Sweden is among the world’s top ten wealthiest nations. This is why Swedish media caught fire when news broke out that there were homeless Swedes roaming the streets of Spain.

In the EU, many nations usually attribute the poorest among their populations to people who hail from Eastern European countries like Romania and Bulgaria. But after the magazine Faktum discovered their magazines were being sold by homeless Swedes on the streets of Spain, it was revealed that even members from richer countries like Sweden also count themselves as destitute.

Faktum Editor Aaron Israelson commented ‘The response has been tremendous really, gives people an important perspective on the debate in Sweden about poor EU migrants.’

The editor estimated that more than 100 Swedish beggars are walking the streets of Spain’s tourist beaches, including Mallorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Following the story from Spain, Israelson discovered that there were also Swedish beggars in Britain and Germany.

Faktum ran an article on the issue, and noted that many Swedes living in poverty in other EU countries were victims of substance abuse and psychiatric problems. It also noted the fact of their presence in countries with more liberal laws on drugs and cheaper alcohol.

Israelson said that he hoped the expose would ‘make people think about the issue [of] free movement in the EU… [it] is extremely important to everyone, especially those who are destitute.’