About 58% of men convicted in Sweden of rape and attempted rape over the past five years were born abroad, a Swedish broadcaster has reported.

Swedish broadcaster SVT reviewed all the 843 guilty verdicts in cases involving rape or attempted rape that occurred in the country since 2013 as part of its research.

Its journalists revealed that 58 percent of those convicted were born outside the country, while almost 40 percent were migrants from the Middle East and Africa.

Read more

Besides, over eight out of 10 men convicted of rape in cases where the perpetrator was unknown to the victim were born abroad, according to STV.

Asylum seekers from Afghanistan topped the chart of foreigners sentenced for rape crimes, as 45 of the 843 migrants from the country were convicted in Sweden.

The sexual assault convicts were also described as people with a low level of education, a third of whom had a pre-existing criminal history. According to the broadcaster, many of the perpetrators were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they raped or attempted to rape their victims.

Since the peak of the migrant crisis in 2015 when Sweden took in around 160,000 asylum seekers, crime associated with the new arrivals and their inability to accept European values have been a hot topic in the country.

Following the release of the report, the anti-migrant Sweden Democrats Party said that foreigners guilty of rape should be swiftly deported. The party is currently polling at 19 percent, according to Ipsos, and is looking to record its best-ever result in the forthcoming election on September 9.

However, SVT pointed out that no conclusions could be made on the real scale of involvement of migrants in sexual assault, as the conviction rate in relation to rape in the country remains very low.

The survey still raises questions on the Sweden's ability to integrate immigrants.

If you like this story, share it with a friend!