Belgium vs Sweden: Refugees by country of asylum
Belgium
183,551 people
in 2024
Sweden
163,029 people
in 2024
Belgium rank
35th
Sweden rank
38th
Refugees by country of asylum over time
- Belgium
- Sweden
How they compare
Belgium currently reports 183,551 people against 163,029 people in Sweden, a difference of 20,522 people.
That makes Belgium's figure about 1.1 times Sweden's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 74 shared years of data; in 1951 it was Belgium ahead.
Belgium ranks 35th and Sweden ranks 38th of 183 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 3 and Sweden in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 58,056 people | 34,111 people | 23,944 people | Belgium |
| 1960s | 44,000 people | 22,200 people | 21,800 people | Belgium |
| 1970s | 22,039 people | 20,000 people | 2,039 people | Belgium |
| 1980s | 30,355 people | 81,377 people | 51,022 people | Sweden |
| 1990s | 25,474 people | 164,370 people | 138,896 people | Sweden |
| 2000s | 15,196 people | 101,958 people | 86,762 people | Sweden |
| 2010s | 34,054 people | 166,109 people | 132,055 people | Sweden |
| 2020s | 128,226 people | 233,523 people | 105,296 people | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher refugees by country of asylum, Belgium or Sweden?
- Belgium, at 183,551 people against 163,029 people in Sweden as of 2024.
- What is the difference in refugees by country of asylum between Belgium and Sweden?
- 20,522 people, with Belgium ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Sweden?
- 74 years are reported by both, from 1951 to 2024.
- How do Belgium and Sweden rank globally for refugees by country of asylum?
- Belgium ranks 35th and Sweden ranks 38th of 183 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UNHCR (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Refugees by country of asylum. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
People who fled their country of origin and are in need of international protection. Refugees are those who have already been granted asylum status in the country they moved to. This includes all refugees who live in this country, not just those who arrived that year.