[Old-age assistance is to be multicultural--a special care for only a minority]

According to the census, more than 100,000 foreign-born people over 65 years of age now live in Sweden. They represent nearly eight per cent of the elderly population, and come from over a hundred different countries. During the 1990s many ethnically and religiously based old-age and health-care services have been developed for this population. The experiences of these services and their importance in the planning of care facilities are discussed in the article; research and scientific evaluations comparing health and social conditions of the foreign-born and Swedish elderly populations are also reviewed.