Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 1.2 years longer

In Germany, the average life expectancy is 82 years (79 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2022. In Sweden, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

be 2.5 times more likely to be unemployed

In Germany, 3.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 7.6% as of 2023.

pay a 20.2% higher top tax rate

Germany has a top tax rate of 47.5% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.

Life

be 27.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Germany, approximately 3.2 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.

have 20.2% more children

In Germany, there are approximately 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sweden, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 25.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Germany, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Sweden, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 10.9% less on healthcare

Germany spends 12.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sweden, that number is 11.4% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 53.2% more on education

Germany spends 4.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sweden spends 7.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 34.7% more coastline

Germany has a total of 2,389 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt), 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 Germany? See an in-depth size comparison.

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