Serbs began migrating to Sweden in large numbers in the 1960s, as part of the migrant work-agreement signed with the Yugoslav government to help Sweden overcome its severe labour shortage. The Yugoslav wars saw another influx of Serbs.
History
Serbs constituted a low percentage of the Swedish population prior to the 1960s. Some came after World War II, mostly seeking political asylum. The greatest proportion of Serbs came together with Greeks, Italians and Turks under the visa agreements in times of severe labour shortages or when particular skills were deficient within Sweden, as migrant workers. During the 1960s and 1970s, agreements were signed with the government of Yugoslavia to help Sweden overcome its severe labour shortage. Bosnian and Croatian Serbs migrated in another wave during and after the Yugoslav wars. A third wave, of Kosovo Serbs, came during the Kosovo warin 1999.
Demographics
The Swedish census data includes country of birth, but does not include ethnicity, descendants or naturalized people, thus, the total number of ethnic Serbs in Sweden is hard to define. Various estimations include: 80,000; 110,000; 120,000; and 140,000. Aco Dragićević, writing for the Swedish-Serbian newspaper Dijaspora, wrote in 2002 that some 200,000 Yugoslavs, regardless of ethnic origin, migrated to Sweden during the Second Yugoslavia ; of these, roughly 40% he believed to be Serbs.
In 1972 the first Serbian Orthodox parish was formed in Västerås, prior to the forming the Serbs were headed by Swedish Orthodox priest Christofer Klasson, previously priest in the Church of Sweden. Later, the same year a parish was formed in Malmö and in 1973 one in Stockholm. Later, parishes have been formed in Göteborg, Jönköping, Helsingborg and one more in Stockholm. The parishes have their own head-priest. In Malmö, 1982, the Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius was opened, the first Serbian church in Sweden. The parish of Saint Sava opened its church in Enskede, in 1983, the parish in Göteborg also has a church. The parish in Malmö suffered several attacks in 1990, the premises were firebombed but the church was not damaged, the perpetrators were racist youths who were later convicted of arson. The SOC has parishes and churches in the cities of:
Swedish Serbs have been very successful in sports, among most notable are The Stockholm Eagles is a Serbian-Swedish basketball team that has become very successful since its establishment in 2007. They won the Swedish second league back to back 2011 and 2012 and became the only team in Sweden to win 34 victories in a row.
