Sweden's population has become much more ethnically, religiously and linguistically diverse over the past 70 years as a result of immigration.

In the early 2000s, birth rate declined as immigration increased further, with the context of unrest in the Middle East, upholding steady population growth.

[13] The population density is just over 25 people per km2 (65 per square mile), with 1,437 persons per km2 in localities (continuous settlement with at least 200 inhabitants).

Norrland, which covers approximately 60% of the Swedish territory, has a very low population density (below 5 people per square kilometer).

Low population density exists also in large parts of western Svealand, as well as southern and central Småland.

In addition, Sweden's indigenous population groups include the Sámi people, who have a history of practicing hunting and gathering and gradually adopting a largely semi-nomadic reindeer herding lifestyle.

[23] There are at least two studies that forecast future demographic changes in Sweden largely due to immigration and low birth rates.

A 2006 study states that "[based upon current data, extrapolated with relevant assumptions] Sweden and the Netherlands would have majority foreign-origin populations by the end of the [21st] century.

Between 1820 and 1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population at the time, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States.

[41] Additionally, the birth rate among immigrant women after arriving in Sweden is somewhat higher than among ethnic Swedes.

Historically, the most numerous of foreign born nationalities are ethnic Germans from Germany and other Scandinavians from Denmark and Norway.

[45] A sizeable community from the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) arrived during the Second World War.

The Nordic countries signed a trade agreement in 1952, establishing a common labour market and free movement across borders.

This migration within the Nordic countries, especially from Finland, was essential to create the tax-base required for the expansion of the strong public sector now characteristic of Scandinavia.

On a smaller scale, Sweden took in political refugees from Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia after their countries were invaded by the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1968, respectively.

Since the early 1970s, immigration to Sweden has been mostly due to refugee migration and family reunification from countries in the Middle East and Latin America.

According to the government agency Statistics Sweden, the number of immigrants born in all of Asia (including the Middle East) rose from just 1,000 in 1950 to 295,000 in 2003.

Since the European migrant crisis, Syrians became the second-largest group of foreign-born persons in the Swedish civil registry in 2017 with 158,443 people (after former Yugoslavia).

Note that the table below lists the citizenship the person had when arriving in Sweden, and therefore there are no registered Eritreans, Russians or Bosnians from 1990, they were recorded as Ethiopians, Soviets and Yugoslavs.

Since 1999, Sweden has five officially recognised minority languages: Sámi, Meänkieli, Finnish, Romani and Yiddish.

The Sámi languages, spoken by about 20-30,000 people worldwide,[57] may be used in government agencies, courts, preschools and nursing homes in 26 municipalites: Arjeplog, Arvidsjaur, Berg, Dorotea, Gällivare, Härjedalen, Jokkmokk, Kiruna, Krokom, Luleå, Lycksele, Malå, Sorsele, Skellefteå, Stockholm, Storuman, Strömsund, Sundsvall, Umeå, Vilhelmina, Vindeln, Åre, Åsele, Älvdalen, Örnsköldsvik and Östersund.

[58] Meänkieli-speakers have the same aforementioned rights in the following nine municipalites: Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala, Övertorneå, Kalix, Luleå, Stockholm and Umeå.

[60] During the mid to late 20th century, immigrant communities brought other languages, among others being Persian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic and Neo-Aramaic.

Jews were permitted to practice their religion in five Swedish cities in 1782, and have enjoyed full rights as citizens since 1870.

The new Freedom of Religion Bill was passed in 1951, and former obstacles against Non-Lutherans working in schools and hospitals were removed.