Matchup file

Norway vs Sweden

184 shared metrics.

NorwayLeads in 82

vs184 shared

SwedenLeads in 102

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Sweden leads by 20 metrics. Use the same instinct in a quick real-data brawl.

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Country briefing

What matters for both sides

Short real-world notes so the comparison reads like more than a stat strip.

Norway

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Formal name: Kingdom of Norway.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

Norway's coastline is about 100,915 km when fjords and islands are included.

Norway Gov

Sweden

Quick notes before you compare the numbers.

Identity

Formal name: Kingdom of Sweden.

CIA 2026

Curated stat

Sweden has nearly 100,000 lakes, a clue to why its map feels carved by ice and water.

Sweden.se

Analysis

Sweden leads in 102 of 184 shared metrics, while Norway leads in 82.

Norway's Coastline Length is 6.8x that of Sweden (25.1K km vs 3.2K km).

Norway's Merchant Fleet Size is 3.8x that of Sweden (1.7K vs 361).

Norway's Official Languages Count is 3.0x that of Sweden (4.0 vs 1.0).

Norway's Insufficient Physical Activity is 2.8x that of Sweden (34.83% of adults vs 9.3% of adults).

Norway's GDP Growth Rate is 1.6x that of Sweden (2.1% vs 0.82%).

Key Comparisons

Coastline LengthNorway leads

Norway

25.1K km

Sweden

3.2K km

Merchant Fleet SizeNorway leads

Norway

1.7K

Sweden

361

Official Languages CountNorway leads

Norway

4.0

Sweden

1.0

Insufficient Physical ActivityNorway leads

Norway

34.83% of adults

Sweden

9.3% of adults

GDP Growth RateNorway leads

Norway

2.1%

Sweden

0.82%

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)Norway leads

Sweden

Norway

50.57 kg/person/yr

Sweden

31.34 kg/person/yr

61% higher

Loneliness

Sweden

Norway

3.1% of adults 16+

Sweden

7.9% of adults 16+

60% lower

Railway Network

Sweden

Norway

3.9K km

Sweden

9.7K km

60% lower

Forest Area

Sweden

Norway

122.0K km²

Sweden

279.8K km²

56% lower

Comparison of Norway and Sweden across 184 metrics
				Winner
Coastline Length	25.1K km	3.2K km	681% higher	Norway
Merchant Fleet Size	1.7K	361	376% higher	Norway
Official Languages Count	4.0	1.0	300% higher	Norway
Insufficient Physical Activity	34.83% of adults	9.3% of adults	275% higher	Norway
GDP Growth Rate	2.1%	0.82%	156% higher	Norway
Current Account Balance (% of GDP)	14.1% of GDP	6.1% of GDP	131% higher	Norway
Electricity Use (Per Capita)	23.5K kWh/person	12.1K kWh/person	94% higher	Norway
Solar Electricity Share	0.33%	2.6%	87% lower	Sweden
CO2 Per Capita	6.7 t/person/yr	3.6 t/person/yr	86% higher	Norway
Hospital Beds (per 1,000)	3.4 per 1k	2.0 per 1k	70% higher	Norway
GNI Per Capita	$98,170	$58,190	69% higher	Norway
Armed Forces Personnel	25.0K	15.0K	67% higher	Norway
Nurses & Midwives	18.89 per 1k	11.41 per 1k	66% higher	Norway
Railway Length	3.8K km	10.9K km	65% lower	Sweden
Wind Electricity Share	8.4%	22.79%	63% lower	Sweden
Agricultural Land (%)	2.7%	7.3%	63% lower	Sweden
Seafood Consumption per Person	50.57 kg/person/yr	31.34 kg/person/yr	61% higher	Norway
Loneliness	3.1% of adults 16+	7.9% of adults 16+	60% lower	Sweden
Railway Network	3.9K km	9.7K km	60% lower	Sweden
Forest Area	122.0K km²	279.8K km²	56% lower	Sweden
Overcrowded Housing	7.0% of households	15.72% of households	55% lower	Sweden
R&D Spending (% GDP)	1.6% of GDP	3.4% of GDP	54% lower	Sweden
FDI Inflows (% GDP)	2.4% of GDP	5.2% of GDP	54% lower	Sweden
Long-Term Unemployment	0.64% of workforce	1.4% of workforce	53% lower	Sweden
Unemployment Rate	4.0%	8.5%	53% lower	Sweden
Water Stress (%)	0.70%	1.5%	52% lower	Sweden
Forest Coverage (%)	33.5%	68.7%	51% lower	Sweden
Border Neighbors	3.0	2.0	50% higher	Norway
Foreign Patents	634	425	49% higher	Norway
Population	5.51M	10.64M	48% lower	Sweden
Domestic Patents	946	1.8K	47% lower	Sweden
UNESCO World Heritage Sites	8.0 sites	15 sites	47% lower	Sweden
Fuel Poverty	2.2% of adults 16+	4.1% of adults 16+	46% lower	Sweden
Informal Employment Share	2.0% of employed people	3.7% of employed people	46% lower	Sweden
Homicide Rate	0.60 per 100k	1.1 per 100k	45% lower	Sweden
Youth Unemployment Rate	13.42% of youth labor force	24.31% of youth labor force	45% lower	Sweden
