Sweden needs more immigrants to counter ageing population: employment agency
By Johan Ahlander STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – 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.
