Report warns Sweden could lose four million people by 2100

Sweden’s population could shrink by four million by 2100 in one of several scenarios outlined in a new report commissioned by the government, SVT reported.

Lower migration, fewer births and a growing elderly population could drive the decline, according to the report.

“If you isolate the effect of a shrinking population, it would have fairly serious consequences for the Swedish economy,” Åsa Hansson, an associate professor of economics and the report’s lead researcher, told Swedish Radio’s Ekot.

Sweden should redirect more resources towards making life easier for young adults, Hansson said.

Sven-Olov Daunfeldt, chief economist at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, said Sweden needs to increase labour migration.

“We have many occupations facing labour shortages today, where we will need labour migration to manage the challenge of supporting the population,” he told Ekot.