Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
be 66.3% less likely to be obese
In Sweden, 17.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 31.0% less spent on your healthcare
Sweden spends $7,770 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 39.9% fewer doctors per person
Sweden has 44.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 25.9% more likely to die by suicide
Sweden has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 71.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 8.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 43.1% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $63,133 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 25.0% less 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 Japan, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 38.7% fewer children
In Sweden, there are approximately 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 10.7% less likely to have internet access
In Sweden, approximately 95.8% of the population has internet access as of 2025. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 54.4% less on education
Sweden spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
Geography
see 9.2 times more coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 80.0% less likely to be murdered
Sweden has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 14.2% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Sweden, 73% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2022. In Japan, that number is 83% as of 2019.
be 28.6% more likely to die in a road accident
In Sweden, road accidents kill 2.1 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 10.2 times more strain on fresh water
Sweden withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 38.4% less electricity
Sweden uses 12,226 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 50.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Sweden, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.2 times more CO2
Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Japan emits 7.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sweden vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.