Forget al the other blather, this is the real reason why men in Sweden are suddenly outnumbering women……
Statistics officials say Sweden’s demographic shift is mainly due to men catching up with women in terms of life expectancy. But the arrival in recent years of tens of thousands of unaccompanied teenage boys from Afghanistan, Syria and North Africa is also having a significant impact.
The new Vikings:
It’s raining men! Sweden sees historic gender balance shift
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Famous for its efforts to put women on an equal footing with men, Sweden is experiencing a gender balance shift that has caught the country by surprise: For the first time since record-keeping began in 1749, it now has more men than women.
Swedes don’t quite know what to make of this sudden male surplus, which is highly unusual in the West, where women historically have been in the majority in almost every country. But it may be a sign of things to come in Europe as changes in life expectancy and migration transform demographics.
“This is a novel phenomenon for Europe,” said Francesco Billari, a University of Oxford demographer who is president of the European Association for Population Studies. “We as researchers have not been on top of this.”
FILE – In this Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2013 file photo, Sweden fans pose with a Swedish flag before the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Sweden and Portugal in Stockholm, Sweden. For the first time since record-keeping began in 1749, Sweden now has more men than women. Swedes don’t quite know what to make of this sudden male surplus, which is highly unusual in the West, where women historically have been in the majority in almost every country. But it may be a sign of things to come in Europe as changes in life expectancy and migration transform demographics. The tipping point in Sweden happened in March 2015, when population statistics showed 277 more men than women. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file)
The tipping point in Sweden happened in March last year, when population statistics showed 277 more men than women. The gap has since grown to beyond 12,000. While that’s still small in a population of almost 10 million, it’s “not unreasonable” to suspect that Sweden will have a big male surplus in the future, said Tomas Johansson, a population expert at the national statistics agency, SCB.
