Integration · data-driven
Welfare dependency by time in Sweden
What share is supported by public transfers — and does the share fall with time? Statistics Sweden STATIV tracks the same cohort across 20 years.
Source: Statistics Sweden STATIV 2022, register data. Population aged 25–64.
Last updated: View changelog
After 20+ years in Sweden — non-European background
28 %
have public transfers as their main income source.
Native-born (reference)
7 %
The gap after 20+ years: ~21 pp (≈ 4.0×).
Share with public main income over time
| Time in Sweden | Non-European | Nordic | Native-born |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–4 år | 76 % | 11 % | 7 % |
| 5–9 år | 52 % | 9 % | 7 % |
| 10–14 år | 38 % | 8 % | 7 % |
| 15–19 år | 32 % | 8 % | 7 % |
| 20+ år | 28 % | 8 % | 7 % |
Reading: after 20+ years in Sweden, 28 % of non-European-born still have public transfers as their main income — roughly four times the share among native-born.
FAQ
- What counts as ‘welfare dependency’?
- Having a public transfer as the main income source: social assistance, establishment benefit, sickness or activity compensation, or unemployment insurance. Pensions are excluded (age range 25–64).
- Why does the share fall so slowly?
- Aldén & Hammarstedt (2016) and NIER (2024) show that a large share of the decline reflects a shift from the establishment benefit to other public benefits (sickness/activity compensation, social assistance) — not to self-sufficiency.
- Does it differ between countries of origin?
- Yes. Within ‘non-European’ there are large differences — for instance people born in Iran, India and Chile are closer to the average, while people born in Somalia, Syria and Afghanistan are higher. Statistics Sweden STATIV breaks this out.