Immigration to Sweden hit record levels in 2012, boosted by the arrival of almost 5,000 Syrians, official statistics published on Wednesday showed. A total of 82,597 foreigners immigrated to the Scandinavian country, "the highest level ever", Statistics Sweden said. The number is a nine percent increase from 2011. Immigrants accounted for 70 percent of the population increase in 2012, with the population surpassing 9.5 million for the first time. This included 20,000 or so Swedes who returned home from abroad.