Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sweden instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:
Health
live 5.1 years longer
In Saudi Arabia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (77 years for men, 81 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 56.3% less likely to be obese
In Saudi Arabia, 40.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 17.5% of people as of 2024.
see 2.2 times more spent on your healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends $3,475 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sweden spends $7,770 as of 2024.
have 29.4% more doctors per person
Saudi Arabia has 34.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Sweden has 44.1 as of 2021.
have 14.9% more access to essential health services
Saudi Arabia scores 74 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sweden scores 85 as of 2021.
be 14.6 times more likely to die by suicide
Saudi Arabia has a suicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Sweden, it is 13.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 82.8% more money
Saudi Arabia has a GDP per capita of $34,537 as of 2025, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $63,133 as of 2025.
be 2.9 times more likely to be unemployed
In Saudi Arabia, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sweden, that number is 8.7% as of 2025.
Life
be 42.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 7.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 57.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Saudi Arabia, approximately 4.7 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.
have 43.6% fewer children
In Saudi Arabia, there are approximately 16.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sweden, there are 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 63.4% more on education
Saudi Arabia spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sweden spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 97.2% more on healthcare
Saudi Arabia spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 11.2% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 21.9% more coastline
Saudi Arabia has a total of 2,640 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.
Safety
be 88.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Saudi Arabia, road accidents kill 18.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sweden, they kill 2.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 99.6% less strain on fresh water
Saudi Arabia withdraws 974% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sweden withdraws 4% as of 2022.
Environment
be 91.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Saudi Arabia, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sweden, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 80.7% less CO2
Saudi Arabia emits 18.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. Sweden
Sweden: At a glance
How big is Sweden compared to Saudi Arabia? See an in-depth size comparison.