Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Sweden instead of Serbia, you would:
Health
live 8.1 years longer
In Serbia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 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 19.8% less likely to be obese
In Serbia, 21.8% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Sweden, that number is 17.5% of people as of 2024.
see 3.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Serbia spends $2,303 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Sweden spends $7,770 as of 2024.
have 42.2% more doctors per person
Serbia has 31.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Sweden has 44.1 as of 2021.
have 18.1% more access to essential health services
Serbia scores 72 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Sweden scores 85 as of 2021.
Economy
be 18.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Serbia, 19.7% live below the poverty line as of 2023. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.
make 4.1 times more money
Serbia has a GDP per capita of $15,262 as of 2025, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $63,133 as of 2025.
be 22.1% more likely to be unemployed
In Serbia, 7.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Sweden, that number is 8.7% as of 2025.
Life
be 63.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Serbia, approximately 11.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Sweden, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 56.5% less likely to die during infancy
In Serbia, approximately 4.6 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.
Expenditures
spend 2.2 times more on education
Serbia spends 3.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Sweden spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 39.7% more on healthcare
Serbia spends 8.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 11.2% of GDP as of 2024.
Safety
be 12.2% less likely to be murdered
Serbia has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 1.1 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 71.6% less likely to die in a road accident
In Serbia, road accidents kill 7.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Sweden, they kill 2.1 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 21.7% more home broadband
Serbia has 33.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Sweden has 40.6 as of 2024.
live with 37.6% less strain on fresh water
Serbia withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Sweden withdraws 4% as of 2022.
use 2.4 times more electricity
Serbia uses 5,090 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Sweden uses 12,226 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 82.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Serbia, air pollution causes 45.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Sweden, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Serbia vs. Sweden
Sweden: At a glance
How big is Sweden compared to Serbia? See an in-depth size comparison.