Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

pay a 14.5% lower top tax rate

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

make 17.9% less money

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

be 24.8% more likely to live below the poverty line

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

Life

be 37.4% more likely to die during infancy

In Sweden, approximately 2.3 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Italy, on the other hand, 3.2 children do as of 2022.

have 33.6% fewer children

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

Basic Needs

be 14.8% less likely to have internet access

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

Expenditures

spend 40.3% less on education

Sweden spends 7.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Italy spends 4.3% 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 Italy, that number is 9.6% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 2.4 times more coastline

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

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Italian Revenue Agency, Skatteverket.

Italy: At a glance

Italy is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 294,140 sq km. Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy is a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include sluggish economic growth, high youth and female unemployment, organized crime, corruption, and economic disparities between southern Italy and the more prosperous north.
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How big is Italy compared to Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.

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