A major German newspaper has deemed Sweden the ‘most dangerous country in Europe,’ citing data to support the claim.
Bild, a tabloid considered Germany’s most widely-read paper, analyzed findings of a study conducted on fatal gun violence by Brottsførebyggande rådet, the Swedish Crime Prevention Council.
Tying the research to other trends and issues in the Nordic country, such as rampant gang violence and drug trafficking, Bild journalist Ingrid Raagaard reached the conclusion that things “cannot go on like this.”
“In the EU, an average of eight people per million people are victims of fatal violence. In Sweden, the number in 2020 was twelve people per million inhabitants. When it comes to the victims of firearms, the difference between Europe and Sweden is even greater. In the EU, an average of 1.6 people per million people die from gunshot wounds – in Sweden the figure is four, almost three times as many,” Raagaard wrote.
“The difference becomes even bigger if you only look at the age group of 20 to 29-year-olds. In most EU countries, the number is between zero and four firearm victims per million inhabitants. Sweden, on the other hand, has 18 deaths per million inhabitants. In second place is the Netherlands, which has ‘only’ six deaths in the age group of 20 to 29-year-olds per million inhabitants.”
Raagaard asserts Sweden’s turn for the worse began around 2005 and has accelerated since.
Read more: ‘Sweden Is the Most Dangerous Country in Europe’ – Top German Paper
