In Sweden Today:Highlights of the current news on a Thursday
Swedish Citizens Evacuated from Gaza Strip
In a significant development, at least one Swedish citizen has recently left the Gaza Strip as part of a coordinated Western evacuation effort. This operation, which began in October 2023, has seen over 620 Swedes depart Gaza so far. The evacuation process involves an assisted departure operation coordinated by Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UD).
The evacuation process transports the Swedish citizens by bus through Israel and the West Bank to Jordan, from where they are flown back to their home countries. This is part of ongoing consular efforts in the context of the conflict and blockade affecting Gaza.
Sweden has also taken a diplomatic stance regarding Gaza, summoning Israel's ambassador in Stockholm to protest humanitarian aid restrictions and urging EU sanctions to pressure Israel to allow aid into Gaza. However, Swedish authorities have not disclosed how many Swedes are included in this specific operation or detailed information about it.
Meanwhile, Sweden's economic recovery is set to be slower than previously expected, according to the National Institute of Economic Research (KI). KI now expects GDP to grow by just 0.7 percent in 2025, down from an earlier forecast of 1.0 percent.
On the employment front, Sweden saw a sharp rise in unemployment. Nearly 20,000 more people were unemployed in Sweden in three months from March to the end of June, taking the unemployment rate to 6.9 percent. Uppsala county also saw a significant increase in unemployment. In Västerbotten, the number of people registered as unemployed shot up from 4,992 in the second quarter of 2024 to 7,417 in the second quarter of 2025. Extensive notices, layoffs, and bankruptcy in battery manufacturing have had a major impact on the labor market in Västerbotten.
Inflation in Sweden was 3.0 percent in July, according to Statistics Sweden (SCB), slightly below analysts' expectations of 3.1 percent. The Riksbank's inflation target is 2.0 percent. The Riksbank is expected to cut rates again before year-end.
In a separate incident, a charter flight from the Canary Islands to Gothenburg was forced to land early in Spain due to a disruptive passenger causing chaos on board. The disruptive passenger attacked other passengers on the flight, resulting in a female passenger being taken to the hospital for treatment. The violent passenger was arrested, and the other travelers had to spend the night in Santiago de Compostela due to delayed baggage handling.
In a separate incident, the Swedish Agency for Defence Analysis leaked the names and contact details of 150 job applicants who were rejected for a job. The agency has apologized and reported itself to the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection for the mistake, which was described as "blundering" by one of the affected individuals.
[1] Swedish Foreign Ministry Confirms Assisted Outward Journey for Swedish Citizens from Gaza, Swedish News Agency (2025). [3] Sweden Summons Israel's Ambassador over Gaza Aid Restrictions, Swedish News Agency (2023). [5] Debunked: Viral Videos Showing Palestinians Fleeing to Sweden, Swedish Fact-Checking Organisation (2023).
- The Swedish Foreign Ministry's assisted outward journey for citizens in Gaza is part of broader news topics such as general-news and politics, as it involves diplomatic efforts and evacuations during an ongoing conflict.
- Crime-and-justice can be associated with the incident where a disturbing passenger caused chaos on a charter flight from the Canary Islands, leading to delays, injuries, and an arrest.
