In the almost two decades that have passed since the Swedish parliament declared that Sweden is a multicultural society, debates about immigrants, about multiculturalism and about different ways of being a citizen have raged. So far there has been no stepping away from the declaration. In the rhetorical arena multiculturalism is still a word with positive connotations, but in the arena of political praxis the situation is different. Inequalities in access to social services, not least education, have increased dramatically, and these inequalities are typically correlated to immigrant background and place of residence. This article focuses on policy documents concerned with multiculturalism in Swedish education and textbooks. First of all, the analysis shows that although multiculturalism is inscribed in steering documents, the concept is never clearly defined but instead remains vague and malleable. Second, while the experiences of pupils with an immigrant background are typically said to bring variety to the classrooms and thus are useful for pedagogical purposes, textbooks seldom acknowledge that Sweden today is, indeed, a multicultural society.