Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Sweden instead of Australia, you would:

Health

be 29.0% less likely to be obese

In Australia, 29.0% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sweden, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed

In Australia, 3.7% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 7.6% as of 2023.

be 20.1% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Australia, 13.4% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.

pay a 26.9% higher top tax rate

Australia has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.

Life

be 23.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Australia, approximately 3.0 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Sweden, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2022.

be 66.7% more likely to die during childbirth

In Australia, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sweden, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

have 12.3% fewer children

In Australia, there are approximately 12.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sweden, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 18.0% more on education

Australia spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sweden spends 7.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 87.5% less coastline

Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Australian Taxation Office, Skatteverket.

Sweden: At a glance

Sweden is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 410,335 sq km. A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not participated in any war for almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was preserved in both world wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of a capitalist system intermixed with substantial welfare elements was challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 and 2009 by the global economic downturns, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in 1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003 referendum.
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How big is Sweden compared to Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.

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