Migration History
Many Iraqis fled to Sweden during the 1980s to 1990s as well, due to the Iran-Iraq war and the Gulf War, but most Iraqis in Sweden today have migrated as a consequence of the Iraq War of 2003 to 2010.
Christian Iraqis, fearing persecution in their homeland, make up a large part of that influx after Iraq occupation in 2003. Sweden accepts more than half of all asylum applications from Iraqis in Europe. In 2006, over 9,000 Iraqis fled their country and came to Sweden seeking shelter, a fourfold increase over 2005. In 2007, Sweden attempted to throttle the influx of Iraqi refugees by tightening the rules for asylum seekers, but in 2008 there were again record numbers of Iraqi immigrants, close to 12,000. In 2009, the number of immigrants fell again slightly, to 8,400.
Iraqi-born persons in Sweden by year:
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 49,372 | 55,696 | 62,751 | 67,645 | 70,117 | 72,553 | 82,827 | 97,513 | 109,446 | 117,919 |
Read more about this topic: Iraqis In Sweden
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