Moving to Sweden
In Sweden, the median gross salary is €3,463 a month (2022) and a single worker on the average wage keeps 77.4% of gross pay after income tax and employee contributions (2025).
Sweden had GDP per capita of US$57,223 and life expectancy of 84.1 years. There were 4.408 doctors per 1,000 people. The national unemployment rate was 8.8% in 2025. Average gross salary was €3,364 per month in 2024, while national median net income was €1,785 per month in 2024.
Can I move to Sweden?
Across 198 passports, 93 passports enter visa-free and 105 passports need a visa for Sweden. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 93
- Visa required
- 105
Choose citizenship and purpose to see the relevant entry steps.
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [65] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| EU / EEA citizenship | Free movement; longer residence has conditions.[65] |
| Swiss citizenship | Separate Swiss arrangements, including residence documentation for longer stays.[65] |
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[65] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Sources checked through 5 Sept 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in Sweden?
The national unemployment rate was 8.8 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a)18
This is the Eurostat labour-force survey series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
What is the median gross salary in Sweden?
The median gross salary was 3,463 EUR/month in 2022.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below.
Typical city (median): about 10.6%
Unemployment rate (%)
Typical city (median): about €9.84
Net rent (€/m²/month)
Typical city (median): about 5.1 µg/m³
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
Typical city (median): about 9,986 incidents per 100,000 residents
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents
Public employment service in Sweden
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
Arbetsförmedlingen — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in Sweden
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in Sweden
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Barnbidrag och flerbarnstillägg — Family and child support | 1,250–6,740 SEK / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official 2026 table gives SEK 1,250/month for one child and total child-benefit plus large-family supplement up to SEK 6,740/month for four children; from the fifth child the additional large-family supplement is SEK 1,250 per child/month. Försäkringskassan states that child allowance is available when the legal custodian and child are insured in Sweden and the child lives in Sweden; EU/EEA and Switzerland coordination can affect entitlement. | ||
Bostadsbidrag till barnfamiljer — Housing support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe 2026 rules raise the accepted housing-cost ceilings to SEK 6,800 for one child, SEK 7,900 for two and SEK 8,600 for three or more; the allowance itself varies with eligible housing cost, household composition and income, and the official notice states the increase can be up to SEK 800/1,000 per month. Försäkringskassan's English eligibility section says housing allowance for families with children is available when ‘you have a child or children living with you ... you live and are registered at the address you are seeking allowance for’; the public profile is a child-housing-allowance claimant with a child living with them and registered at the claimed address under the Swedish residence rules. | ||
Daily allowance for applicants for international protection — Arrival and reception support | 37–71 SEK / Daily | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe official Swedish Migration Agency page states SEK 71/day for a single adult, SEK 61/day per adult with a partner or a young person aged 18–20 living with parents, SEK 50/day for ages 11–17, SEK 43/day for ages 4–10 and SEK 37/day for ages 0–3 when food is not provided. Migrationsverket provides daily allowance to an asylum seeker who lacks sufficient own funds while waiting for a decision on the asylum application. | ||
Ekonomiskt bistånd / försörjningsstöd (economic assistance) — Minimum-income support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsSocialstyrelsen Riksnorm 2026 is a household formula: adult personal costs are SEK 3,940 for a single adult and SEK 7,100 for cohabiting adults; child personal costs are SEK 2,740–5,000 by age and lunch conditions; common household costs are SEK 1,280–2,830 for 1–7 persons, plus SEK 190 for every additional person. The payable economic assistance also includes reasonable eligible costs and is reduced by household net income after tax. The official Swedish Kunskapsguiden page states: ‘Den som inte är svensk eller nordisk medborgare ska antingen ha uppehållstillstånd eller uppehållsrätt för att ha rätt till socialt bistånd som inte är akut.’ It separately states that a person from outside the EEA always needs a valid residence permit for that non-emergency right, and that EU/EEA nationals need a residence permit or a source-defined right of residence. Swedish Or Nordic National With Residence Permit Or Right Of Residence For Non Emergency Assistance; it does not generalise the rule to every migrant or to emergency assistance. | ||
Unemployment insurance benefits (a-kassa) — Unemployment support | Percentage-based / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe current Swedish unemployment-insurance page states 80% of previous salary for membership of at least 12 months, 60% for membership of 6–11 months and 50% for membership of 0–5 months; at the 80% level the maximum is SEK 27,200 before tax, with reductions after 100 and 200 benefit days. The Swedish unemployment-insurance source states that the main rule is that a person must be insured against unemployment in the country where they work and covered by social insurance, and that the claimant must have worked in Sweden; the qualifying work condition is work in Sweden. This is the bounded profile of a worker in Sweden covered by Swedish unemployment insurance, subject to the age, income, registration, membership and other statutory conditions. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in Sweden?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Sweden when the official insurance or residence conditions are met.
