Sweden’s inflation rate falls faster than expected, first repatriation grants set to be handed out, and Swedes’ trust in Nato falls – but they still love Systembolaget. Here’s the latest news.
Sweden’s Migration Agency has for the first time approved applications for the government’s controversial 350,000 kronor “repatriation grant” – money handed out to refugees who wish to return to their home countries, a scheme criticised by the government’s own inquiry.
Two people from Syria and one from Côte d’Ivoire have had their applications approved, reports Swedish public radio SR’s news programme, Ekot. The report doesn’t say how much the three individuals received – 350,000 kronor is the maximum sum people are able to apply for.
Sweden’s migration minister Johan Forssell decided last year to push ahead with the proposal to increase the grant by 3,400 percent from January 1st 2026, despite the fact that the inquiry set up to draw up the proposals recommended abandoning the idea, judging it “risky and best avoided”.
So far, around 370 people have applied for the new grant, reports Ekot. In 2025, only 152 people applied for the much lower return grant of 10,000 kronor per adult.
Swedish vocabulary: repatriation grant – återvandringsbidrag
Sweden’s inflation rate falls faster than expected
Inflation fell to 1.7 percent in February, down from 2 percent last month, according to Statistics Sweden. That’s measured by the CPIF metric, the consumer price index with fluctuating interest rates not taken into account – the same metric the Riksbank uses for its 2 percent target.
Economists had predicted an inflation rate of 1.8 percent.
Swedish vocabulary: consumer price index – konsumentprisindex
Swedes’ trust in Nato falls – but they still love Systembolaget
Only 47 percent of respondents to an annual survey by Medieakademien said they trust Nato “a lot” or “quite a lot”. That means trust for the military alliance is down by 10 percentage points since last year.
Systembolaget, Sweden’s alcohol monopoly, on the other hand, enjoys the trust of 73 percent of respondents – an increase from 72 percent last year.
Sweden trusts its own military more than Nato. A total of 69 percent said they trust the Armed Forces “a lot” or “quite a lot”.
The police authority remains the most trusted institution (75 percent).
Among Swedish media organisations, Sveriges Radio was top of the bunch at a trust rate of 65 percent. Only 18 and 16 percent, respectively, trusted tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen. (We don’t think The Local was part of the survey, but do let us know!)
Swedish vocabulary: trust/confidence – förtroende
Swedish games boss warns ‘retroactive’ citizenship reforms ‘not good for industry’
Pushing through citizenship reforms without transitional rules will make Sweden less attractive to international talent, the acting head of the Swedish Games Industry Association has warned.
“This is unfortunately another rule that hasn’t really been considered in terms of all the people who have come here to work and stay,” Johanna Nylander, acting head of the Swedish Games Industry Association (Dataspelsbranschen), told The Local.
“It’s one of the points that make us as a country less attractive for workforce migration, which is super important for our industry, because we are a global industry and we need people from all over to be able to create great games,” she said.
The new citizenship rules which are set to come into force on Sweden’s National Day, June 6th, include a longer residency requirement (eight years rather than the current five, as the default) and proof of Swedish language and civics knowledge.
Crucially, for the almost 100,000 people waiting for their citizenship applications to be processed, the current proposal would apply the new rules to all applications from June 6th – even those who applied before that date, regardless of how long they’ve been waiting.
