Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

make 21.8% more money

Italy has a GDP per capita of $52,700 as of 2023, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $64,200 as of 2023.

be 19.9% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Italy, 20.1% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.

pay a 17.0% higher top tax rate

Italy has a top tax rate of 48.8% as of 2016. In Sweden, the top tax rate is 57.1% as of 2016.

Life

be 27.2% less likely to die during infancy

In Italy, 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 50.7% more children

In Italy, there are approximately 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Sweden, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 17.3% more likely to have internet access

In Italy, approximately 75.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Sweden, about 88.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 67.4% more on education

Italy spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sweden spends 7.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 18.8% more on healthcare

Italy spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Sweden, that number is 11.4% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 57.7% less coastline

Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Italian Revenue Agency, 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 Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.

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