Language courses and integration in Sweden
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Municipal civic orientation for newly arrived residents — Civic Orientation
Swedish municipalities
For newly arrived residents with residence permits.
Swedish for immigrants (SFI) municipal adult education — State Language Course
Swedish municipalities under the national SFI framework
For persons over 16 eligible for SFI.
Göteborg municipal SFI — Municipal language course
City of Göteborg adult education
For adult immigrants in Göteborg.
Komvux Malmö SFI — Municipal language course
Malmö municipality / Komvux Malmö
For adult immigrants eligible for SFI in Malmö.
Stockholm municipal SFI — Municipal language course
City of Stockholm adult education
For adult immigrants in Stockholm.
Swedish for immigrants (SFI) in Linköping — State Language Course
Linköpings kommun / Centrum för vuxenutbildning / Linvux
For adults whose first language is not Swedish.
Living and moving context for Sweden
The 2024 groceries price-level index was 115.5 on an EU27=100 basis. Monthly estimates were €370 for groceries and €57 for utilities; household electricity was €0.2865/kWh. A separate household model estimated monthly net income at €2,790 for one person, €3,302 for a couple and €3,784 for a family. The national crime rate was 13,581.3 offences per 100,000 people in 2025; this is a country-level measure rather than a city-level figure. For 2024, the employee calculation gave €13,019 a year in income tax and €10,652 in social contributions.
Sweden cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
All published cities in Sweden (295)
60 of 295 shownSearch all cities
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
What different occupation groups earn in Sweden
We hold earnings rows for 10 occupation groups in Sweden, but their earnings basis is still being verified against the source: the recorded magnitudes are not plausible as the EUR/month means they are labelled as, so no figure is shown and none of these groups is presented as comparable yet.
Held occupation groups (figures withheld pending unit verification): Armed forces occupations, Managers, Professionals, Technicians and associate professionals, Clerical support workers, Service and sales workers, Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, Craft and related trades workers, Plant and machine operators, and assemblers, Elementary occupations.
Source: ILO (ILOSTAT mean earnings by occupation (EAR_EMTA_SEX_OCU_CUR_NB)) · observed 2024 · checked 2026-07-30.
Sweden facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in Sweden?
The published population was 10,569,709 people in 2024. Source: World Bank56
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in Sweden?
The foreign-resident population was 822,876 people in 2025. Source: Eurostat9
Residents without Sweden citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent deposit can be paid in instalments | 0 | 1 Jul 2026 | Private Rental Act (2026:772)42Official · national figure |
| Typical rent deposit | 1 months | 31 Dec 2026 | Rental deposit in Sweden: rules and amount 202664Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Conditional | 3 Aug 2026 | 1177 Vårdguiden (official Swedish healthcare information, Inera/regions)1Official · national figure |
| Area | 528,660 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank57Official · national figure |
| Cost level against the capital | 115.5 index (EU27=100) | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx)14Official · national |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 557,053 gross → 430,932 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition51Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 10,327,589 people (2020) | 1 Jan 2020 | Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN)41Official · country annual series |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 4.41 per 1,000 | Not stated | Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators40Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.287 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2024 | Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas)16Official · national |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 140,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 11,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 574,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 32,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 32,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 378,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 625,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 260,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 204,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 244,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 112,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 90,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 391,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 295,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in public administration, defence and compulsory social security | 245,000 people | 2024 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 6 to 16, and public school is free. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: förberedelseklass (reception class) + språkförskola (special language preschool). How to enrol a child (skolverket.se).
Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.
Settling-in index
How the conditions a newcomer meets in Sweden compare with the other 35 scored destinations: integration policy, getting by in English, an established foreign community and language courses. Every point comes from the component table below.
Above the median on integration policy; below it on the size of the foreign community; about the median on getting by in English and language courses.
| Component | Reading | Score (0–100) | Weight | Adds | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration policy (MIPEX) | 91 of 100 | 91 | 35 | 31.9 | MIPEX 2020 |
| Getting by in English (EF EPI) | 609 EF EPI points | 80 | 25 | 20 | EF EPI 2025 |
| An established foreign community | 7.8% of residents | 31 | 20 | 6.2 | Eurostat 2025; population 2024 |
| Language courses for newcomers | Municipal civic orientation for newly arrived residents (Free) | 100 | 20 | 20 | Municipal civic orientation for newly arrived residents |
Working as… in Sweden
Open a profession for its available regulation, recognition and work-route evidence.
