Young People of Migrant Origin in Sweden

Abstract

This article surveys immigration during the second part of the twentieth century with the aim of determining the origins of the immigrant population and the socioeconomic position of the second generation. It focuses on migration from Turkey from the 1960s onward. Originally, migration from Turkey was within the framework of labor recruitment. These migrants were predominantly ethnic Turks of rural origin. A second wave of migrants from Turkey was composed of Syriani/Assyrians, a Christian minority from eastern Turkey seeking asylum in the 1970s on the grounds of religious persecution. Since the 1980s, the main intake of migrants from Turkey has been Kurds seeking protection on the grounds of political persecution. Immigration of ethnic Turks and Syriani/Assyrians is restricted to family reunification and family formation; the numbers are low. Kurds, on the other hand, are accepted both on the grounds of refugee claims and family reunification/family formation. The article looks at conditions of growing up in Sweden, with a particular focus on education, mother‐tongue classes and instruction in Swedish. Second‐generation youth distinguish themselves by an overrepresentation among dropouts from school, but also by an overrepresentation among those who do well academically in comparison with native Swedes. This applies to second‐generation youth with family roots in Turkey. Though very few under the age of 18 hold regular employment, the article also discusses the prospects of entering the labor market, based on information from the regular labor market surveys. Unemployment rates are consistently higher for second‐generation migrants than for native‐born Swedish youth. The article closes with a discussion about the developing multicultural society in Sweden and the niches that second‐generation youth tend to occupy.

Parents’ years in Sweden and children’s educational performance

“…Over the last half century, the proportion of second-generation immigrants in Sweden has risen from being virtually nonexistent to approximately 10 % (Westin 2003;Bengtsson et al 2005). While considerable country of origin and gender variation exists, the schooling experiences of second-generation immigrants are generally poorer than among children of native-born Swedes, on teacher-assigned grades as well as on national and international standardized tests (OECD 2010;Jonsson and Rudolphi 2011).…”

Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Swedes and Assyrians/Syrians with Type 2 Diabetes: Association with Lifestyle-Related Factors

“…Assyrians/Syrians are a large Christian minority group in Sweden who began immigrating to Sweden in the 1970s because of religious and political persecution [36]. The majority of Assyrians/Syrians in Europe came from Eastern Turkey and sought asylum in Sweden, Germany and France.…”

The Integration of Descendants of Migrants from Turkey in Stockholm: The TIES Study in Sweden

“…He concluded that Syriacs represent half of the migrants from Turkey while the remainder is equally divided between ethnic Turks and Kurds. Meanwhile, Westin estimates that migrants from Turkey are divided equally between ethnic Turks, Kurds and Syriacs (Westin 2003). Clearly, there is no certainty about the ethnic distribution of these migrants in Sweden.…”