Latvian Swedes are Swedish citizens of full or partial
Latvian descent. In the 21st century, people of the
Latvian diaspora
The Latvian diaspora refers to Latvians and people of Latvian descent residing outside Latvia.
According to estimates by the Latvian Foreign Ministry, as at 2012, about 370,000 Latvian citizens permanently resided outside of Latvia, most of ...
without Swedish citizenship reside legally in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
as well. In 2020, there were 9,288 Latvian-born people living in Sweden. Parts of Latvia,
Swedish Livonia
Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...
, was a
Swedish dominion
The Dominions of Sweden or ''Svenska besittningar'' ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by G ...
in the 17th century.
Around 6,000 Latvian nationals fled to Sweden following the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
a total of 3,418 officially registered in 1945.
Notable people
*
Janis Bubenko
Janis Askolds Bubenko junior (; 3February 193515January 2022) was a Swedish computer scientist and professor emeritus at the Department of Computer and Systems Science, Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University.
Biography
Born 1935 ...
(1935-2022), computer scientist
*
Laila Freivalds
Laila Freivalds (born 22 June 1942) is a Swedish Social Democratic politician who served as Minister for Justice from 1988 to 1991 and again from 1994 to 2000, as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2006 and as Deputy Prime Minister of Swe ...
(born 1942), politician
*
Kārlis Princis (1893–1978), biologist
*
Velta Rūķe-Draviņa (1917–2003), linguist and folklorist
*
Lars Vilks
Lars Endel Roger Vilks (20 June 1946 – 3 October 2021) was a Swedish visual artist and activist who was known for Lars Vilks Muhammad drawings controversy, the controversy surrounding his drawings of Muhammad. Many years earlier he had created ...
(1946–2021), visual artist
See also
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Latvia–Sweden relations
Latvia and Sweden have bilateral relations dating back to at least 1776, when a Swedish consulate was established in Riga. Parts of Livonia fell under the Swedish Empire from 1621 to 1709, including the Dominions of Sweden, dominion of Swedish Livo ...
*
Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers
The Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers, or simply the Extradition of the Balts (), was a controversial political event that took place in January 1946, in the aftermath of World War II when Sweden, a neutral country during the war, extradi ...
*
Swedish Livonia
Swedish Livonia () was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern Estonia (including the island of Ösel ceded by Denmark after the Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northe ...
*
Latvian diaspora
The Latvian diaspora refers to Latvians and people of Latvian descent residing outside Latvia.
According to estimates by the Latvian Foreign Ministry, as at 2012, about 370,000 Latvian citizens permanently resided outside of Latvia, most of ...
*
Immigration to Sweden
Immigration to Sweden is the process by which people migrate to Sweden to reside in the country.
Many, but not all, become Swedish citizens. The economic, social, and political aspects of immigration have caused some controversy regarding et ...
*
Lithuanians in Sweden
Notes
References
{{Portal bar, Latvia, Sweden
Ethnic groups in Sweden
Latvia–Sweden relations