The poll, set to take place during the latter part of the year, will interview an equal number of native-born Swedes and immigrants from non-Western backgrounds about their attitudes regarding democracy, gender equality, sexuality, and religion.
As part of a move to improve integration into Swedish society, the government plans to survey 3,000 people about their values, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Sunday (July 6).
The project which was announced by Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson (Liberal Party), will gather data on value differences between native-born Swedes and immigrants from non-Western backgrounds. The respondent base will be interviewed in the third quarter of this year and asked about their attitudes relating to democracy, gender equality, sexuality, and religion.
The government agency, Statistics Sweden (SCB), together with the World Values Survey (WVS), a global research project that studies people's values and beliefs, will conduct the survey.
According to Mohamsson, the results of the survey will be used to guide the development of government integration programs.
"We are an extreme country, in a good way. For people who join our society, it can be a little difficult to navigate," Mohamsson said, speaking to Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
According to AFP, previous surveys conducted by the World Values Survey research group revealed that some newly-arrived immigrants to Sweden have diverging views from native Swedes when it comes to divorce, sex before marriage, abortion, and homosexuality.
It takes about a decade for their values to evolve and be more in line with those who are native-born Swedes.
Better integration
The survey is part of a broader integration policy objective adopted by the Swedish government, which emphasizes equal rights and obligations for foreign-born individuals.
In January, the Swedish government adopted a new integration policy objective following the results of a government inquiry on the country’s integration policy.
According to 2024 data compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 223,204 refugees and 9.448 asylum seekers in Sweden.
The top three countries of origin for refugees are Syria, Ukraine, and Afghanistan. Syria, with an estimated 86,956 refugees, far outranks the other two countries, Ukraine (41,883) and Afghanistan (21,637).
In terms of asylum seekers, the top three countries are Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.
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Tightening migration policy
Sweden's governing coalition, which includes the nationalist right-wing anti-migrant Sweden Democrats, came to power in 2022 and has introduced several measures designed to tighten up its migration policy.
In April, the government announced plans for a new migration bill, designed to toughen requirements for migrants in the country. The provisions outlined in the bill, which has also been dubbed the "honest living" bill, include measures to sanction migrants who commit crimes and transgressions, including social benefit fraud or public order disruptions.
Meanwhile, last year, the government proposed a bill to restrict the possibility of rejected asylum seekers re-applying for asylum without first leaving the country.
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