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Living Conditions Survey (ULF/SILC):

Living in a rented dwelling is becoming less common among people with high incomes

Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2018-03-02 9.30

The percentage of people living in rented dwellings has decreased in Sweden since the 1980s. It has become less common to rent dwellings mainly among people with high incomes. On the other hand, the percentage of those living in rented dwellings has increased among those with the lowest incomes.

In the early 1980s, it was nearly equally common among people in the highest income bracket and those with the lowest incomes to live in rented dwellings. About 30 percent in both groups lived in rented dwellings. Today, an increasing percentage of people in the highest income group instead live in owner-occupied apartments or single family houses/terraced houses, a development that began mainly in the mid-1990s. This is revealed in a new report from Statistics Sweden, Living conditions 1980–2016, which shows the progress of living conditions in Sweden over several decades. The report is based on the time series in the Surveys on Living Conditions concerning housing, employment, work environment, leisure, social relationships, civic activities, health and security.

Among people in the lowest income group, it has instead become more common to live in rented dwellings, which can be seen in the period 1992–2015, where this percentage increased from 30 percent to just over 50 percent.

In 2015, it was nearly four times more common to rent dwellings among those in the lowest income group (quintile 1) than among those in the highest income group (quintile 5). In the early 1980s, the percentage of people living in rented dwellings was roughly equivalent in both income groups. The percentage of people living in rented dwellings has not changed equally clearly in the other three income groups, although in income groups 3 and 4 it is less common than in the 1980s to live in rented dwellings.

Percentage of people living in rented dwellings, by disposable income per consumption unit in quintiles. Persons aged 16–84 1980–2015. Percent.

Source: Living Conditions Surveys (ULF/SILC)

More examples of results on development over time

  • Four out of ten people read a book every week. Among young men aged 20–29, book-reading has halved since the early 1980s, while among women aged 50 and older the percentage has instead increased.
  • The percentage of those who smoke daily has decreased since the 1980s. Today, about 11 percent smoke daily, compared with just over 30 percent in 1980–1981.
  • The percentage of those subjected to threats or violence has increased since the 1980s from 5 percent in 1980–1981 to 8 percent in 2016.
  • The percentage of people who are members of a political party has decreased from 15 percent to 5 percent since the mid-1980s.
  • The percentage of gainfully employed persons who consider that they have good opportunities to learn new things at work has increased from 62 percent to 78 percent since the 1980s.

Definitions and explanations

Disposable income and quintiles To make comparisons of disposable income among different types of households, a system is used that takes into account the composition of the household. The disposable income of the household is divided by the number of consumption units that the household consists of. The population is divided into five equally large parts (quintiles) based on income size per consumption unit in the household.

No data for 2006–2007 Data for 2006–2007 is not included in the figure. The changes that were in progress in this period appear to have affected indicators in some cases and led to ambiguous results in those years. 

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2018-04-24 at 09:30.

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