Sweden recorded the lowest number of asylum applications in the last 40 years. “Change is not just about numbers”
Sweden's flag vandalized during protests that broke out in the Muslim world over the Koran burning incidents in Stockholm in 2023 (illustrative image), PHOTO: Morteza Nikoubazl / Zuma Press / Profimedia Images
The number of people seeking asylum in Sweden is set to fall by 30 percent in 2025 to the lowest level since 1985, with the center-right government saying it plans to further tighten rules this year ahead of elections in September.
The minority ruling coalition, backed by the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats, has made reducing the number of asylum seekers a key policy platform since taking power in 2022.
It blames the rise of organized crime on decades of permissive asylum laws and the failed integration measures of previous Social Democrat-led governments.
“The change is not only about the numbers, in terms of reduced immigration, but also about its structure, who comes to Sweden, the proportion of those coming on the basis of asylum being at a record low level,” Johan Forssell, the Swedish immigration minister, told reporters on Friday.
Sweden's right-wing government has taken extensive measures to reduce immigration
Data from the Stockholm Migration Office show that the number of immigrants, excluding refugees from Ukraine, fell to 79,684 last year, down from 82,857 in 2024. Asylum seekers and their family members made up just 6 percent of the total, compared with 31 percent in 2018, when total immigration was 133,000.
The number of people voluntarily returning to another country or being expelled by the authorities has also increased.
“This is an area that is a high priority for us,” Forssell said.
The government has cracked down on asylum seekers, made it more difficult to obtain residency and citizenship, and introduced financial incentives for immigrants to leave the country since Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's government took power.
Forssell said the government plans to further tighten the rules in the coming year, including a new law to increase the number of people being returned to their countries of origin and stricter rules on citizenship, among other things.
Swedes will go to the polls in a general election in September 2026, which is expected to be tight.
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