Swedish Iraqis

Iraqis are one of the biggest minority groups living in Sweden. After people from Syria, Iraqis are the second largest group. Many people in Sweden were born in Iraq, and many Swedes have parents who were born there. This makes Iraqis one of the largest Asian communities in Sweden.

The number of Iraqis in Sweden grew a lot between 2002 and 2009. This happened mainly because many Iraqi refugees came to Sweden after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2006. Many people were looking for safety and a better life away from the conflict in their home country.

Population

Iraqi-born people are a large minority group in Sweden. They are the third largest group after the Sweden Finns and the Syrians. They are also one of the biggest Asian groups in Sweden.

Sweden has the largest community of Iraqi Mandaeans in Europe.

Migration history

Iraqi people have come to live in Sweden in four main groups over time. The first group, around 8,000 people, came between 1968 and 1978. They were mostly Kurds and Assyrians leaving a difficult government.

The second group, about 10,000 people, arrived between 1980 and 1988. They were also mostly Kurds and Assyrians, and many were trying to avoid war.

The third group, around 15,000 people, came between 1991 and 1999. Many were from Northern Iraq and brought their families. The largest group, almost 30,000 people, came after the Iraq War from 2003 to 2010. Many were Sunni Arabs and Assyrian Christians.

After the war began in 2003, many Christian Iraqis fled because they were afraid of being treated badly. Sweden accepted more Iraqi asylum seekers than any other country in Europe. In 2006, over 9,000 Iraqis came to Sweden. Sweden tried to make the rules tighter for people asking for safety in 2007, but in 2008, almost 12,000 Iraqis still came. In 2009, the number went down to about 8,400 people.

Refugee status and naturalization

In 2006, Sweden gave protection to more Iraqis than all other European Union countries together. At first, only a few Iraqis were recognized as refugees. But by 2006, almost all of them were.

Sweden decided that Iraqis who had been denied refugee status could still stay in the country permanently. This helped many Iraqis feel safer and start to fit into Swedish life.

Because of Sweden’s generous policies, many more Iraqis applied for help. The number of applications grew quickly from 2005 to 2006, and even more people arrived in early 2007. Most settled in places like Malmö and Södertälje, but sometimes had to live in crowded conditions.

Notable people

Here are some well-known people from the Iraqi community in Sweden:

• Aimar Sher, footballer
• Darin, singer
• Peter Gwargis, footballer
• Mohanad Jeahze, footballer
• Kevin Yakob, footballer
• Bovar Karim, footballer
• Ahmed Yasin, footballer
• Mohamed Said, actor
• Salam Karam, journalist
• Rosa Kafaji, footballer
• Modhir Ahmed, visual artist
• Abir Al-Sahlani, politician
• Hayv Kahraman, artist and painter