Sweden crosses 10-million population threshold

COPENHAGEN – Swedish authorities say the Scandinavian country on Friday has statistically crossed the 10-million population threshold, saying mainly migration and more birth than deaths contribute to the population growth.

Statistics Sweden has posted a population clock on its website saying the nation now has 10,000,064 inhabitants, adding immigration accounted for 75 per cent of the growth from 9 million to 10 million over the past 13 years.

The state agency says statistical population records have been kept since 1749, adding that there were more women than men when Sweden reached the 9-million threshold in 2004. That gender balance shifted in March 2015: it now has more men than women.

The agency said that 82 per cent were born in Sweden, adding most foreign-born residents come from neighbouring Finland.