According to a new poll, the vast majority of people in Sweden feel their country is going in the “wrong direction” with many concerned about the levels of crime and immigration.
The newly released data comes ahead of Sweden’s national elections in September, and was assembled by the France-based polling firm Ipsos’s “What Worries the World” study, which examines attitudes to a number of issues in various countries, ranking top issues of concern.
The data for Sweden shows 73 percent of respondents believing the country is going in the wrong direction compared to the average of 56 percent worldwide.
The poll examined citizens’ opinions on unemployment, poverty, crime and violence, financial and political corruption, as well as healthcare issues.
Crime and violence was the issue that concerned Swedes the most according to the data with 50 percent of Swedish respondents saying they were very concerned about the topic.
Violence, particularly shootings and gang violence, has seen a major rise in Sweden in the last several years, with fatal shootings with the National Board of Sweden’s Cause of Death register revealing last year that fatal shootings had doubled in less than a decade.
The most shocking shooting came earlier this year in the heavily migrant-populated city of Malmö, home to several so-called ‘no-go zones’, where three people were killed on the street. The attack was later revealed to have been linked to criminal gangs operating in the city
The second-most concerning issue for Swedes was immigration, with 33 percent finding it the most worrying topic in the country.
According to a Demoskop survey conducted in April of this year, mass migration topped the concerns of Swedish voters ahead of next month’s national election.
Both issues have been centre stage for the populist Sweden Democrats, whose leader Jimmie Åkesson dominated a televised party leader’s debate on the subjects in May.
Going into next month’s vote, the Sweden Democrats have consistently polled high, with the latest Sentio poll showing them leading the ruling Social Democrats in the race.