POPULATION

A closer look at Sweden and Jordan

Sharon Kuah, 15A15
Check speakers notes for more information

SWEDISH
MEATBALLS

PETRA
Jordans most
visited attraction

Location of Sweden

Population densities in Sweden

Location of Jordan

Population densities in Jordan

POPULATION COUNT
Sweden

Jordan

Total population

9 574 029

6 812 465

Land area/ km2

407,340.0

88,780.0

Population density
(number/km2)

21.59

88.77

Annual population
growth rate

+0.79%
(ranked 139th out of 232
countries)

+3.86%
(ranked 4th out of 232
countries)

Net migration rate

(per 1000 people)

+5.46
(ranked 24th out of 221
countries)

+17.22
(ranked 5th out of 221
countries)

Crude birth rate (per

1000 people)

11.9

25.2

Crude death rate

9.4

3.8

Rate of natural
increase

+0.2%

+2.2%

Population increase
Sweden: Slow population growth due to LOW
FERTILITY RATE (currently at 1.91 per woman, below
replacement rate))
Positive population growth due to migration (asylum
seekers and family reunifications)
TOTAL FERTILITY RATE

Decreasing TFR due to

slower economic
growth, rising energy
costs, inflation
escalated
Average annual growth
of GDP dropped from
4.1 to 1.4

General recovery
of world
economy

Huge expansion of
migrant communities
(asylum
seekers/family
reunification)
Mandated paid
maternity leave

Population increase
Jordan: High postitive population growth due in part
to RELATIVELY HIGH fertility rate (currently at 3.16
per woman, above replacement rate, but
DECREASING) but also due to migration

TOTAL FERTILITY RATE

Anti-natalist policies in the 20th century:

1986-1987: Decline in oil prices Massive reduction in workers
remittances + decrease in foreign aid from wealthy Arab oil-exporting
countries
Reduction in fertility rates advocated to maintain high rates of
economic growth
Return of 350,000 Jordanians and Palestinians from the Gulf states
created even greater pressure on employment, housing and public
services Acceleration of family planning measures instituted earlier

Swedens low fertility rate Socioeconomic reasons

Women now work in professions, more
career-oriented
Marry later; reduced childbearing
years
Preference for smaller families
Europe: Continent with lowest
fertility rates

High income tax rates

Swedens low fertility rate Access to contraceptives

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 75.2% (ranked 29th)
Extremely high annual abortion prevalence rates:
35,000-40,000/year, one of the highest in the world

Abortion not a highly controversial issue

Since 1974, abortion legal in all
circumstances within first 18 weeks (the
Abortion Act)

ABORTION - Sweden vs Jordan

Sweden

Abortion legal on a wide variety of grounds, including on

request

ABORTION - Sweden vs Jordan

Jordan

Abortion is prohibited under the Penal Code, Law No. 16

Public Health Law No. 20 of 1971 (section 62[a]): May be
performed only to avert a danger to the life or health of the
pregnant woman
Laws relatively restrictive Induced abortions (by midwives)
unsafe

Jordans higher fertility rate Socioeconomic reasons

Compared to Sweden, higher fertility rate due to:
Lower contraceptive prevalence rate of 61.2%
Rural regions
Restrictions on abortion
Cultural factors: Popular perceptions
Women gained status and security in their
marital household by having more children
vs in Sweden when the costs of child-rearing are
major deterrents
However, fertility rates between rural and urban
areas differ
Educational attainment
Access to modern contraception

Jordan - Fertility rates in urban vs rural areas

Reasons for
Swedens
increasing
fertility rate

SWEDENS POPULATION POLICY - Pro-natal:

Sustaining a healthy work-life balance
Large proportion of working mothers
2012
Female employment: 71.8%; close to that of
men (75.6%); well above the Lisbon target for
female employment (60%)
Employment rate of mothers of children
under 6: Third highest in the EU
Fertility rate: 1.9; relatively high compared to
the EU
Flexible work arrangements
Part-time employment rates: 39.6% (women),
14.6% (men); well above the EU averages of
32.5% (women), 9.4% (men)
Gender pay gap: 15.8%; lower than the EU
average of 16.2%

SWEDENS POPULATION POLICY - Pro-natal:

Sustaining a healthy work-life balance
Generous and flexible leave schemes
Mother and father entitled to up to 16 months paid
leave per child
Each parent has a personql, non-transferable
entitlement to two months of paid parental leave (of
the total 16 months). The remaining 12 months can
be freely shared between parents. Allows far greater
paternal use of parental benefit days (compared to
EU)
BUT: Despite the positive consequences of fathers
involvement in childcare, the flexibility of the system in
terms of who takes the leave, results in mothers taking up
huge share of leave
2008 Gender equality bonus: Economic incentive
for mothers and fathers to share parenta l leave more
equally

SWEDENS POPULATION POLICY - Pro-natal:

Sustaining a healthy work-life balance

Thereafter (after 16 months) parents who want to

reduce working hours or be on full leave must use
parental benefit days. Parents have the right to
decrease their working time by up to 25% without
using parental benefit days, until the child is 8 years
old or finishes the first year of school.

