'It will get worse before it gets better': Readers' predictions for life in Sweden in 2024
As a new year dawns in Sweden, readers are feeling pessimistic about what 2024 may have in store, but falling interest rates offer a glimmer of hope.
Asked whether they thought life in Sweden would get better or worse in 2024, around 62 percent of almost 60 respondents said they thought things would get worse, compared to just 16 percent who thought things would get better and 22 percent who thought they would remain the same.
The survey was not scientific, but it gives you a rough idea of how people feel.
This pessimistic outlook was driven largely by three big fears: the rise of anti-immigration sentiments and policies, the wave of gang crime and Sweden’s ability to crack down on violent crime, and the struggles people are having with the economic downturn and cost of living.
“Islamophobia and hate against immigrants will rise,” said an anonymous reader in Stockholm. “I’ve been living in Sweden since 2007 and the way things are changing – even for a highly skilled and educated immigrant, who has become a Swedish citizen and has been paying super high taxes – scares me. I no longer see my kids’ future in Sweden. I don’t want them to grow up in a society where they’re judged by the colour of their skin and their religion.”
Sweden in 2023 moved to tighten asylum, citizenship and residency permit rules as part of the government’s self-described “migration paradigm shift”. Several readers anticipated that rules for immigrants would get stricter in 2024 and make it more challenging for foreigners to settle down.
“I think that if the current right-wing trend continues it could become very uncomfortable for non-Swedes residing in Sweden. Already, we have seen the knee-jerk reactions of this right-wing government having a devastating effect on foreigners living in Sweden and it’s hard to see it getting any better unless there is major shift in political preferences,” said Steven Clarke, a British reader in the Stockholm archipelago, adding that he hoped he would be proven wrong.
KEY POINTS:
Sweden saw fewer gun deaths in 2023 than 2022 (53 compared to 62), but after a gang conflict sparked 11 fatal shootings in September – the deadliest month since December 2019 – including innocent victims, several readers said they were worried about the spike in violent crime.
August, a master’s student from Germany, predicted there would be “brash responses to fears over gang violence and immigration, leading to an increase in crime and social unrest rather than a decrease” and that the far-right Sweden Democrats would grow their political support.
“I think the far right is appealing to more people as the left refuses to broach the topic, which ultimately is worse for everyone,” he said, apologising for the pessimistic outlook.
The organisation Civil Rights Defenders last year warned that the government’s attempts to fast-track laws in order to crack down on gang crime risked undermining the equal rights of everybody before the law, increasing the risk of discrimination, and pushing Sweden towards autocracy.
“We tend to simplify and find easy and quick patches for our problems. The spirit of tolerance, understanding and mutual motivation to build bridges is diminishing,” said an Iranian reader.
SWEDEN IN 2024:
Several readers called for more political action on violent crime, but at the same time worried that the wrong kind of hard-hitting legislation was being pushed through too quickly and without any nuanced thought behind. In some cases, those fears were expressed by the same reader.
“I unfortunately believe that the current inaction on the gun/gang violence will only allow it to grow worse before it gets better, so I expect that we will find we hear about more of these types of incidents,” said Ryan Evans, a British reader in Västerbotten.
Although the Swedish economy is showing signs of improving at some point over the course of the next year, high inflation and interest rates have taken their toll on readers’ finances in Sweden.
“I hope that the financial crisis will be over, that we will be back on track from the previous years,” said a Macedonian software architect. But he was less optimistic about whether his hopes would come true and said the cost of living was his biggest concern about the year ahead.
“It has become really hard to live here. Six years ago I was paying 6,000 kronor monthly for groceries, nowadays I pay 10,000 kronor per month for groceries while the salary got increased just a bit,” he said, noting that the impact was already noticeable in his own career network.
“It’s crazy, smart people are fleeing from here. Many Polish software engineer colleagues left the company since their economy in Poland got so good that they earn more there than here. Same goes for Indian colleagues. So it’s going to be tough to find good and skilled people.”
A higher work permit salary threshold, which was introduced in November last year, with plans of increasing it further in the future, hadn’t helped either, said an Indian IT consultant in Gothenburg.
“Because of the adamancy on not increasing the wages, sending more refugees and immigrants back for the new salary laws for work permits, there will be a lose-lose for both job seekers and end customers, while the same number of interested Swedes are distributed among more jobs that pay less for the employer is thinking short term by cutting corners from a circle – and the unions watch in silence,” he added.
“In the grand scheme of things, even when many things change, it will cancel out for a local. For an expat, it is already a downward slope on things getting worse, which will continue.”
Abhishek Mishra, an Indian procurement manager in Stockholm, predicted the economy would “get worse before it starts to get better”.
DISCOVER SWEDEN:
Readers however also expressed their hopes for the future, with many pointing out that interest rates are expected to continue to fall in 2024, which should make it easier on people’s wallets.
“Things will be better. Quran burnings will be banned by law, Sweden will enter Nato, and interest rates will drop,” said Konstantinos, a vice president in IT, based in Malmö.
“My greatest hope is that I won’t feel insecure walking on the outskirts of Stockholm or worry about the safety of my kids in school and on the streets. I hope there will be less news about shootings and gang violence,” said a Macedonian reader in Stockholm. “I hope that in 2024, my children won’t be judged by the foreignness of their parents, but by their individual ability and potential.”
