Shootings and violence
Up until a few years ago, Sweden was counted among the European countries with relatively low levels of homicide. However, the homicide rate has increased in Sweden, and is now higher than that of many other countries in the EU. The increase in Sweden is primarily linked to an increase in gun violence.
Over the last decade, the homicide rate has increased in Sweden, and is now higher than that of many other countries. The increase in Sweden is primarily linked to an increase in gun homicides, which began to rise from the year 2005. To begin with, this increase in gun homicide was compensated by a continued decline in levels of homicide by other means, but since 2013, the rise in gun homicide has contributed to a general increase in Sweden’s total homicide rate.
It should be noted that two out of three homicides take place in other contexts. For instance, family-related homicides, including intimate partner homicide, correspond to 25 percent of all cases in 2018-2021. Intimate partner homicide has decreased in Sweden, but over the past decade the decrease seems to have levelled out. Another category of homicides can be described as spontaneous conflicts and disputes with a lethal outcome, often linked to substance abuse. These cases accounted for a majority of all homicides in Sweden at the beginning of the 1990s, when the overall homicide rate was actually higher than it this today – despite the recent increase.
Statistics
Homicides in Sweden
In 2023, firearms were used in 53 of the observed cases of homicide, 10 fewer than in 2022, which corresponded to 45 percent of all observed homicide cases in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of homicides that did not involve firearms increased by 15, from 53 cases in 2022 to 68 cases in 2023.
Shootings
*) A confirmed shooting is an instance in which a firearm has been used intentionally and illegally and where there was either more than one independent witness to the shooting or where traces have been found in the form of bullets, cartridges or damage to property or people that was caused by the shooting.
Shootings and explosions in 2024
Comparison with other European countries
As regards the level of gun homicide, the rate in Sweden ranks very high in relation to other European countries, at approximately 4 deaths per million inhabitants per year. The average for Europe is approximately 1.6 deaths per million inhabitants. None of the other countries included in the study have experienced increases comparable to that noted in Sweden. Instead, continued decreases were observed in both total homicide rates and rates of gun homicide in the majority of these countries. Temporary increases can be seen in a few other countries, but these are restricted to periods of only a few years, and in none of these cases has there been such a marked and continuous increase as that observed in Sweden over several consecutive years.
Gun homicide in Sweden and other European countries (Brå report 2021:8)
Reports
Gun homicide in Sweden and other European countries
A comparative study of levels, trends and homicide by other means. English summary of Brå report 2021:8
Viewed from a long-term perspective, it is well-established that, at least in Western Europe, homicide levels increased during the period 1960-1990 and have since declined. In Sweden, however, this downward trend has stalled, and since 2013 levels of homicide have once again been on the rise. This study compares recent trends in Sweden with homicide levels and trends in 22 other European countries with a focus on the period since the year 2000.
Publicerad: 2021-05-26
Homicide in the criminal milieu
2005-2017
A study of homicides arising from conflicts in the criminal milieu in the period 2005-2017.
Publicerad: 2020-04-02
Shootings in criminal milieux
An interview study. English summary of Brå report 2019:3
Lethal gun violence in criminal milieux has increased over time. Therefore, Brå has conducted a study of shootings in criminal milieux. The study is based primarily on interviews with individuals who have been active in the milieux where gun violence occurs.
Publicerad: 2019-03-06
Group Violence Intervention (GVI)
The Group Violence Intervention (GVI) is a strategy for reducing violence in criminal milieux, in a specific city or neighbourhood, and is based on cooperation between the police, the municipality, the prison and probation service, and the local community.