The municipality is, with its approximately 110,000 inhabitants,[3] the second most populated in Stockholm County.
Geography
The municipality covers the entire central part of the Södertörnpeninsula. More than half of the land area consists of agriculture, forests, hills, or lakes, and it contains 13 nature reserves.
It is believed that the history of Huddinge goes back at least 1,000 years, to before the Viking Age. When hostile ships approached the community, the inhabitants of Huddinge would climb to high locations and light beacons. Beacons were located around the entirety of Lake Mälaren. Huddinge's coat of arms has its origins in this tradition. The name Huddinge is believed to come from the Uddung's - the first inhabitants in this area, which during the Iron Age lived on the shores of Lake Mälaren nearby Vårby.
Split into two municipalities
After years of protests from inhabitants and after much debate, it was decided in 2007 to hold a vote in 2008 regarding a split to make the eastern part of Huddinge its own municipality, named in published documents as Huddinge östra ("Huddinge East").[6] However only the inhabitants of eastern Huddinge would be allowed to vote. This caused a major political split of opinions as the political opposition wanted to see a vote.[7] At least 60% of the inhabitants of eastern Huddinge had to vote "yes" for the split for it to be approved.
The referendum ended with a clear "no" to the split, ending the discussion.
Demography
Huddinge has a total population of roughly 110,000,[3] or 4.5% of the population of Stockholm County. The average age is 36.7 years, but one-third of the population is under 25 years of age. This means that Huddinge has a slightly younger population than both Stockholm County (38.9 years) and the whole country (40.6 years). The population density of the municipality is increasing significantly. Since the 1960s, the population has doubled in size and is currently among the 14 largest municipalities in Sweden. The population of Huddinge passed the one of Gävle in 2008, and the ones of Eskilstuna and Sundsvall as well in 2009.
Population
Population development in Huddinge Municipality 1970–2017[8]
Year
Population
1970
54,732
1975
62,576
1980
66,570
1985
70,209
1990
73,829
1995
77,384
2000
84,535
2005
88,750
2010
97,453
2015
105,311
2017
110,003
2019
112,848
2022 by district
This is a demographic table based on Huddinge Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[9]
In total there were 113,678 residents, including 76,114 Swedish citizens of voting age.[9] 50.9% voted for the left coalition and 46.9% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.
On 31 December 2017, the number of people with a foreign background (persons born outside Sweden or with two parents born abroad) was 43,699, or 39.73% of the population (110,003 on 31 December 2017). On 31 December 2002, the number of residents with a foreign background was (per the same definition) 24,319, or 28.13% of the population (86,457 on 31 December 2002).[10] On 31 December 2017, there were 110,003 residents in Huddinge, of which 32,190 people (29.26%) were born in a country other than Sweden. Divided by country in the table below - the Nordic countries as well as the 12 most common countries of birth outside Sweden for Swedish residents have been included, with other countries of birth bundled together by continent by Statistics Sweden.[11]
In 2012 there were 27 public schools and five independent schools. Huddinge also has five public high schools with about 3400 students combined, these are:
Elections to Swedish municipalities are held every fourth year on the second Sunday in September. The 2018 election to the 61-seat council resulted in the centre-right Alliance of four parties (M, L, KD and C) plus two local parties (HP and DP) staying in power without a majority. The Alliance and local parties gained a seat since the 2014 election and maintains power. The three Red-Green parties (S, MP and V) are in opposition and the far right Sweden Democrats (SD) holds the balance of power but normally votes with the Alliance.
Kungens Kurva is one of Sweden's largest shopping areas. It hosts, among other things, the largest IKEA store in the world,[14] the largest cinema in the country, and a large shopping centre. In total, it generates a turnover of 6 billion Swedish kronor and has 15 million visitors per year.
Mikael Akerfeldt from Opeth grew up in Huddinge.
The popular Swedish song writer and pop artist Orup grew up in Huddinge.
Sports
The most known sports club in Huddinge is the ice hockey club Huddinge IK, which has fostered a long line of well-known Swedish ice hockey players, such as Michael Nylander, Mattias Norström and Kent Johansson, and used to be a regular runner up in the Swedish second division and the qualifications for the Elitserien. Peter Forsberg also happened to make his debut as a senior player with his original club Modo Hockey, facing Huddinge away.
^ ab"Korta fakta om Huddinge" (in Swedish). Huddinge Municipality. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018. År 2017 hade Huddinge kommun 110 003 invånare ... [In 2017, Huddinge Municipality had 110,003 inhabitants ...]
^"Naturreservat" (in Swedish). Huddinge Municipality. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
