Making Friends in Sweden as a Newcomer

Swedes are polite, helpful and famously hard to get close to. It isn’t you, and it isn’t hostility. This guide explains why friendships form slowly here and which free routes actually work.

When you need this

You’ve moved to Sweden for a job, a degree or a partner, and a few months in your social life is still thin. Colleagues are friendly at fika (the shared coffee break), but nobody suggests meeting after work. Maybe you’re the partner who came along and has no workplace at all. Or you’ve read that Sweden is “the hardest country to make friends in” and want to know whether that’s true before your first dark winter.

Is it really that hard?

For many newcomers, yes, and the numbers back it up. InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 survey asked 7,786 expats about life abroad between February and March 2026. Sweden came 30th of 31 destinations for ease of settling in, and 30th for finding friends.

The same survey ranks Sweden 15th for quality of life. So the problem isn’t the country working badly. It’s building a social circle.

One caution if you’re comparing articles: the 2026 edition ranks only the 31 destinations with at least 50 respondents. Older editions ranked many more countries, so a rank from earlier years isn’t comparable with this year’s.

Swedish statistics point the same way. In SCB’s 2022 living-conditions survey, 6% of people born in Sweden said they had no close friend. Among people born outside Europe it was 16%.

Why Swedish friendships form slowly

Three habits explain most of it.

• Strangers are left alone. Not starting conversations with strangers is widely seen as polite in Sweden, a way of respecting privacy. Small talk (kallprat) with people you don’t know is less common than in many countries. See why strangers keep their distance.
• Social life runs through groups. Adults tend to keep friends from school, university and their clubs. In 2023, 68.5% of adults belonged to at least one förening (association), so the clubs are where new people meet. See how Swedish club life works.
• Plans are made and kept. Punctuality applies socially too: a dinner at 18:00 means arriving by about 18:05. Spontaneous “come over now” invitations are less common than planned ones.

None of this means Swedes don’t want new friends. It means friendship tends to grow from repeated contact in the same setting, not from one great conversation at a bar.

Routes in that work

The pattern behind every route below is the same: one shared activity, the same people, week after week.

A studiecirkel (study circle) is a small group that learns together, run by one of eight state-funded study associations. Many offer language, music and craft circles, so it’s a natural place to meet people with the same interest. For a lower threshold before you join a club, try a drop-in gym session or free Hittaut orienteering.

Timing matters. Most clubs, choirs and study circles start new terms in August–September and January, so that’s when joining is easiest.

Language cafés and language buddies

These two are the most direct routes for newcomers, and both are free.

A språkcafé (language café) is an informal meeting where people learning Swedish talk with volunteers or other learners, usually over coffee. Informationsverige, the authorities’ portal for new arrivals, says many libraries run them. The examples we checked, one run by the Red Cross at a library in Haninge and one by libraries and the Church of Sweden in Trosa, were free, needed no advance registration and welcomed all levels. The point is conversation, not perfect grammar.

A språkvän (language buddy) is someone already established in Sweden whom you meet to practise Swedish and learn about Swedish life. Many municipalities can arrange one; some call it a flyktingguide (refugee guide). Not all municipalities offer it, so ask yours.

Language cafés aren’t only a big-city thing. Both examples on this page come from smaller municipalities, where the library, the church and local clubs often carry social life.

Kompis Sverige

Kompis Sverige is a non-profit that matches someone new to Sweden with an established Swede. Matching is based on interests, age, gender and where you live.

• Who can join: anyone from 16; under-18s need a guardian’s approval.
• How it runs: you register online, get your buddy’s contact details, and meet. The organisation recommends contact about once a week or every other week.
• Follow-up: six months of check-ins, and a new match if it doesn’t work.
• Track record: more than 16,000 buddies matched since 2013; 7 out of 10 say they want to stay in touch after six months.
• Activities: group events are free for everyone and listed by location, so availability depends on where you live.

