A new report by Statistics Sweden demonstrates county-to-county migration in Sweden in the period 2002—2021. It presents the development of net internal migration for Sweden’s 21 counties over the past 20 years, followed by an in-depth analysis of domestic inflow and outflow of different groups for each county during the most recent 5-year period. This is the second in a series of reports covering internal migration, published by Statistics Sweden in the years 2022 and 2023.

Recent outflow from Stockholm and Västra Götaland

Skåne and Halland are the only counties in Sweden where more people have moved in than moved out every single year in the past 20 years. In contrast, there have been more people departing than arriving in Kronoberg, Blekinge, Norrbotten and Västernorrland. At the beginning and the end of the study period more people moved out of Stockholm County than moved in, while during the years in between more people moved in than out. Net migration for Västra Götaland has changed from positive to negative, and that for Uppsala and Södermanland has become increasingly positive in recent years. Annual changes in net migration in other counties are small.

Net internal migration for each county is also observed for four five-year periods. The counties with a positive net migration are located in the southwest of Sweden and near Stockholm County. The counties with a negative net migration are spread throughout Sweden. Norrbotten County has had a substantial negative net migration in all five-year periods.

Diverse moving patterns among different groups

County-to-county moving patterns in the period 2017—2021 are different by factors such as age, country of birth and level of education. Among other things, the patterns are influenced by the availability of higher education and the size and structure of the labor market in a county as well as in its neighboring counties.

Residents of metropolitan counties tend to move to another metropolitan county. Metropolitan counties are often the most common counties to move to or from for movers in the surrounding counties. Metropolitan counties are also popular counties to move to for the foreign-born, especially those who have stayed in Sweden for a short period of time.

Metropolitan counties as well as counties with larger universities, such as Uppsala, Ostergötland and Västerbotten have attracted many young adults to move in for higher education.

More employed people have moved in than out of Jämtland, Uppsala, Södermanland, Gotland, Halland and Skåne. The pattern for Jämtland, Södermanland and Gotland is more visible in the years 2020—2021. This could be linked to an increased opportunity to work remotely during the pandemic.

People aged 65 or older show a particular moving pattern in certain counties. Those in that age group in Stockholm and Norrbotten mainly move to Södermanland and Västerbotten, while younger age groups move instead to Uppsala and Stockholm. Those from Väster Götaland move primarily to Halland, instead of Stockholm, though both are the most common county for the younger age groups.

Demographic analysis: Internal migration in Sweden - Moving between counties 2002—2021 (pdf)