Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Latvia instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
live 7.6 years less
In Sweden, the average life expectancy is 84 years (83 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 76 years (72 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
be 27.4% more likely to be obese
In Sweden, 17.5% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 22.3% of people as of 2024.
see 61.0% less spent on your healthcare
Sweden spends $7,770 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Latvia spends $3,034 as of 2023.
have 22.9% fewer doctors per person
Sweden has 44.1 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Latvia has 34.0 as of 2022.
have 11.8% less access to essential health services
Sweden scores 85 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Latvia scores 75 as of 2021.
Economy
be 24.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 8.7% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Latvia, that number is 6.6% as of 2025.
be 39.8% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Sweden, 16.1% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Latvia, however, that number is 22.5% as of 2022.
make 58.3% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $63,133 as of 2025, while in Latvia, the GDP per capita is $26,312 as of 2025.
Life
be 4.8 times 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 Latvia, 19.0 women do as of 2023.
be 10.0% 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 Latvia, on the other hand, 2.2 children do as of 2024.
have 25.8% fewer children
In Sweden, there are approximately 9.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Latvia, there are 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 41.0% less on education
Sweden spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Latvia spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 35.1% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 11.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Latvia, that number is 7.3% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 84.5% less coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Latvia, that number is 498 km.
Safety
be 2.2 times more likely to be murdered
Sweden has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Latvia, that number is 2.5 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 4.7 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Sweden, road accidents kill 2.1 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Latvia, they kill 9.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 71.5% less strain on fresh water
Sweden withdraws 4% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Latvia withdraws 1% as of 2022.
find 36.6% less home broadband
Sweden has 40.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Latvia has 25.8 as of 2024.
use 69.2% less electricity
Sweden uses 12,226 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Latvia uses 3,768 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 5.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Sweden, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Latvia, it causes 40.0 as of 2019.
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. Latvia
Latvia: At a glance
How big is Latvia compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.