Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Italy instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
be 20.1% less likely to be obese
In Sweden, 17.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 14.0% of people as of 2024.
be 49.5% less likely to die by suicide
Sweden has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Italy, it is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
see 35.7% less spent on your healthcare
Sweden spends $7,770 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Italy spends $4,993 as of 2024.
Economy
be 26.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 8.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Italy, that number is 6.4% as of 2025.
be 24.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Sweden, 16.1% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Italy, however, that number is 20.1% as of 2021.
make 31.4% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $63,133 as of 2025, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $43,309 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Sweden, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Italy, 6.0 women do as of 2023.
be 15.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Sweden, approximately 2.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Italy, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2024.
have 32.3% fewer children
In Sweden, there are approximately 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Italy, there are 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 44.4% less on education
Sweden spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Italy spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 24.8% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 11.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Italy, that number is 8.4% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 2.4 times more coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Italy, that number is 7,600 km.
Safety
be 50.4% less likely to be murdered
Sweden has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 2.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Sweden, road accidents kill 2.1 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Italy, they kill 5.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 21.8% less home broadband
Sweden has 40.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Italy has 31.8 as of 2024.
live with 8.3 times more strain on fresh water
Sweden withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Italy withdraws 30% as of 2022.
use 58.0% less electricity
Sweden uses 12,226 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Italy uses 5,137 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 87.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Sweden, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Italy, it causes 15.0 as of 2019.
emit 42.3% more CO2
Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Italy emits 5.1 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: Sweden vs. Italy
Italy: At a glance
How big is Italy compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.