Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 0.9 years longer

In Finland, 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 40.2% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Finland, 12.2% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Sweden, however, that number is 17.1% as of 2018.

pay a 10.7% higher top tax rate

Finland has a top tax rate of 51.6% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.

Life

be 33.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Finland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2017.

Expenditures

spend 20.6% more on education

Finland spends 6.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Sweden spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 18.5% more on healthcare

Finland spends 9.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Sweden, that number is 10.9% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 2.6 times more coastline

Finland has a total of 1,250 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Finnish Tax Administration, The World Factbook, Skatteverket.

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 Finland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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