2014: NEW REFORM

Maximimum of 96 days can be claimed
for the child after his/her fourth birthday
But can be claimed until child is 12 (from
8)
To make it clear parental benefit is
mainly to provide care for when child is
young and need for care is greatest

SWEDENS POPULATION POLICY - Pro-natal:

Sustaining a healthy work-life balance

High spending on family benefits

Eg. Pregnancy benefit: Payable to expectant mothers who
are unable to work because of the physically demanding
nature of their jobs
Eg. Child allowance: paid to parents until the child reaches
16
Eg. Study allowance: After children in full-time education
reach 16, they are entitled to a study allowance
Eg. Large family supplement
Eg. Housing allowance: The amount received depends on
income, housing costs, the size of the home and the number
of children within the household. Benefits low-income
families

SWEDENS POPULATION POLICY - Pro-natal:

Sustaining a healthy work-life balance
Affordable and high-quality universal childcare
Pre-school is free
Parental fees are directly proportional to parents
income and inversely proportional to the number of
children in a family
Cost of childcare heavily subsidised and affordable
Enrollment in formal childcare: 51% of children under
three, 95% of children between three and six
Well above the EU Barcelona targets
Well above EU averages of 30%, 83%

Reasons for
Jordans
decreasing
fertility rate

Jordans population policy anti-natal

Education
Increases disutility of children
Family planning
The Health Policy Project (HPP) : Emphasis on
supporting national-level awareness raising, resource
mobilization, and policy reform
To improve the quality of and expand access to family
planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) services
Supports the Higher Population Council (HPC), Ministry
of Health (MOH), and other key stakeholders to create
an enabling environment for FP/RH

Jordans population policy anti-natal

Family planning
Higher Population Council
Developed a National Reproductive
Health/Family Planning (RH/FP) Strategy for
the years 20132017 to contribute to
achieving the Demographic Opportunity (DO)
by 2030
Outcome of achieving a fertility rate of 2.5
births per woman in reproductive age in 2017
and 2.1 in 2030

Suggested relation between contraceptive

prevalence and TFR in Jordan

HEALTHCARE
SWEDEN X JORDAN

Healthcare in Sweden and Jordan

Sweden

Jordan

Life expectancy at birth

(years)

81.89
(ranked 12th)

74.1
(ranked 115th)

Doctor-to-patient ratio
(per 1,000 population)

3.8
(ranked 16th)

2.56
(ranked 54th)

Patient-to-bed ratio
(per 1,000 population)

2.7
(ranked 84th)

1.8
(ranked 117th)

Health expenditures (%
of GDP)

9.4
(ranked 36th)

8.4
(ranked 57th)

Infant mortality rate

(per 1,000 live births)

2.6
(ranked 217th)

15.73
(ranked 104th)

Maternal mortality rate

(per 100,000 live births)

4
(ranked 181th)

63
(ranked 98th)

% of people with access

to improved sanitation
facilities

100

98

Trends of the IMR in Jordan

MDG target: decrease total IMR to 17 deaths per 1,000 births by 2015
(achieved)

Healthcare: Sweden

Spends 9% of GDP on healthcare, almost half of US budget,

but its excellent healthcare system is used as a model over
the world

Healthcare coverage is universal

ie. All residents, including expatriates, have access to publically

financed healthcare services
(covers inpatient and outpatient hospital care, prescription
drugs, primary healthcare, dental care for children and young
people, public health and preventive services, disability support
and rehabilitation services).
% GDP spent on health care: 9.2%
% Funded by taxation for health care: 71%
% Of medical costs nation pays: 98%
Cons: High income taxes

Healthcare: Jordan
One of the most modern healthcare infrastructures in the
Middle East
3 major sectors:
Public

Finance and deliver care

Major public programmes: Ministry of Health

(MOH) and Royal Medical Services (RMS)

