Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malaysia instead of Sweden, you would:
Health
be 24.3% less likely to be obese
In Sweden, 20.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Malaysia, that number is 15.6% of people as of 2016.
live 6.6 years less
In Sweden, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Malaysia, that number is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
be 51.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Sweden, 6.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Malaysia, that number is 3.3% as of 2019.
be 67.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Sweden, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Malaysia, however, that number is 5.6% as of 2018.
pay a 51.0% lower top tax rate
Sweden has a top tax rate of 57.1% as of 2016. In Malaysia, the top tax rate is 28.0% as of 2016.
make 47.9% less money
Sweden has a GDP per capita of $50,700 as of 2020, while in Malaysia, the GDP per capita is $26,400 as of 2020.
Life
have 34.3% more children
In Sweden, there are approximately 10.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Malaysia, there are 14.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
be 7.2 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Sweden, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Malaysia, 29.0 women do as of 2017.
be 2.9 times more likely to die during infancy
In Sweden, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Malaysia, on the other hand, 6.6 children do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 44.7% less on education
Sweden spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Malaysia spends 4.2% of total GDP on education as of 2019.
spend 65.1% less on healthcare
Sweden spends 10.9% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Malaysia, that number is 3.8% of GDP as of 2019.
Geography
see 45.3% more coastline
Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Malaysia, that number is 4,675 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, Skatteverket.
Malaysia: At a glance
How big is Malaysia compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.