Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
be 83.3% less likely to die by suicide
Sweden has a suicide rate of 13.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.3 times more likely to be obese
In Sweden, 17.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
see 67.0% less spent on your healthcare
Sweden spends $7,770 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 48.4% fewer doctors per person
Sweden has 44.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
Economy
be 74.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 8.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 48.8% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $63,133 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 100.0% 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 Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.5 times 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 Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.0% less on education
Sweden spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 55.8% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 11.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 84.5% less coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 78.3% less likely to be murdered
Sweden has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 4.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Sweden, road accidents kill 2.1 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
use 34.9% more electricity
Sweden uses 12,226 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
find 97.5% less home broadband
Sweden has 40.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 1075.6 times more strain on fresh water
Sweden withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
Environment
be 5.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Sweden, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.6 times more CO2
Sweden emits 3.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Sweden vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.