For the second year in a row, more people left Sweden than moved here. In 2025, immigration was the lowest it has been since 2006, apart from the pandemic year of 2020.
These are figures from Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB, Statistics Sweden) and Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency). They do not mean Sweden is emptying out. They mean the years of very high immigration have ended, at least for now.
Fewer people arriving
Immigration to Sweden fell below 90,000 people in 2025. If you leave out refugees from Ukraine, 79,684 people immigrated, down from 82,857 in 2024.
Asylum is where the drop is sharpest. 6,735 people applied for asylum in 2025, down from 9,645 in 2024. That is a fall of about 30 percent, and the lowest asylum-related immigration in 40 years.
More people leaving
At the same time, emigration stayed high. More people left Sweden than arrived in both 2024 and 2025. That is called net emigration, and Sweden had not seen it in over 50 years before 2024.
Part of that is Swedish citizens. Since 2021, more Swedish citizens have left the country each year than foreign citizens have.
What the numbers do not say
The fall is not because Ukrainians were sent home. Their protection under the massflyktsdirektivet (the EU mass-flight directive) was extended to 4 March 2027. So most are still here, counted separately from the figures above.
The numbers are about how many people move, not about your own permit. Stricter permit and citizenship rules are part of why fewer people arrive. We cover those rule changes on our laws and rules page.
What any of this means for your own residence permit or citizenship case is for Migrationsverket to decide. The statistics describe the whole country, not one application.
Sources
Official details can change. Always confirm what applies to your own case directly with the responsible authority.
