Generationer

Generationer is the Swedish term for groups of people born within roughly the same period, treated as cohorts for analysis or discussion. The singular form is generation, while generationer denotes multiple cohorts or the concept in plural usage.

In demography, a generation is a cohort defined by birth years; generation time or generation length measures the average age of parents at the birth of their children. Across many populations this length has historically been around 25 to 30 years and varies with fertility patterns.

In sociology and cultural analysis, generationer are used to examine how social, economic, and technological changes influence values, norms, and behavior across age groups. Discussions often address generation gaps, or differences between cohorts in attitudes and life course milestones.

In genealogy, generationer provide a framework for organizing family trees. Researchers label ancestors by generation relative to the present, such as parents’ generation, grandparents’ generation, and so on, to date events and trace lineage.

Contemporary usage sometimes names generations with English terms (Gen X, Millennials) or describes them descriptively in Swedish. The choice depends on context, audience, and whether the focus is historical cohorts or current age groups.

Related concepts include cohort, generation time, generation gap, and genealogy.