A survey by national statistics agency Statistics Sweden showed earlier this year that hundreds of thousands of people in Sweden don’t have a close friend.

For those born outside Sweden, the figure was more than twice as high than for native-born Swedes, regardless of whether they have foreign or Swedish parents.

Sweden regularly tops international lists of the worst places in the world for immigrants to make friends, which is often put down to the local culture which respects privacy and values individual independence.

During the summer, this can become even more obvious, as Swedes log out of their work computers and head off on holiday for four weeks starting in July. For new arrivals to the country, the loss of this daily contact with colleagues – as well as the fact that friends and family often live in a different country – can make summer feel rather lonely, especially if their social media feeds are filled with idyllic pictures of Swedes spending their time at family summer houses in the countryside.

“It can be very noticeable,” psychologist Anette Utterbäck told the TT newswire. “Especially when you can see everyone else having fun on holiday, it can feel very obvious that you maybe don’t have that many people you can spend time with.”

It’s not always easy to find friends in Sweden, especially during the summer when people are often on holiday.

“The problem isn’t necessarily that people are too afraid [to try and make friends], but it can also be the case that they try to reach out a hand, and no one reaches back.”

Utterbäck said that it’s a good idea to try as much as possible to build relationships during the rest of the year.

“There don’t need to be many of these, but building a network around you which you value all year round, rather than forgetting about it during the winter when you’re busy,” she said.

For immigrants, making friends in Sweden may look different than it did back home, although a classic tip for making friends with Swedes which often comes up in surveys with our readers on the topic is to join some sort of club or society, whether this is a sports club, interest organisation or even the board of your housing association.

READ ALSO: How to make friends in Sweden – seven things I wish someone had told me 

Many of these clubs or societies take a break during the summer, but why not try a summer course or activity instead? 

You could take a university course, with the added benefit of improving your job prospects in Sweden, an intensive course with a provider like Folkuniversitetet, ABF or Medborgarskolan in a skill you’ve always wanted to learn, or even a class at your local sports club or society. You could even use the summer as an opportunity to improve your Swedish.

READ ALSO: ‘We all cheer each other on’: How we made friends in Sweden

There are also clubs, apps and other online groups which can be useful for meeting new people.

“Facebook’s popularity isn’t what it used to be, but there are still some thriving, friendly Facebook communities, like Girl Gone International and International Meetup Sweden,” The Local’s contributor Gemma Casey-Swift wrote in a recent article on making friends in Sweden.

“I met one of my closest friends in a hiking group. Some of us went away to a cabin, which was completely out of my comfort zone, but as well as an award-winning hangover and an appreciation for public transport in Gävleborg, I came back with a new friendship.”

There are also apps like Gofrendly, Citypolarna and Meetup, which offer all sorts of events up and down the country where you can meet new people.