About the Swedish Migration Agency Statistics

Here you will find statistics on how many people have applied for and received residence permits in Sweden. The Swedish Migration Agency's statistics are presented as charts, tables and downloadable files and are updated monthly.

The Swedish Migration Agency's statistics come from our registers on the agency's activities. They include the quantity of applications and the quantity of completed cases within different case types. The outcomes of the decisions, such as approval or rejection, are also included in the statistics.

We minimise the risk that individual persons will have their identity disclosed by

  • combining certain variables, for example by presenting age ratio instead of exact ages
  • not presenting values that are lower than 6 if this entails that individual persons can be identified
  • not reporting too much information on the same group of people.

The Swedish Migration Agency is assigned the task of keeping registers and statistics on foreigners in the country to the extent that it is necessary for the agency’s activities. The Act on Personal Data of Aliens authorises us to process personal data on foreigners as well as produce statistics. We deliver statistics to Statistics Sweden, SCB, which is the agency responsible for the official statistics on immigration and asylum seekers.

Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. They publish European statistical data, thus making it possible to compare different countries and regions.

Eurostat database External link.

Diffe­rences in the Swedish Migra­tion Agen­cy’s and Eurostat’s statistics on asylum seekers

Eurostat reports more asylum seekers than the Swedish Migration Agency. This is because the Swedish Migration Agency counts an application from a person who is in Sweden with a residence permit on the grounds of family ties under the temporary law*, and who then applies for asylum, as an extension of the current permit. In Eurostat’s statistics, this is counted as a first-time application (if the person has never previously applied for asylum in Sweden). Otherwise, both parties use the same groupings for asylum seekers.

Eurostat’s statistics on received asylum applications External link.

Eurostat’s categorisation of asylum cases decided in first instance also includes cases not examined according to Directive 2013/32/EU.

Eurostat’s statistics on decided asylum cases External link.

*2016:752 The Act concerning temporary restrictions on the granting of residence permits.

The Swedish Migration Agency is responsible for considering applications from people who want to live in Sweden, seek protection or become Swedish citizens. Our work is based on Swedish laws and international conventions, with a focus on legal certainty and effective reception and return.