople
Syria243,388
Iraq150,470
Finland129,139
Poland102,889
Iran89,047
Largest countries of destination
CountryPeople
Norway53,689
Finland39,331
Denmark26,460
Spain22,685
Australia11,508

Counted by country of birth. Refugees are included. A migrant stock counts people living outside their country at mid-year, not journeys or yearly moves. Sources: International Migrant Stock 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

Cities

Cities of 50,000 people or more here, by the UN degree of urbanisation: 17.

CityPopulation 2025
Stockholm1,500,093
Gothenburg562,945
Malmo318,242
Uppsala134,252
Handen130,076
Västerås104,382
Helsingborg103,402
Örebro96,017
Lund91,993
Norrköping85,414

Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

All cities

Data and sources

Sweden every ten years
YearPopulation (1 July)Median ageBirthsDeathsLife expectancyChildren per woman
19507,016,56633.2115,28770,18471.12.29
19607,484,59635.1100,84175,09073.02.17
19708,042,78034.4109,57879,99974.71.92
19808,310,46935.196,59391,77175.71.67
19908,558,56837.4122,84995,10277.62.12
20008,872,10138.490,02993,40679.71.54
20109,378,23239.7114,26190,68181.51.97
202010,353,68639.6112,69798,37982.41.67
203010,841,81041.394,119102,97584.31.46
204011,078,60243.7104,075113,65185.61.50
205011,309,63044.1104,787116,78686.81.52
206011,391,49645.994,834123,53087.91.55
207011,403,52847.697,448124,39289.01.56
208011,431,81747.699,747130,35790.11.57
209011,392,75447.794,565126,37491.21.57
210011,366,89648.694,714127,51792.21.58

Rows from 2024 on are UN projections (medium variant), shown in italics.

The UN estimates every country and area within its present borders for every year since 1950, also for years before it became independent or took its present shape. Figures for earlier years therefore describe the people who lived on today’s territory.

Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

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