The Nordic Statistics database has been updated with unique and harmonized data on the topic of integration and migration. This novel data is the result of a cooperation project between the Nordic statistical institutes that reveals insights on the demographic structure, labour market and education among foreign-born and their descendants. This article is dedicated to the population perspective, where we learn that Asia is the most common region of origin and that over 40% of foreign-born in Denmark and Sweden has lived there for more than 15 years.

In the summer of 2024, 12 matrices on immigration and migration were updated in the Nordic Statistics database [1]. The data can be found here. This update, which includes 12 matrices on immigration and migration with values for three additional years, also expands the list of countries and now includes absolute values alongside percentages.

The statistics cover three main categories: Population, education and the labour market. This article focuses on the population aspect, examining demographics, origin regions, duration of stay, and residence permit reasons. We review the three population categories: Foreign-born (with two foreign-born parents), Descendants (native-born with two foreign-born parents) and Rest of population [2]. In future articles, we will continue to examine the labour market and educational perspective.

Population development over time

The population data on integration and migration extends from 2017 to 2022. By examining the number of foreign-born and descendants in the Nordic region over time, two observations can be made. First, the number of foreign-born individuals is far greater than the number of descendants. In 2022, there were approximately 3,9 million foreign-born individuals living in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden together. In contrast, there were about 1,2 million descendants living in the region. The second thing we can note is that both the number of foreign-born and descendants have increased during these five years. The number of descendants is, however, growing at a faster rate.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, CITI03

In absolute terms, the foreign-born population grew by roughly 600 000 since 2017, whereas the number of descendants increased by about 250 000. In relative terms, the foreign-born group increased by 18% whereas the number of descendants increased by 27%. The rest of the population (native-born with one or two native-born parents) has neither increased nor decreased during the period, but rather remained the same size. Following this, it is possible to conclude that the groups foreign-born and descendants have been the main drivers for population growth in the Nordic region during 2017-2022.

Between 2017 and 2022, Finland witnessed the largest relative increases, with the foreign-born population growing by 27% and descendants by 41%, while Denmark experienced the smallest increases (12% for foreign-born and 20% for descendants).

Interestingly, Finland displays the smallest increases in absolute terms for both groups. In terms of absolute increases, these were largest in Sweden for both foreign-born and descendants.

Composition of the Nordic populations

The fact that Finland displays the highest increase in relative terms but the lowest in absolute terms stems from the fact that Finland has had a relatively small population of foreign-born and descendants. In 2022, these two groups constituted 8% of the total population in Finland compared to the Nordic region average of 18%. The largest shares are found in Sweden where  one in four are either foreign-born or a descendant.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, CITI03

Looking closer at these two groups and examining how big they are in relation to each other; we can see that the foreign-born group is larger than the descendant group in all Nordic countries. The largest difference is seen in Finland whereas the smallest difference is seen in Sweden.

Foreign-born by region of origin and length of stay

Focusing solely on the foreign-born group and their regions of origin, we see both similarities and differences between the Nordic countries. The most common region of birth among foreign-born in Sweden, Denmark and Finland is Asia (incl. Türkiye). In Sweden, origin from Asia is more than twice as common as the second largest.

In Norway, however, EU/EFTA and the UK (excl. Nordic countries) represent the most common birth region, which is also the second most common origin in both Sweden and Denmark. In Finland, the second largest region of origin is Europe (excl. EU/EFTA, Nordic countries and the UK).

Sweden has the largest number of individuals born in another Nordic country, followed by Norway and Denmark. The least represented region of birth, in all Nordic countries, is North America and Oceania.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, CITI03

Moving on to the length of stay among foreign-born in each country, more than 40% of foreign-born residents in both Denmark and Sweden have lived there for over 15 years. The most common length of stay in Finland and Norway is 8-15 years. Interestingly, in Denmark, it is more common to have stayed in the country for 0-3 years than for 4-7 or 8-15 years. The reason behind this might be partially explained in the next section.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, MIGR06

Reason for residence permit among non-EU immigrants

We have established that in some Nordic countries, foreign-born immigrants constitute a fairly large part of the total population, especially from non-EU countries. In this final section, we review the reasons for resident permits among those born outside the EU [3].

In both Sweden and Norway, the most common reason for residence permits is seeking refuge. This is followed by Family other and Family refugees [4]. Meaning that in Sweden and Norway, it is more common that the reason for residence permit are family ties to a person that is not a refugee.

A different pattern is seen in Denmark where the most common reason for residence permits is family ties to a person who is not a refugee. In second place is Labour, meaning that labour is the primary reason for the residence permit. In Denmark, labour and education together account for 32% of residence permits, compared to 17% in Norway and 10% in Sweden. This may partly explain why over 20% of foreign-born residents in Denmark have lived there for three years or less.

Source: Nordic Statistics Database, MIGR07

These updated statistics provide insights on how the population structure is evolving in the Nordic region. Stay tuned for more articles on the topic of labour market and education based on the new integration and migration statistics.

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[1] In this article, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are represented for most variables. Iceland is to be represented in the future, but due to ongoing work with the national Icelandic population registers deliveries to the integration and migration matrices are delayed.

[2] Foreign-born are defined as being foreign-born with two foreign-born parents (foreign-born with native-born adoptive parents excluded). Descendants are defined as native-born with two foreign-born parents, and Rest of population refers to the rest of the population excluding descendants and foreign-born with two foreign-born parents. For more extensive definitions, please consult the footnotes-section in the source matrices.

[3] Non-Nordic and non EU27/EFTA/UK migrants resident in the reporting country immigrated from 1997 and onwards.

[4] Both Family refugee and Family other implies close family members reuniting, accompanying or forming a family with a person in the host country. The difference being if the person in the host country is a refugee or not.