The Demography of Sweden's Transgender Population – Patterns, Changes, and Sociodemographics

40 Pages Posted: 4 May 2023 Last revised: 22 Aug 2023

See all articles by Martin Kolk

Martin Kolk

Demography Unit, Department of Sociology

J. Lucas Tilley

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI)

Emma von Essen

Uppsala University; Stockholm University

Ylva Moberg

Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI)

Ian Burn

University of Liverpool

Date Written: August 22, 2023

Abstract

Our study examines the prevalence of gender transitions in Sweden over time and documents the sociodemographic characteristics of people transitioning in different periods. We use national administrative data covering the transgender population from 1973 to 2020 and analyze two common events in a gender transition: the earliest diagnosis of gender incongruence and the change of legal gender. We have three main findings. First, the measured prevalence of both types of events is relatively low in all periods, although it has increased substantially since the early 2010s. Second, the recent increase in transition prevalence is most pronounced among people in early adulthood; in particular, young transgender men drive an increase in overall transition rates through 2018, followed by moderate declines in 2019 and 2020. Third, transgender men and women have substantially lower socioeconomic outcomes than cisgender men and women, regardless of the age at which they transition or the historical period.

Keywords: transgender, demography, prevalence, gender nonconforming, gender incongruence, Sweden, administrative data

Suggested Citation

Kolk, Martin and Tilley, J. Lucas and von Essen, Emma and Moberg, Ylva and Burn, Ian, The Demography of Sweden's Transgender Population – Patterns, Changes, and Sociodemographics (August 22, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4427508 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4427508

Martin Kolk

Demography Unit, Department of Sociology ( email )

Universitetsvägen 10
Stockholm, Stockholm SE-106 91
Sweden

J. Lucas Tilley

Stockholm University - Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) ( email )

Kyrkgatan 43B
SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Emma Von Essen (Contact Author)

Uppsala University ( email )

Uppsala, SE-751 26
Sweden

Stockholm University ( email )

Kyrkgatan 43B
SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Ylva Moberg

Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) ( email )

Kyrkgatan 43B
SE-106 91 Stockholm
Sweden

Ian Burn

University of Liverpool ( email )

Chatham Street
Brownlow Hill
Liverpool, L69 7ZA
United Kingdom

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