Sweden will investigate the values of immigrants to promote social integration

The Swedish Minister of Integration said that the government plans to conduct a national survey on the values of immigrant groups, aiming to enhance the integration between immigrants and Sweden's liberal and progressive society.

AFP reported that Sweden has received a large number of refugees since the 1990s, mainly from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and the former Yugoslavia. Especially after the European refugee crisis broke out in 2015, Swedish society was once under pressure to bear the burden, and successive left and right governments subsequently tightened the asylum policy one after another.

At present, about 20% of Sweden's total population was born abroad, compared with 11% in 2000, showing a significant increase.

Integration Minister Simona Mohamsson just took up a new position in the cabinet reshuffle last week. She pointed out that as a highly secularized and non-patriarchal society, Sweden's adaptation process is full of challenges for immigrants from traditional and conservative countries.

She said in an interview on Sunday (July 6th) : "We are a country that is very 'extreme' in many ways - of course, in a good way." This is sometimes not easy for those who want to integrate into our society.

According to previous studies of the "World Values Survey", there is a significant gap between the attitudes of newly arrived immigrants in Sweden and local people on issues such as divorce, premarital sex, abortion and homosexuality. However, the research also indicates that after living in Sweden for ten years, the values of the immigrant group tend to be in line with those of the local society.

Muhamson said of this: "Ten years is too long. It might mean that an entire generation of girls can't choose their own lovers, or boys can't come out openly."

She disclosed that a survey covering approximately 3,000 people will be launched this autumn, half of whom are local Swedes and the other half come from "non-Western background" immigrant groups. The focus of the investigation will be on "differences in value perception", providing a data foundation for the government to formulate more targeted integration policies.

She emphasized that this "is not to change personal opinions", but to "uphold Sweden's existing core values". She said, "Those who choose to come to Sweden have the responsibility to try to integrate into society." Living in Sweden is not a human right.