Regions of Sweden
Each region's page lists its published cities with population, rent, salary, unemployment and air quality.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in Sweden?
The national unemployment rate was 8.8 % in 2025. Source: Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a).
How many people live in Sweden?
The published population was 10,569,709 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in Sweden?
The median gross salary was 3,463 EUR/month in 2022. Source: Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly).
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 23). Moving to Sweden: population, rent, salary, cost of living [ImmigrationDB compilation; version f471f960008d99ccea07bcc06d21766f]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/sweden/ Retrieved 2026-10-23. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-sweden-population-rent-salary-cost-of-living_3cbe23d9b04c,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to Sweden: population, rent, salary, cost of living},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-23},
version = {f471f960008d99ccea07bcc06d21766f},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/sweden/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-23. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to Sweden: population, rent, salary, cost of living](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/sweden/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version f471f960008d99ccea07bcc06d21766f; retrieved 2026-10-23; built 2026-10-23.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- 1177 Vårdguiden (official Swedish healthcare information, Inera/regions) 1177.se · checked 2026-08-03
- Apply for an EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment in Sweden — Swedish Migration Agency Apply for an EU Blue Card for highly qualified employment in Sweden · migrationsverket.se · checked 2026-10-08
- Brå — Reported offences, 1950–2025 Brå · bra.se · checked 2026-07-29
- Circular note 2/2025 — Public Holidays in Sweden 2026 Circular note 2/2025 · government.se · checked 2026-09-25
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- EF EPI ef.com · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurofound, Working time in 2021–2022 (EF23007EN), Figure 11 'Minimum number of days of paid annual leave, 2022' and Annex 2 notes assets.eurofound.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- European Medicines Agency ema.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-20
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
Show 55 more sources
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-05
- Eurostat — Comparative price levels and HICP (prc_ppp_ind, prc_hicp_midx) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat — Distribution of income by household composition (ilc_di04) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Household energy prices (nrg_pc_204 electricity, nrg_pc_202 gas) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-14
- Eurostat — National accounts aggregates (nama_10_a10) and employment (nama_10_a10_e) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat — Unemployment by sex and age — annual data (une_rt_a) Eurostat · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-26
- Eurostat (Structure of Earnings Survey, earn_ses_monthly) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat crim off cat (ICCS0101, NR) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat demo_pjan ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-05
- Eurostat hlth rs bds1 — total hospital beds Eurostat hlth rs bds1 · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Eurostat hlth rs prs2 — practising physicians Eurostat hlth rs prs2 · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Eurostat ilc_di03 ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-06
- Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis — Usual weekly hours of work of full-time employees (sex total, 15-64, employees, main job) Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
- GDP per capita (current US$), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- ILOSTAT — Average monthly earnings of employees by sex, occupation and currency (annual) ILOSTAT · rplumber.ilo.org · checked 2026-07-30
- Lagstiftade lägstalöner (Statutory minimum wages) mi.se · checked 2026-09-17
- Land Code (1970:994) riksdagen.se · checked 2026-10-09
- Life expectancy at birth, total (years), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Population on 1 January by age and sex (DEMO_PJAN) ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-07-29
- Private Rental Act (2026:772) svenskforfattningssamling.se · checked 2026-10-09
- Register your correct address skatteverket.se · checked 2026-10-09
- Seasonal workers — Work in Sweden Seasonal workers · migrationsverket.se · checked 2026-10-09
- Skatteverket, Sweden skatteverket.se · checked 2026-08-03
- Sweden — compulsory education age range Sweden · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Sweden — public school free Sweden · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Sweden — school enrolment authority url Sweden · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Sweden — school language support programme Sweden · eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-20
- Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) livsmedelsverket.se · checked 2026-08-03
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- The Swedish model and collective agreements mi.se · checked 2026-09-23
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- Working Hours Act (1982:673), section 5 riksdagen.se · checked 2026-09-25
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- You have applied for an extension — work in Sweden You have applied for an extension · migrationsverket.se · checked 2026-10-09
- OECD — Taxing Wages (DF_TAXINGWAGES) tax wedge and net income OECD · oecd.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Rental deposit in Sweden: rules and amount 2026 bofrid.se · checked 2026-10-09
- Swedish Migration Agency — permits to be in Sweden
Official Sweden starting point for EU/EEA/Swiss residence; national guidance only, not a personal eligibility decision.