Swedish Serbs
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 120,000 (estimate) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| , Göteborg, Malmö | |
| Languages | |
| Serbian, Swedish | |
| Religion | |
| Serbian Orthodox Church | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Serbs in Norway |
Serbs (Swedish: Serber) began migrating to Sweden in large numbers in the 1960s, as part of the migrant work-agreement signed with the Yugoslav government to help Sweden overcome its severe labour shortage. The Yugoslav wars saw another influx of Serbs. The Serbs in Sweden are one of the largest Serb diaspora communities.
Serbs constituted a low percentage of the Swedish population prior to the 1960s. Some came after World War II, mostly seeking political asylum. The greatest proportion of Serbs came together with Greeks, Italians and Turks under the visa agreements in times of severe labour shortages or when particular skills were deficient within Sweden, as migrant workers (called Arbetskraftsinvandring, see gastarbeiter). During the 1960s and 1970s, agreements were signed with the government of Yugoslavia to help Sweden overcome its severe labour shortage.
Bosnian and Croatian Serbs migrated in another wave during and after the Yugoslav wars. Another wave of Kosovo Serbs came during the Kosovo war in 1999.
The Swedish census data includes country of birth, but does not include ethnicity, descendants or naturalized people, thus, the total number of ethnic Serbs in Sweden is hard to define. Various estimations include: 80,000; 110,000; 120,000; and 140,000. Aco Dragićević, writing for the Swedish-Serbian newspaper Dijaspora, wrote in 2002 that some 200,000 Yugoslavs, regardless of ethnic origin, migrated to Sweden during the Second Yugoslavia (1945-1992); of these, roughly 40% (ca. 80,000) he believed to be Serbs.
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