Syrians in Sweden

Syrians in Sweden

Total population
(98,216 estimated (by Syrian citizenship, March 2015))
Regions with significant populations
Stockholm
Languages
Arabic Kurdish Swedish
Religion
Islam, Christianity

Syrians in Sweden include migrants from Syria to Sweden, as well as their descendants. The number of Syrians (by Syrian citizenship) in Sweden is estimated at around 98,216 people in March 2015 and consists mainly of refugees of the Syrian Civil War. Many of the Syrian refugees in Sweden, as is the case in Germany, are of Kurdish descent.

Migration history

In September 2013, Swedish migration authorities ruled that all Syrian asylum seekers will be granted permanent residency in light of the worsening conflict in Syria. Sweden is the first EU-country to make this offer. The decision means that the roughly 8,000 Syrians who have temporary residency in Sweden will now be able to stay in the country permanently. They will also have the right to bring their families to Sweden. While Malek Laesker, vice-chair of the Syrian Arabian Cultural Association of Sweden, welcomed the decision, he also warned it could create problems. "The fact that Sweden is the first country to open its arms is both positive and negative," he told the TT news agency, explaining that it may be a boon for the growing people-smuggling market.

See also

• Arabs in Sweden
• Arabs in Europe
• Arab diaspora
• Syrian diaspora
• Immigration to Sweden
• Sweden–Syria relations
• Syrians in Germany