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Couples residing in one household were considered to be a couple even though marriage was not
necessarily registered. According to the study design, an individual was observed only if she had at
least one child 0–18 years of age. The proportion of single immigrant mothers was quite high in all
groups and exceeded 60% among women originating from Central and Southern Africa and
Southern Europe (Appendix A1). The proportion of immigrant women married to an immigrant
partner was about 50% or greater among “refugee” groups, except those from Central and Southern
Africa. The latter groups were characterized by a lower proportion of those married to Swedishborn men, which ranged from 3% to 12%. Women from Finland and Denmark had approximately
equal proportions of those married to Swedes and partners from “the other” countries. There were
greater proportions of mixed couples among immigrants originating from Norway and Iceland, Asia,
and the former Soviet Union.
Labour Market Outcomes
Labour immigrants were defined as having earnings at the year of immigration. The proportion of
labour immigrants was relatively low except for women originating from European countries, and
about 30% of that group had earnings during the year of their immigration (Appendix A1).
Figure 3: The proportion of women in each municipality having earnings from employment or self-employment among
Swedish-born (left) and immigrant women (right). Panel data 1995–2009.
There were large differences in LFP between the country groups. The lowest proportions were
observed among women from countries in the “refugee” group (40%–55%), and the highest
participation (91%) was seen for Swedish-born women. The employment rate among migrants
originating from the Nordic countries and Poland was 75%, and it ranged from 55% to 75% in the
Labour Market Outcomes of Migrant Women in Västerbotten & Norrbotten