IN NUMBERS: Has Sweden’s wave of deadly gang violence peaked?

The number of deadly shootings in Sweden has fallen after hitting a record in 2022, according to the latest annual statistics from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå). But violent killings continued to rise and more women and youths were victims.

Published: 27 March 2024 19:23 CET

IN NUMBERS: Has Sweden's wave of deadly gang violence peaked?

A police cordon outside a pizzeria in the Stockholm district of Fittja where a man was shot dead in March 2024. Photo: Magnus Lejhall/TT

How bad was 2023 for violent homicide in general?

With 121 violent homicides recorded, 2023 was the worst year for murder in Sweden since 2020, when 124 people were killed in violent attacks, continuing a rising trend seen since 2021. The number of violent killings was up 4 percent on 2022, when 116 people were killed.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that this is still lower than the 129 people who died of “murder, manslaughter or violent attack” in Sweden back in 1989, when the population was nearly 20 percent lower.

The graph below shows how the number of violent homicides in Sweden rose sharply in about 2014, after which it has seen a gradual but unsteady increase.

Homicides in Sweden between 2013 and 2023. Source: Brå

What about deadly shootings?

When it comes to the gang shootings that have dominated headlines in Sweden in recent years, there were signs of improvement, with 53 people shot dead in 2023, down from a record 63 in 2022.

It’s hardly great news though, as 2023 still witnessed the second highest number of deadly shootings ever recorded in Sweden.

The number of fatal stabbings also increased slightly in 2023 to 41 from 35 in 2022.

Deadly shootings, stabbings and other forms of violent murder between 2013 and 2023. Source: Brå

Tragically, in 2023, gang criminals in Sweden increasingly began to target the relatives and loved ones of their rivals and also to use minors in their gang wars, leading to a spike in the number of women and youths killed.

Ten more women and nine more people under the age of 18 died in violent attacks in 2023 than in 2022, pushing the number of female victims to 33 and the number of youth victims to 17.

“This year more minors and women have been homicide victims compared with the year before,” Jan Lundbeck, a statistician at the council said in a press release. “This is partly a result of conflicts in criminal circles which had had deadly consequences in which people under the ae of 18 and even women have been affected.”

Ten of the 33 women killed were in a relationship with their killer, the same number as in 2022.

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