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Asked whether they thought life in Sweden would get better or worse in 2024, around 62 percent of almost 60 respondents said they thought things would get worse, compared to just 16 percent who thought things would get better and 22 percent who thought they would remain the same.
The survey was not scientific, but it gives you a rough idea of how people feel.
This pessimistic outlook was driven largely by three big fears: the rise of anti-immigration sentiments and policies, the wave of gang crime and Sweden’s ability to crack down on violent crime, and the struggles people are having with the economic downturn and cost of living.
“Islamophobia and hate against immigrants will rise,” said an anonymous reader in Stockholm. “I’ve been living in Sweden since 2007 and the way things are changing – even for a highly skilled and educated immigrant, who has become a Swedish citizen and has been paying super high taxes – scares me. I no longer see my kids’ future in Sweden. I don’t want them to grow up in a society where they’re judged by the colour of their skin and their religion.”
Sweden in 2023 moved to tighten asylum, citizenship and residency permit rules as part of the government’s self-described “migration paradigm shift”. Several readers anticipated that rules for immigrants would get stricter in 2024 and make it more challenging for foreigners to settle down.
“I think that if the current right-wing trend continues it could become very uncomfortable for non-Swedes residing in Sweden. Already, we have seen the knee-jerk reactions of this right-wing government having a devastating effect on foreigners living in Sweden and it’s hard to see it getting any better unless there is major shift in political preferences,” said Steven Clarke, a British reader in the Stockholm archipelago, adding that he hoped he would be proven wrong.
KEY POINTS:
Sweden saw fewer gun deaths in 2023 than 2022 (53 compared to 62), but after a gang conflict sparked 11 fatal shootings in September – the deadliest month since December 2019 – including innocent victims, several readers said they were worried about the spike in violent crime.
August, a master’s student from Germany, predicted there would be “brash responses to fears over gang violence and immigration, leading to an increase in crime and social unrest rather than a decrease” and that the far-right Sweden Democrats would grow their political support.
“I think the far right is appealing to more people as the left refuses to broach the topic, which ultimately is worse for everyone,” he said, apologising for the pessimistic outlook.
The organisation Civil Rights Defenders last year warned that the government’s attempts to fast-track laws in order to crack down on gang crime risked undermining the equal rights of everybody before the law, increasing the risk of discrimination, and pushing Sweden towards autocracy.
“We tend to simplify and find easy and quick patches for our problems. The spirit of tolerance, understanding and mutual motivation to build bridges is diminishing,” said an Iranian reader.
SWEDEN IN 2024:
Several readers called for more political action on violent crime, but at the same time worried that the wrong kind of hard-hitting legislation was being pushed through too quickly and without any nuanced thought behind. In some cases, those fears were expressed by the same reader.
“I unfortunately believe that the current inaction on the gun/gang violence will only allow it to grow worse before it gets better, so I expect that we will find we hear about more of these types of incidents,” said Ryan Evans, a British reader in Västerbotten.
Although the Swedish economy is showing signs of improving at some point over the course of the next year, high inflation and interest rates have taken their toll on readers’ finances in Sweden.
“I hope that the financial crisis will be over, that we will be back on track from the previous years,” said a Macedonian software architect. But he was less optimistic about whether his hopes would come true and said the cost of living was his biggest concern about the year ahead.
“It has become really hard to live here. Six years ago I was paying 6,000 kronor monthly for groceries, nowadays I pay 10,000 kronor per month for groceries while the salary got increased just a bit,” he said, noting that the impact was already noticeable in his own career network.
“It’s crazy, smart people are fleeing from here. Many Polish software engineer colleagues left the company since their economy in Poland got so good that they earn more there than here. Same goes for Indian colleagues. So it’s going to be tough to find good and skilled people.”
A higher work permit salary threshold, which was introduced in November last year, with plans of increasing it further in the future, hadn’t helped either, said an Indian IT consultant in Gothenburg.
“Because of the adamancy on not increasing the wages, sending more refugees and immigrants back for the new salary laws for work permits, there will be a lose-lose for both job seekers and end customers, while the same number of interested Swedes are distributed among more jobs that pay less for the employer is thinking short term by cutting corners from a circle – and the unions watch in silence,” he added.
“In the grand scheme of things, even when many things change, it will cancel out for a local. For an expat, it is already a downward slope on things getting worse, which will continue.”
Abhishek Mishra, an Indian procurement manager in Stockholm, predicted the economy would “get worse before it starts to get better”.
DISCOVER SWEDEN:
Readers however also expressed their hopes for the future, with many pointing out that interest rates are expected to continue to fall in 2024, which should make it easier on people’s wallets.
“Things will be better. Quran burnings will be banned by law, Sweden will enter Nato, and interest rates will drop,” said Konstantinos, a vice president in IT, based in Malmö.
“My greatest hope is that I won’t feel insecure walking on the outskirts of Stockholm or worry about the safety of my kids in school and on the streets. I hope there will be less news about shootings and gang violence,” said a Macedonian reader in Stockholm. “I hope that in 2024, my children won’t be judged by the foreignness of their parents, but by their individual ability and potential.”
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