Swedish population hits 10-million mark
Sweden's population hit 10 million on Friday morning, and that is a cause for celebration, according to a group of Swedish demographers.
Statistics Sweden has a live population counter on its website which shows that there is a new Swede every other minute. Each time a Swedish baby is born or a new person registers with the Swedish Tax Agency, the count goes up by one, but it also goes down whenever someone dies or emigrates.
At the end of the nineteenth century, there were around 5 million people living in Sweden. By 1969, there were 8 million and in 2004, the population reached the 9-million mark. Now, just 13 years on, there are 10 million Swedes.
So why is the population growth speeding up?
"The latest increase is due to immigration, but it is also in combination with fertility," said Gunnar Andersson, a demography professor at Stockholm University, who told Radio Sweden he will be having cake with his colleagues on Friday morning to celebrate the population reaching 10 million.
"We have a relatively high level of childbirth in Sweden," said Andersson,"while a lot of other countries in Europe are seeing decreasing levels right now, or they will be in the future."
Other countries with 10 million inhabitants are the Czech Republic, Portugal, Burundi and the Dominican Republic. A few countries are just below the 10-million mark: Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Hungary and Azerbaijan.
However, little else unites these countries, as far as demography goes, says Andersson.
