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'''FIGURE 4. Swedish types. Nordic and Lapp. (U/OU)''' (photos)

3. Emigration and immigration

The orderly and continuous compilation of vital statistics in Sweden since 1749 probably comprises the second oldest system of its kind in the world after that of Iceland, which dates from 1735. The population of Sweden, 1.8 million in 1750, grew slowly, with high birth and death rates, until the 1820's. Then, as elsewhere in Europe, the mortality rate began to fall, and the population increased rapidly. The total population nearly doubled between 1750 and 1850 and then doubled again during the next 100 years. The inability of the primarily agricultural economy of the time to absorb the excess of workers, however, resulted in the Great Emigration that began in the middle of the 19th century and continued into the early 1900's. During this period more than a million Swedes—one-fifth of the mean population—left Sweden to go to America.

The outflow of population that made Sweden one of Europe's major countries of emigration during these years subsided as the economy shifted from a chiefly agricultural to a predominantly industrial base. By 1930 the direction of migration had been reversed, and during the following 23 years Sweden had a net gain of some 210,000 immigrants or about 3% of the mean population. Among the total number of immigrants during this period were many World War II refugees from the Scandinavian and Baltic countries. The flow of immigrants increased markedly during the 1950's and 1960's, chiefly in response to the growing demand for industrial workers. Between 1960 and 1970 the total number of immigrants each year ranged from 25,000 to 77,000, with an annual average of 41,000. During the same period the emigration rate ranged from 15,000 to 29,000, with an annual average of 18,000. Thus, from 1960 to 1970 Sweden had a net gain in immigration, averaging 23,000 annually. The majority of the immigrants have come from other Nordic countries, particularly Finland, although an increasing number have been from the Mediterranean countries.

4. Structure

The age structure of Sweden's population is that of a demographically mature country, with comparatively few children and a high proportion of elderly persons. In 1970 the total population of 8,091,800 was almost equally divided between females and males (Figure 5). The ratio of 1,003 to 1,000

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090021-3