Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 13.4% less likely to be obese

In Spain, 23.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Sweden, that number is 20.6% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 38.4% more money

Spain has a GDP per capita of $46,400 as of 2023, while in Sweden, the GDP per capita is $64,200 as of 2023.

be 37.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Spain, 12.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Sweden, that number is 7.6% as of 2023.

be 20.3% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Spain, 20.2% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Sweden, however, that number is 16.1% as of 2022.

pay a 26.9% higher top tax rate

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

Life

have 50.7% more children

In Spain, 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.

be 66.7% more likely to die during childbirth

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

Expenditures

spend 56.5% more on education

Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Sweden spends 7.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 35.2% less coastline

Spain has a total of 4,964 km of coastline. In Sweden, that number is 3,218 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Skatteverket, Agencia Tributaria, Spain.

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 Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.

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