Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Economy

make 36.4% less money

Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $82,900 as of 2023, while in Italy, the GDP per capita is $52,700 as of 2023.

be 88.1% more likely to be unemployed

In Switzerland, 4.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Italy, that number is 7.6% as of 2023.

be 36.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Switzerland, 14.7% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Italy, however, that number is 20.1% as of 2021.

pay a 22.0% higher top tax rate

Switzerland has a top tax rate of 40.0% as of 2016. In Italy, the top tax rate is 48.8% as of 2016.

Life

be 28.6% less likely to die during childbirth

In Switzerland, approximately 7.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Italy, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

be 11.7% less likely to die during infancy

In Switzerland, approximately 3.6 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 29.7% fewer children

In Switzerland, there are approximately 10.1 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 21.9% less likely to have internet access

In Switzerland, approximately 96.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Italy, about 75.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 17.3% less on education

Switzerland spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Italy spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 18.6% less on healthcare

Switzerland spends 11.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Italy, that number is 9.6% of GDP as of 2020.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Italian Revenue Agency, Swiss Federal Tax Administration.

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 Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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