Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sweden instead of Norway, you would:
Health
live 0.9 years longer
In Norway, the average life expectancy is 83 years (82 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 84 years (83 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.
be 13.3% less likely to be obese
In Norway, 20.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 17.5% of people as of 2024.
see 18.4% less spent on your healthcare
Norway spends $9,523 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sweden spends $7,770 as of 2024.
have 11.4% fewer doctors per person
Norway has 49.8 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sweden has 44.1 as of 2021.
Economy
be 87.3% more likely to be unemployed
In Norway, 4.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sweden, that number is 8.7% as of 2025.
be 32.0% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Norway, 12.2% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.
make 33.3% less money
Norway has a GDP per capita of $94,594 as of 2025, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $63,133 as of 2025.
Life
be 4.0 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Norway, approximately 1.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 34.8% more on education
Norway spends 5.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Sweden spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 19.0% more on healthcare
Norway spends 9.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 11.2% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 87.2% less coastline
Norway has a total of 25,148 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.
Safety
be 59.7% more likely to be murdered
Norway has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 40.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Norway, road accidents kill 1.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sweden, they kill 2.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 10.1% less home broadband
Norway has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sweden has 40.6 as of 2024.
live with 75.5% more strain on fresh water
Norway withdraws 2% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sweden withdraws 4% as of 2022.
use 48.4% less electricity
Norway uses 23,673 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Sweden uses 12,226 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 50.3% less CO2
Norway emits 7.2 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Norway vs. Sweden
Sweden: At a glance
How big is Sweden compared to Norway? See an in-depth size comparison.