Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 0.9 years less

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

Economy

be 24.2% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Sweden, 16.1% live below the poverty line as of 2022. In Finland, however, that number is 12.2% as of 2022.

make 10.4% less money

Sweden has a GDP per capita of $64,200 as of 2023, while in Finland, the GDP per capita is $57,500 as of 2023.

Life

be 60.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Sweden, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Finland, 8.0 women do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 18.1% less on education

Sweden spends 7.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Finland spends 5.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 15.8% less on healthcare

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

Geography

see 61.2% less coastline

Sweden has a total of 3,218 km of coastline. In Finland, that number is 1,250 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Finland: At a glance

Finland is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 303,815 sq km. Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It gained complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it successfully defended its independence through cooperation with Germany and resisted subsequent invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, Finland transformed from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro single currency at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are high quality education, promotion of equality, and a national social welfare system - currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.
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How big is Finland compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.

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