Stockholm continues to grow

Sweden's capital is growing faster than any prior prognoses indicate.

Stockholm is growing faster than predicted, and in 20 years, a quarter of Sweden’s population will be living in the region surrounding the capital.
Stockholm’s record growth. Stockholm county is expected to grow faster than prior prognoses have shown. In 20 years, a quarter of Sweden’s population will be living in the region surrounding the capital, according to new data from Statistics Sweden. It is Stockholm Chamber of Commerce that has ordered the prediction with the new statistics, and it shows that between 2014 and 2045, there will be a 32 percent increase—that’s 700,000—in the population in Stockholm county.
If you followed our Stockholm walkabouts, you'll know why - the first through Gamla Stan (Stockholm's Old Town) ..in the heart of Stockholm.
Scenic view of downtown Stockholm with Riddarholmen (The Knights' island in the foreground). Photo: Jeppe Wikström/visitstockholm.com
”The increase is driven by high birth rates and migration, mostly from other parts of the world, but also other parts of Sweden. It’s an attractive region, and we’re beginning to reach a critical mass where size in itself is attractive,” says Maria Rankka, president of Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Rankka points to the combination of a ”strong job market, an interesting business life and good living conditions,” as factors of success. Globally, Sweden follows the same patterns as major parts of the world; it is the bigger cities in each country that have the main increases in population.
”It’s important to have a dense urban environment. It makes it easier to get a competent work force and interesting companies that want to get established,” says Rankka. However, there is a huge problem in Stockholm’s population increase: lack of housing. It is already critical today. ”It’s our Achilles’ heel, and the thing that might possibly put a stopper on this development. More apartments need to be built, as does more mobility on the housing market. In the year 2045, Stockholm County is expected to have seven municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants. The communities with the greatest percentage increase are Sundbyberg and Solna. Sundbyberg will, according to the predicted data, double its population while Lidingö and Danderyd are expected to grow just 8 percent each. Rankka says that Solna and Sundbyberg are examples of municipalities that have invested in population growth by trying to obtain new housing. ”We also have municipalities that aren’t growing much and that perhaps don’t want to grow. We think it is problematic that some municipalities, such as Lidingö and Danderyd, don’t want to take responsibility for the region,” says Rankka.
And yet, some Stockholmers would like to be somewhere else entirely: Stockholmers prefer New York