Sweden needs more immigrants to counter ageing population
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STOCKHOLM- Sweden needs more immigrants not fewer to sustain its cradle-to-grave welfare system and care for an ageing population, a senior official at the state employment service told Reuters in an interview.
In 2015, a record 163,000 people sought asylum in Sweden, the highest per capita in Europe, part of an influx of more than a million people who entered the continent fleeing war and poverty.
The pace of migration has worried some Swedes - the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party has seen its support surge - leading the country to introduce tough asylum laws. Applications are expected to drop by around 80 percent this year.
However, without significant immigration, Sweden faces a labour shortage in the coming years, Hakan Gustavsson, head of forecasts at Sweden's Public Employment Agency said.
