Sweden immigrant crime statistics by country of birth
Rape, sexual offence, violent crime and homicide rates for Sweden by migrant background, from Brå (Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention). Every figure shows how many times as likely a group is to be recorded, with the native Swedish comparison group named in each table as the 1× per-capita baseline.
- Rape & sexual offencesBorn abroad 3.2× as likely to be registered as a rape suspect as Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents.
- Violent offencesSwedish-born, foreign-born parents 12× as likely to be registered as a robbery suspect as Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents.
- Homicide & offences against lifeSwedish-born, foreign-born parents 11× as likely to be registered as a homicide suspect as Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents.
Rape & sexual offences in Sweden by country of birth
Raw
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | 3.2× | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 3.2× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Like-for-like
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | 2.2× | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 1.4× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Violent offences in Sweden by country of birth
Raw
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | – | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 12× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Like-for-like
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | – | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 3.1× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Homicide & offences against life in Sweden by country of birth
Raw
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | 4.0× | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 11× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Like-for-like
| Group | Times as likely | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Swedish-born, Swedish-born parents | 1.0× | Baseline |
| Born abroad | – | |
| Swedish-born, foreign-born parents | 3.4× |
Suspect registrations, not convictions. Ages 15 and over. A group rate, not the chance that any individual offends.
Foreign prisoners in Sweden: 2012–2024
In 2024, foreign citizens in Sweden were 3.1× as likely to be in prison as Swedish citizens and made up 21.3% of prisoners. That ranks Sweden 17 of 31 European countries, against a median of 3.1×.
| Year | Times as likely | Prisoners foreign | Population foreign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3.1× | 21.3% | 8.0% |
| 2023 | 3.4× | 23.1% | 8.2% |
| 2022 | 3.6× | 24.7% | 8.4% |
| 2021 | 3.6× | 25.7% | 8.7% |
| 2020 | 3.8× | 27.8% | 9.1% |
| 2019 | 4.1× | 29.3% | 9.1% |
| 2018 | 4.4× | 30.0% | 8.9% |
| 2017 | 4.6× | 29.9% | 8.5% |
| 2016 | 5.0× | 30.1% | 7.9% |
| 2015 | 5.5× | 30.9% | 7.6% |
| 2014 | 5.7× | 30.7% | 7.2% |
| 2013 | 6.4× | 32.4% | 7.0% |
| 2012 | 6.2× | 31.5% | 6.9% |
Foreign prisoner rates across Europe: where Sweden ranks
- 1Greece14×
- 2Croatia9.0×
- 3Slovenia8.8×
- 4Switzerland6.8×
- 5Liechtenstein5.8×
- 6Belgium5.1×
- 7Italy4.8×
- 8Austria4.6×
- 9Finland4.3×
- 10Slovakia3.9×
- 11Cyprus3.7×
- 12Luxembourg3.5×
- 13France3.4×
- 14Iceland3.2×
- 15Poland3.2×
- 16Spain3.1×
- 17Sweden3.1×
- 18Norway2.9×
- 19Netherlands2.9×
- 20Malta2.8×
- 21Denmark2.8×
- 22Estonia2.3×
- 23Turkey2.2×
- 24Portugal1.9×
- 25Bulgaria1.7×
- 26Hungary1.6×
- 27Ireland1.1×
- 28Czech Republic0.9×
- 29Lithuania0.8×
- 30Romania0.7×
- 31Latvia0.4×
Sweden migrant crime: common questions
- Are migrants more likely to commit crime in Europe?
- In the countries that publish crime rates by origin (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany), people born abroad, and some second-generation groups, are recorded as suspects, charged or convicted at higher rates than native-born residents. The multiple varies widely by offence, country of birth, age and sex. Each figure on this site is shown as times as likely, with native-born residents as the 1× baseline.
- What do the rape and sexual offence statistics by nationality show?
- Sweden publishes rape suspects by country of birth separately, which gives the clearest comparison. Norway only publishes one combined sexual-offence group that also includes non-contact offences, so its multiples are lower and not directly comparable. Every country page shows the exact measure, period and source for each multiple.
- What are the crime statistics for illegal migrants in Europe?
- No European country publishes a reliable per-capita crime rate for illegal migrants alone, because people without legal residence are not counted in the population figures needed to calculate a rate. Most official rates count registered residents by country of birth or citizenship. Germany comes closest: its police statistics (PKS) report an immigrant category (Zuwanderer) that includes asylum seekers, refugees, tolerated persons and people staying without permission. Foreign-citizen prison counts on the map can also include people without legal residence held on remand or awaiting deportation.
- Are asylum seekers more likely to commit crime?
- Germany is the main country that publishes police suspect figures for asylum seekers and refugees as a group, through the Zuwanderer category in its PKS, and that group is recorded as suspects out of proportion to its share of the population. These are suspect counts, not convictions, and the group is younger and more male than the general population, which on its own raises recorded crime rates. The Germany report on this site shows the multiples and sources.
- Are there rape statistics for illegal migrants?
- Not as a separate per-capita rate. Rape and sexual-offence statistics by origin are published by country of birth (Sweden, Norway) or citizenship and immigrant status (Germany), not by legal residence. Germany’s PKS breaks out the Zuwanderer category, which includes people staying without permission, but does not publish a rate for that subgroup on its own.
- Why are suspects, charges and convictions used instead of one measure?
- Each country publishes a different stage of the justice process. Sweden reports registered suspects, Norway reports charges, Denmark reports convictions and Germany reports police suspects. A suspect or charge is not a conviction, and one person can be counted more than once.
- How are foreign prisoner rates calculated?
- For each country, the share of prisoners holding a foreign citizenship is divided by the foreign share of the population, using Eurostat data. The result shows how many times as likely a foreign citizen is to be in prison as a citizen. Prison figures reflect sentencing, remand and deportation practice as well as offending.
- Are the numbers adjusted for age, sex or income?
- Headline multiples are unadjusted unless stated. Where a source publishes like-for-like figures, such as Norway’s figures for men aged 15–24, they are shown as a separate view so you can compare.
- How many prisoners in Sweden are foreign citizens?
- In 2024, 21.3% of prisoners in Sweden held a foreign citizenship, while foreign citizens made up 8.0% of the population. That makes a foreign citizen 3.1× as likely to be in prison as a Swedish citizen (Eurostat).
- How does Sweden compare with the rest of Europe?
- Sweden ranks 17 of 31 European countries by how much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison than citizens. The median across those countries in 2024 was 3.1×.