Localities 2018
Roughly 87 percent of the population lives in localities and urban areas
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2019-03-28 9.30
Preliminary figures show that there were nearly nine million inhabitants in Sweden’s localities at the end of 2018. This corresponds to 87 percent of Sweden’s population. In 2018, the population living in localities increased by nearly 80 000 persons, which corresponds to just under one percent. In the same period, Sweden’s entire population increased by 110 000 persons.
The urban population increased the most in Sweden’s major urban areas, with Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö in the lead. When localities are classified by population size, it emerges that the nine localities in Sweden with at least 100 000 inhabitants together increased by 44 000 inhabitants, which is more than half of the total population increase in urban areas.
The population decreased in nearly 900 out of the 1 979 localities in the country. The largest decrease was registered in the western part of Malmberget, followed by Flen locality.
| Localities, size class based on population | Number of localities, 2018 | Number of inhabitants | Difference | Difference in percent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2018 | ||||
|
Total in Sweden
|
1 979 | 8 795 471 | 8 874 166 | 78 695 | 0.9 |
|
≥ 100 000 inhabitants
|
9 | 3 224 628 | 3 269 000 | 44 372 | 1.4 |
|
50 00–99 999 inhabitants
|
13 | 968 442 | 977 925 | 9 483 | 1.0 |
|
10 000–49 999 inhabitants
|
104 | 2 162 045 | 2 179 332 | 17 287 | 0.8 |
|
1 000–9 999 inhabitants
|
622 | 1 874 531 | 1 881 785 | 7 254 | 0.4 |
|
< 1 000 inhabitants
|
1 231 | 565 825 | 566 124 | 299 | 0.1 |
Population density increased
Statistics on urban population in 2018 was calculated using the 2015 statistical locality boundaries. This means that localities’ area has not been updated with regard to, for example, new buildings adjacent to the localities. This means the statistics are a measure of how population density in localities has changed since 2015. Where the population has increased, population density has also risen.
In the period 2017–2018, population density in localities increased by 13 persons per square kilometre, amounting to 1 437 persons per square kilometre. This can be compared with just over 25 persons per square kilometre in the whole country in the same period.
New definition of localities in October 2019
The localities included in these statistics are defined, in brief, as continuous settlement with at least 200 inhabitants. This means localities include everything from the largest cities to small villages with only a few hundred inhabitants. Statistics Sweden defines the boundaries of statistical localities using registers on population and buildings.
Preliminary statistics on urban population in 2018 were calculated using 2015 locality boundaries. This means that the statistics do not include persons in settlements that were added just beyond the 2015 locality boundaries. Small localities that were not classified as localities in 2015 because the population was too small, but in which the population has since increased to 200 inhabitants or more, are also not included in the statistics. On the same basis, the statistics include localities in which the population has decreased since 2015 and thereby have a population of fewer than 200 inhabitants.
On 24 October 2019, final statistics on population in localities in 2018 was published. These statistics were calculated using an updated definition of Sweden’s localities, with 13 December 2018 as the reference time period.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.