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

Health

live 7.6 years longer

In Romania, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 84 years (83 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024.

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be 46.0% less likely to be obese

In Romania, 32.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 17.5% of people as of 2024.

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see 3.0 times more spent on your healthcare

Romania spends $2,614 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sweden spends $7,770 as of 2024.

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have 21.6% more doctors per person

Romania has 36.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sweden has 44.1 as of 2021.

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be 43.9% more likely to die by suicide

Romania has a suicide rate of 9.6 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 12.5% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Romania, 18.4% live below the poverty line as of 2024. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.

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make 2.8 times more money

Romania has a GDP per capita of $22,538 as of 2025, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $63,133 as of 2025.

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be 45.1% more likely to be unemployed

In Romania, 6.0% 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 66.7% less likely to die during childbirth

In Romania, approximately 12.0 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 66.7% less likely to die during infancy

In Romania, approximately 6.0 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 24.0% more children

In Romania, there are approximately 7.5 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 2.2 times more on education

Romania spends 3.3% 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 96.5% more on healthcare

Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 11.2% of GDP as of 2024.

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Geography

see 14.3 times more coastline

Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

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Safety

be 78.1% less likely to die in a road accident

In Romania, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sweden, they kill 2.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 13.5% more home broadband

Romania has 35.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sweden has 40.6 as of 2024.

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live with 53.1% less strain on fresh water

Romania withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sweden withdraws 4% as of 2022.

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use 4.7 times more electricity

Romania uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sweden uses 12,226 kWh as of 2024.

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Environment

be 82.6% less likely to die from air pollution

In Romania, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sweden, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.

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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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