Private

Increasing privatization of services

Booming development of medical tourism

Donors

Immigration
SWEDEN X JORDAN

Immigration - Sweden
Net migration rate: +5.45 (ranked 24th)
As of 2011, roughly 15% of inhabitants in Sweden are
foreign-born. Of these, 859,000 (64.6%) were born
outside the EU
After WWI, net emigration Net immigration from
WWII onwards (long history of generous immigration
policies)
In 2013, immigration peaked: 115,845 people migrating
to Sweden. 81,300 applied for asylum in 2014 (increase
of 50% compared to 2013)
47% of them come from Syria (Iraq War), followed
by 21% from Africa
Largest foreign-born populations: Finland, Iraq, Poland,
Iran, former Yugoslavia and Syria.
Schengen Agreement: Part of EU laws

Effects of Immigration - Sweden

Multiculturalism/threat of ethnic conflicts
Expected that the Muslim minority would grow from
5% to 10% by 2030
Ethnic tensions (statistically) decreasing, yet there are
still outbreaks of conflicts
Crime
In a study by the Swedish National Council for Crime
Prevention in 19972001, 25% of offences found to be
committed by people born abroad, 20% by Swedish born
people of foreign background

Rural-to-urban migration - Sweden

Rural flight and emigration had 2 main waves:
1. 1850s-1880s:
a. Moved from countrysides: Mostly due to push
factors in the countryside related to poverty,
unemployment, low agricultural wages
b. Many were unskilled, barely literate laborers who
sought farm work or daily wage labour in the cities
2. 1890s onwards, peaked between 1922 and 1967:
a. Pull factors; economic boom and industrial
prosperity in Sweden
b. Drove down work opportunities in the countrysides,
people migrated to urban areas for work
c. Between 1925 and 1965, Sweden's GDP per capita
increased from USD 850 to USD 6200.
Simultaneously, the percentage of the population
living in rural areas decreased drastically from 54 %
in 1925 to 21 % in 1965.

Immigration -Jordan

Refugees: Syrian crisis, Iraq War

Effects of Immigration -Jordan

Struggle in documentation of refugees

Refugees can be denied admittance if they lack proper travel
documents (fears of terrorist threats)

Refugees living in urban areas moving back to refugee camps

Accessing basic services like housing, food, health care and
education can be challenging
Syrian refugees not allowed to legally work in Jordan

Strain on resources
Government expenditure of 19million Euros ($21.5 million)to
provide services for Syrians
Free healthcare services suspended
Humanitarian aid needed; supported by NGOs like Amnesty
International and Red Cross

Economy
SWEDEN X JORDAN

Economies of Sweden and Jordan

Sweden

Jordan

GDP per capita (US$)

40,900
(ranked 27th)

5,214

Population below
poverty line

14%

14.2%

Unemployment rate

7.8%

12%

Gross National Income

(GNI) per capita

US$ 61,710.00
(ranked 9th)

US$ 4,950
(ranked 106th)

Gini coefficient

24.9
(2005)

39.7
(2007)

Education
SWEDEN X JORDAN

Education: Sweden and Jordan

Sweden

Jordan

Literacy rates

99%

98%

Mean years of schooling

11.7

9.9

Public spending on
education relative to
GDP

6.8%

-cant be found-

Ethnicity
SWEDEN X JORDAN

Ethnicities in Sweden and Jordan

Sweden
Majority are Swedes, but growing number of
immigrants from the Middle East
Religion: Majority belong to the Church of Sweden
(66%), Judaism, Buddhism etc. mainly from
immigration
Jordan
Arab 98%, Circassian 1%, Armenian 1%
Religion: Islam (Sunni) 92%, Christianity 6%, others
2%

Population pyramid: Age-sex

structures
SWEDEN - Beehive (convex)

Ageing population Effects (economic slowdown, strain on

resources)
Dependency ratio: 58%

Population pyramid: Age-sex

structures
JORDAN - Broad base (concave)

Youthful population
Dependency ratio: 6%

Demographic Transition Model

Projected population

Human Development Index

Sweden: 0.898 (ranked 12th)
Very high human development
Jordan: 0.745 (ranked 77th)
High human development

Human Sustainable Development

Index
Sweden ranked 2nd with HSDI
value at 0.903

Ecological footprints
Sweden
Successful in green efforts One of the few
countries which met Kyoto Protocol targets
(exceeded)
Carbon savings through technological efficiency
improvements are offset by increased emissions
from increased consumptions
Jordan
Average ecological footprint per person is 2.1
global hectares (gha), while the global average
footprint is 2.7gha
Compared to 1961, the average ecological
footprint of the region has increased from 1.2 to
2.1gha per capita

Ecological footprints

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