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

Health

see 55.6% more spent on your healthcare

Italy spends $4,993 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sweden spends $7,770 as of 2024.

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be 25.2% more likely to be obese

In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 17.5% of people as of 2024.

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be 98.0% more likely to die by suicide

Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sweden, it is 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 19.9% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Italy, 20.1% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.

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make 45.8% more money

Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $63,133 as of 2025.

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be 36.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sweden, that number is 8.7% as of 2025.

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Life

be 33.3% less likely to die during childbirth

In Italy, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 13.0% less likely to die during infancy

In Italy, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Sweden, on the other hand, 2.0 children do as of 2024.

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have 47.6% more children

In Italy, there are approximately 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sweden, there are 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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Expenditures

spend 79.9% more on education

Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sweden spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 32.9% more on healthcare

Italy spends 8.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 11.2% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 57.7% less coastline

Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

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Safety

be 58.0% less likely to die in a road accident

In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sweden, they kill 2.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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be 2.0 times more likely to be murdered

Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.

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Infrastructure

find 27.8% more home broadband

Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sweden has 40.6 as of 2024.

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live with 88.0% less strain on fresh water

Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sweden withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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use 2.4 times more electricity

Italy uses 5,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Sweden uses 12,226 kWh as of 2024.

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Environment

be 46.7% less likely to die from air pollution

In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sweden, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.

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emit 29.7% less CO2

Italy emits 5.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.

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Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

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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