S weden

Abstract

Ethnic relations and nationalist sentiments in Sweden have primarily evolved around two distinct phenomena: relations between native ethnic groups and relations between the dominant ethnic group and immigrant groups. Sweden is a multicultural society where ethnic Swedes constitute the ethnic majority. There are five national minority groups: Swedish Finns, Tornedal, Sami, Roma, and Jews. State relations toward its national minorities have been internal‐colonial in character, but relations have improved in recent years. Sweden is also a country of migration, 15 percent of the population has been born abroad. The largest groups originate from Finland, Iraq, Poland, former Yugoslavia, and Iran. About 3 percent of the population has two foreign born parents. Sweden is known for its generous refugee policies and integration policies, policies that on the surface seem to reflect popular attitudes. However, simultaneously, social and economic stratification in Sweden has in the past couple of decades become increasingly ethnic in character.