# Syrians in Sweden

Syrians in Sweden are citizens and residents of Sweden who are of Syrian descent. As of 2023, there were 197,201 residents of Sweden born in Syria, and 66,698 born in Sweden with at least one Syrian-born parent. Sweden hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees outside of Middle East, aside of Germany.

## History

Even before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Sweden had a significant population of Syrian migrants, with religious and ethnic minorities such as Assyrians over-represented. Many opponents of the Syrian regime under Bashar Al Assad, especially Syrian Sunni Muslims and Palestinians have lately sought refuge in Sweden.
The refugee crisis began in 2011, when thousands of Syrian citizens fled across the border into neighboring Turkey and Lebanon as a result of bombings, ethnic persecution and religious persecution. A total of 4.9 million people have fled Syria from April 2011 to December 2015. The majority of those who have fled are in neighboring countries, mainly Turkey (2.5 million Syrian refugees), Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, often in tent camp. According to Statistiska centralbyrån there were a total of 242,150 people in Sweden in 2019 who were born in Syria or have at least one parent who was. Those born in Syria make up the largest group of foreign-born in the country.
Of those who immigrated from Syria, the vast majority or 78% had arrived in the years 2014–2018.

## Demographics

Most Syrians residing in Sweden arrived as asylum seekers following the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011. According to Statistics Sweden, as of 2016, there 116,384 citizens of Syria (70,060 men, 46,324 women) residing in Sweden. There are an estimated 18,000 of the latter immigrants living in Södertälje. As of 2016, 5,459 Syrian citizens (2,803 men, 2,656 women) residing in Sweden are registered as asylum seekers. In 2016, there were 39 registered emigrations from Sweden to Syria.

## Education

In 2010, there were 18,292 students with Arabic as their mother tongue who participated in the state-run Swedish for Immigrants adult language program. Of these pupils, 3,884 had 0–6 years of education in their home country (Antal utbildningsår i hemlandet), 3,383 had 7–9 years of education in their home country, and 11,025 had 10 years education or more in their home country. As of 2012, 18,886 pupils with Arabic as their mother tongue, as well as 3,257 Syria-born students were enrolled in the language program.
According to a report from the Statistiska centralbyrån in 2014, 38% of residents born in Syria had pre-secondary education, 20% have secondary education, 20% have post-secondary education shorter than 3 years and 10% post-secondary education longer than 3 years.
As of 2016, according to Statistics Sweden, 35% of Syria-born individuals aged 25 to 64 have attained a primary and lower secondary education level (37% men, 34% women), 22% have attained an upper secondary education level (21% men, 23% women), 21% have attained a post-secondary education level of less than 3 years (21% men, 22% women), 15% have attained a post-secondary education of 3 years or more (16% men, 14% women), and 6% have attained an unknown education level (6% men, 7% women).

## Employment

According to Statistics Sweden, as of 2014, the employment rate is approximately 32% for Syrian-born immigrants.
According to the Institute of Labor Economics, as of 2014, Syrian-born individuals residing in Sweden have an employment population ratio of about 28%. They also have an unemployment rate of around 14%.

## Notable people

* Elmar Abraham, football player
* Sargon Abraham, football player
* Khaled Alesmael [de], writer and journalist (Turkish mother and Syrian father)
* Hosam Aiesh, football player
* Ghayath Almadhoun, poet
* Roony Bardghji, football player
* Bishara (singer), singer
* Amir Chamdin, director and musician
* Louay Chanko, former football player and coach
* Nassim Al Fakir, musician and TV personality
* Salem Al Fakir, musician, singer, songwriter and record producer
* Silvana Imam, rapper (Syrian Father and Samogitian Mother)
* Mikael Ishak, football player (Assyrian parents from Syria)
* Oliver Kass Kawo, football player
* Osama Krayem, convicted terrorist, mass murderer and war criminal (Palestinian parents from Syria)
* Fadi Malke, football player
* Aiham Ousou, football player
* Fida al-Sayed, political activist and leader of Sweden’s chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood
* Gabriel Somi, football player (Christian parents from Syria)