Data on homelessness and housing exclusion 2026: Sweden

Summary of key data and information

	Summary of key data and information
Official statistical definition of homelessness (Table 1)	Sweden’s definition of homelessness considers four situations: acute homelessness; institutional care, category housing and penal institutions; long-term housing solutions; and short-term housing solutions.
Latest national estimates of homelessness (Table 2, Table 3)	27 377 individuals, representing 0.26% of the total population (2023)
	11% are women, 24% are men
	Point-in-time count, based on the National Homelessness Survey
	ETHOS Light groups included	Included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) ETHOS Light 4: People in institutions ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing)
	Notes: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Legal framework to collect data on homelessness (Table 4)	There is no legal obligation to collect data on homelessness in Sweden.
Homelessness Strategy (Table 5)	National Homelessness Strategy: The government's strategy to combat homelessness 2022–2026
Approaches to collect data on homelessness (Table 6)	National Homelessness Survey: National mapping of homelessness through service providers (Table 6.1).

Table 1. Official statistical definition of homelessness

Statistical definition

Homelessness

People in need of support from the social services and in one of the four homelessness situations below (national homelessness mapping 2023) Situation 1: Acute homelessness: Emergency accommodation, overnight shelters, women’s shelters, rough sleeping. Hotels, campsites, hostels, caravans, mobile homes, etc. Situation 2: Institutional care, category housing, penal institutions: Penal or correctional institutions, healthcare institutions, treatment centres. – Leaving within 3 months and do not have a place to live or stay longer than needed due to lack of housing. Situation 3: Long-term housing solutions: Housing solutions provided by the municipal social services (temporary accommodation, transitional supported accommodated housing, housing first sublease) Situation 4: Short-term housing solutions: Temporary unvoluntary living in conventional housing with friends, acquaintances, family or relatives. Temporary (less than 3 months) sublet contracts in conventional housing. The person must have been in contact with social services or other care providers to be included in the statistics.

Table 2. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology

Year	Headline estimate of homelessness (Individuals)	% of total population	ETHOS Light 1 People living rough	ETHOS Light 2 People in emergency accommodation	ETHOS Light 3 People in accommodation for the homeless	ETHOS Light 4 People living in institutions	ETHOS Light 5 People living in unconventional dwellings	ETHOS Light 6 People staying with family/friends
2017	33 269	0.33%	647	2 554(a)	2 367(b)	4 899	343	5 726(c)
2023	27 377	0.26%	580	1 623 (a)	1 416(b)	2 713	303	3 186(c)
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Data are comparable across years: Yes Included in headline estimate: Children: No Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: No Refugees: No Victims/survivors of domestic violence: Yes

Note: People living in long-term living arrangements are also included in the headline estimate (15 838 people). For 871 individuals, the type of living arrangement is not known. (a) Data refer to people in shelters/emergency housing and temporary housing/emergency shelters. (b) Data refer to people living in a hotel/hostel or in protected housing/women’s shelter. (c) Data refer to people living in involuntary living arrangements with family members, friends or acquaintances without a lease, in a temporary sublease less than three months in other persons’ homes and temporary lodgers less than three months in other persons’ homes.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); National Board for Health and Welfare, National homelessness survey.

Table 3. Data on people experiencing homelessness: Headline estimate, by sub-group and living situation

Presented according to ETHOS Light Typology, 2023

	Single adults	Men	Women	Youth (aged 15‑29)	Older people (aged 65 and over)	Families with children (# of households)
Headline estimate of homelessness	27 377	6 485	3 068	NA	438	NA
As percentage of total population experiencing homelessness	100%	23.7%	11.2%	NA	1.6%	NA
ETHOS Light 1: People living rough	580+303 (incl ETHOS 5)	492	128	NA	45	NA
ETHOS Light 2: People in emergency accommodation	1 623	1 145	474	NA	137	NA
ETHOS Light 3: People in accommodation for the homeless	1 416	737	678	NA	56	NA
ETHOS Light 4: People living in institutions	2 713	2 008	705	NA	136	NA
ETHOS Light 5: People living in unconventional dwellings	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
ETHOS Light 6: People staying with family/friends	3 186	2 103	1 083	NA	64	NA
Metadata: Type of count: Point-in-time Included in headline estimate: Children: No Temporary accommodation for: Asylum seekers: No Refugees: No Victims/survivors of domestic violence: Yes

Note: Sub-groups are not mutually exclusive. The gender breakdown refers to a subgroup of the total population experiencing homelessness, and therefore does not add up to 100% of the headline estimate.

Source: OECD Questionnaire on Affordable and Social Housing (QuASH); National Board for Health and Welfare, National homelessness survey.

Table 4. Legal framework to collect data on homelessness

	Legal framework
Law that governs data collection on homelessness	None.
Legal obligations	None.

Table 5. Homelessness strategy

	Homelessness strategies in place
National Homelessness Strategy	The government's strategy to combat homelessness 2022–2026
Regional and/or local homelessness strategies exist	No.

Table 6. Approaches to collect data on homelessness

6.1. National Homelessness Survey
Description The Swedish Government conducts its national mapping of homelessness through municipalities, correctional authorities, healthcare providers, churches, NGO´s, among others over a week period (normally in April). The National Board of Health and Welfare retrieves data on the population experiencing homelessness n in two steps: first, the actors that will be sampled are selected (the actors providing services to individuals experiencing homelessness) and second, each actor fills out an individual questionnaire for each individual experiencing homelessness they are in contact with during the reference period (this constitutes the survey). The mapping includes all four categories described in the definition (see Table 1).
Type of count generated Point-in-time	Methods Service‑based method Administrative data
Lead authority(ies) National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen)	Source(s) of information Service providers interview people experiencing homelessness directly and then report the data.
Scope National level	Depth of data Sociodemographic characteristics are taken into account and results are disaggregated by: sex, age, children, reason for homelessness etc.
Frequency Every six years (the last one was carried out in 2023)
ETHOS Light groups included: ETHOS Light 1: Living on the streets, in public spaces ETHOS Light 2: Emergency accommodation (e.g. shelters) ETHOS Light 3: Accommodation for the homeless (e.g. hostels and women’s refuges) ETHOS Light 4: People in institutions ETHOS Light 5: People in non-conventional dwellings (e.g. caravans, cars or tents) ETHOS Light 6: Living temporarily with others in conventional housing (e.g. sofa-surfing) Note: Each ETHOS Light group includes one or more sub-categories of living situations. ETHOS Light groups are considered as “included” in the data collection approach if at least one of the sub-categories is counted.
Notes and sources Official Report National Board of Health and Welfare 2017

Please refer to the OECD Affordable Housing Database, indicator HC3.1.Population experiencing homelessness, https://www.oecd.org/content/oecd/en/data/datasets/oecd-affordable-housing-database.html.

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