Every single municipality in the Swedish county of Kronoberg has seen historic population growth in recent years, with much of the driving force behind the trend coming from an “extreme” level of mass migration.
The statistics, published by the Kronoberg regional authority, say that “for the most part, the population increase is due to Sweden having historically high immigration”.
However, while the country has the fourth-largest population growth in the country, authorities say it faces a demographic challenge, with an expected 50 percent increase in residents over the age of 80 between 2017-2032.
“It is an extreme immigration situation with a strong increase… Now we have to match it to the job market,” said Kronoberg region Development Director Christel Gustafsson, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.
The prospect could be a difficult one as previously released statistics have shown a massive gap between the unemployment rate of native Swedes and those from a migration background. Migrants have an unemployment rate of 21.8 percent, compared to a mere 3.9 percent for native Swedes.
The strain on social services due to the increased number of new arrivals from overseas has also led to some politicians proposing to raise the age of retirement from 65, in order to pay for the increased costs.
Last year, it was shown that Sweden had the second highest population growth in the European Union in 2016, with mass migration driving the increase of the total population by 1.5 percent.
While mass migration has also led to increased costs for social services, it has also led to other deeper societal issues such as a rise in gang crime in heavily migrant-populated areas. According to a study last year, 94.5 percent of Stockholm’s gang criminals come from a migration background.
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