Habits that help

• Stay with one activity for a full term. Quitting after two sessions resets the clock.
• Go to fika every day. It’s the main informal contact point in many workplaces. More in Swedish work culture.
• Use fika as your invitation. Fika can be anything from colleagues’ coffee to a first date, which makes “fika on Thursday?” a low-stakes ask. See fika.
• Be concrete. “We should meet sometime” usually goes nowhere. A day, a time and an activity gets a real answer.
• Be on time. Lateness costs more goodwill here than in many countries.
• Mix your circles. English-language expat groups are a good start, but add one Swedish-language activity.
• Learn Swedish in parallel. Swedes speak English well, but some Swedish makes settling in easier. See learning Swedish as a newcomer.
• Say yes to midsummer and Christmas invitations. They’re the year’s main social occasions.

Expect the big cities to offer more international options, including language activities at international houses. They also make it easier to stay in an expat bubble.

When loneliness weighs on you

Loneliness is a recognised public-health issue in Sweden, not a personal failing. In 2022, 8% of people aged 16 and over said they felt lonely most or all of the time. In the Public Health Agency’s data from the same year, 65% of people bothered by loneliness reported good mental well-being, against 93% of those who weren’t. The agency presented Sweden’s first national strategy against involuntary loneliness in February 2025.

If isolation is affecting how you feel, talk to your vårdcentral (health center) or call 1177 for medical advice.

Practical information

FAQ

Is it really hard to make friends in Sweden?

For many newcomers, yes. In InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 survey, Sweden ranked 30th of 31 destinations for ease of settling in, and 70% of expats there found making local friends difficult, against 40% globally. Swedes are not unfriendly, but social life runs through existing circles and clubs, so it takes repeated contact in a shared activity.

Where can I meet Swedes as a newcomer?

In shared, repeated activities: a sports club or choir, a study circle, a library language café, volunteering, and fika at work. Many municipalities can also match you with a language buddy, and the non-profit Kompis Sverige pairs newcomers with established Swedes for free. Pick one activity and keep going for a full term rather than trying many once.

What is a språkcafé?

A språkcafé is a language café: an informal meeting where people learning Swedish talk with volunteers or other learners, usually over coffee. Many libraries run them, often with the Church of Sweden, the Red Cross or the local adult-education school. The examples we checked were free, open to all levels and needed no advance registration.

How does Kompis Sverige work?

Kompis Sverige is a non-profit that matches someone new to Sweden with an established Swede, based on interests, age, gender and where you live. You register online, must be at least 16, and are followed up for six months. It has matched more than 16,000 buddies since 2013 and also runs free group activities in several locations.

Why don’t Swedes talk to strangers?

Not starting conversations with strangers is widely seen as polite in Sweden, a way of respecting other people’s privacy, not a sign of coldness. Small talk with strangers is less common than in many countries, but asking for help is always fine. The reserve usually fades once you meet the same people regularly, which is why clubs and courses work better than bars.

Is loneliness common in Sweden?

It is a recognised public-health issue. In SCB’s 2022 living-conditions survey, 8% of people aged 16 and over felt lonely most or all of the time, and 16% of people born outside Europe had no close friend, against 6% of those born in Sweden. The Public Health Agency presented a national strategy against involuntary loneliness in February 2025.

Related guides

• Föreningar: Swedish club life — how to join a club and the free ways to try one first
• Swedish personal space — why strangers keep their distance, and what it doesn’t mean
• Learning Swedish as a newcomer — SFI, folk high schools and study circles
• Swedish work culture — fika breaks and how colleagues socialize
• Exchange students: the first weeks — the student version of settling in

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Facts verified 2026-10-06. Sources: InterNations (Expat Insider 2026), Folkhälsomyndigheten, Regeringskansliet, Informationsverige, Kompis Sverige, Svenska Röda Korset, Svenska kyrkan, SCB, Folkbildningsrådet, Svenska institutet — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.