Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sweden instead of Belgium, you would:

Health

live 0.8 years longer

In Belgium, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Sweden, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 26.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Belgium, 5.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Sweden, that number is 6.8% as of 2019.

be 15.5% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Belgium, 14.8% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Sweden, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2018.

Life

be 20.0% less likely to die during childbirth

In Belgium, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2017.

be 27.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Belgium, approximately 3.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sweden, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 18.7% more on education

Belgium spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Sweden spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

Geography

see 48.4 times more coastline

Belgium has a total of 66 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Sweden: At a glance

Sweden is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 410,335 sq km. A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war for almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both world wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.
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How big is Sweden compared to Belgium? See an in-depth size comparison.

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