Sweden’s Gang Crime Numbers Persist Amid Mixed Progress and Rising Challenges

New data released in November 2025 reveals that Sweden’s struggle with gang crime remains severe, with 67,500 individuals involved in gang-related activities, including 17,500 active gang members. This is an increase from approximately 62,000 gang-associated individuals recorded in 2024, though officials caution that some differences in methodology may account for part of the apparent rise. National Police Chief Petra Lundh emphasized the sheer size of this gang environment as "alldeles för stor" (too large), calling for comprehensive societal efforts to prevent gang recruitment from early childhood through social services (source 133572).

Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer highlighted recent legislative changes aimed at enhancing interagency cooperation and information sharing between police, social services, and schools, which came into effect December 1. He also reported a promising nearly 58% drop in shooting incidents from 348 between January-October 2022 to 146 in the same period in 2025. However, he acknowledged the ongoing risks and persistent conflict underlying gang violence. Opposition voices criticize the government’s efforts as insufficient despite these measures (source 133605).

Experts such as Lund University sociologist David Sausdal warn that Sweden’s gang situation is more critical than official figures fully capture. Sausdal notes that while shootings have decreased, Sweden still has some of Europe’s highest rates of gun violence and bombings, with increasing recruitment of children into gangs raising serious alarm. He stresses that policing alone cannot "crack the gangs" and urges greater involvement from social services to address root socioeconomic causes such as rising child poverty—which in Sweden is higher than in Denmark—and the large share of youths neither studying nor working (sources 133719, 133690).

The data and expert analyses paint a picture of a complex and persistent gang crime crisis in Sweden. Despite some positive trends such as reduced shootings and new government initiatives, the magnitude of the gang environment and deep social challenges highlight that much effort remains to be done to effectively reduce gang influence and prevent youth recruitment in the coming years.