EV Chargers per 100,000 PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	51 per 100k people	35.1 per 100k people	45% higher	Norway
High-Tech Exports (%)	25.41%	17.65%	44% higher	Norway
Shipping Traffic	933.3K	1.63M	43% lower	Sweden
Relationship Dissatisfaction	2.2% of adults 16+	3.8% of adults 16+	42% lower	Sweden
GDP Per Capita (PPP)	$101,031.46	$71,030.46	42% higher	Norway
Job Strain	13.83% of employees	23.56% of employees	41% lower	Sweden
Depression Rate	6.2% of adults 15+	10.5% of adults 15+	41% lower	Sweden
Population Density	15.15 /km²	25.87 /km²	41% lower	Sweden
Health Spending Per Capita	$8,692.58	$6,152.33	41% higher	Norway
Food Waste per Person	165 kg/person/yr	117 kg/person/yr	41% higher	Norway
Renewable Energy (%)	71.81%	51.32%	40% higher	Norway
Gender Pay Gap (%)	4.7% of male wages	7.5% of male wages	38% lower	Sweden
McDonald's Outlets per Million PeopleSource: © OpenStreetMap contributors - Open Database License (ODbL)	11.43 per 1M people	18.41 per 1M people	38% lower	Sweden
Credit Card Ownership	66.74% of adults	48.35% of adults	38% higher	Norway
Smoking Rate	14.2%	22.7%	37% lower	Sweden
Tobacco Use Prevalence	12.3% of adults	19.5% of adults	37% lower	Sweden
Scientific Publications	14.1K	22.4K	37% lower	Sweden
Homicide Rate	0.72 per 100k	1.1 per 100k	37% lower	Sweden
Job Insecurity	2.8% of earnings at risk	4.4% of earnings at risk	35% lower	Sweden
Youth NEET Rate	4.6% of youth 15-24	7.0% of youth 15-24	34% lower	Sweden
Imports (% GDP)	33.87% of GDP	51.57% of GDP	34% lower	Sweden
Irrigated Land	337 km²	510 km²	34% lower	Sweden
Women in Senior Management	30.77% of managers	44.74% of managers	31% lower	Sweden
Nobel Laureates Born per Million People	1.8 per 1M people	2.6 per 1M people	31% lower	Sweden
Airports	147	209	30% lower	Sweden
Tourist Arrivals	1.40M	1.96M	29% lower	Sweden
Road Traffic Death Rate	1.5 per 100k	2.1 per 100k	29% lower	Sweden
Housing Cost Burden	15.95% of households	21.82% of households	27% lower	Sweden
Green Space Access	66.43% of urban pop.	91.4% of urban pop.	27% lower	Sweden
Health Spending (% GDP)	7.9% of GDP	10.89% of GDP	27% lower	Sweden
Low Adult Numeracy	11.06% of adults	8.8% of adults	26% higher	Norway
Electric Generating Capacity	41.10M kW	55.31M kW	26% lower	Sweden
Education Spending (% GDP)	5.5% of GDP	7.3% of GDP	25% lower	Sweden
Average Earnings	$74,863.73	$60,415.32	24% higher	Norway
Lack of Support	6.0% of adults 15+	7.8% of adults 15+	23% lower	Sweden
Milk Consumption per Person	261.34 kg/person/yr	341.23 kg/person/yr	23% lower	Sweden
Alcohol Consumption	7.4 L/adult/yr	9.6 L/adult/yr	23% lower	Sweden
Vehicles per 1,000 People	758.35 per 1k people	615.02 per 1k people	23% higher	Norway
Long Work Hours	4.1% of employees	5.2% of employees	22% lower	Sweden
Teen Birth Rate	1.4 per 1k	1.8 per 1k	22% lower	Sweden
Poor Health	9.7% reporting poor health	8.0% reporting poor health	21% higher	Norway
Mobile Subscriptions (%)	111 per 100 people	141 per 100 people	21% lower	Sweden
Obesity Rate	19.77%	16.41%	20% higher	Norway
GDP (Nominal)	$483,592,648,313.3	$603,715,224,265.8	20% lower	Sweden
Electricity Carbon Intensity	28.11 gCO2/kWh	35.26 gCO2/kWh	20% lower	Sweden
Low Adult Literacy	2.3% of adults	2.8% of adults	19% lower	Sweden
Hypertension Prevalence	35.5% of adults	30.2% of adults	18% higher	Norway
Highest Elevation	2.5K m	2.1K m	18% higher	Norway
University Enrollment Rate	95.06%	81.4%	17% higher	Norway
Political Voice	34.8% who feel heard by government	29.92% who feel heard by government	16% higher	Norway
Land Border Length	2.6K km	2.2K km	16% higher	Norway
Low Reading Skills	17.5% of students	15.23% of students	15% higher	Norway
Low Math Skills	17.5% of students	15.23% of students	15% higher	Norway
Low Science Skills	17.5% of students	15.23% of students	15% higher	Norway
Protected Land (%)	17.8%	15.5%	15% higher	Norway
Safety at Night	91.5% feeling safe at night	80% feeling safe at night	14% higher	Norway
Energy Use (Per Capita)	4.9K kg oil eq/person	4.3K kg oil eq/person	14% higher	Norway
Researchers	7.4K per 1M	8.6K per 1M	14% lower	Sweden
Exports (% GDP)	47.49% of GDP	54.31% of GDP	13% lower	Sweden
Doctors (per 1,000)	5.0 per 1k	4.4 per 1k	13% higher	Norway
All-Time Olympic Medals	618 medals	709 medals	13% lower	Sweden
Self-Rated Health	74.2% reporting good health	66.5% reporting good health	12% higher	Norway
Low Life Satisfaction	5.8% of adults 16+	6.6% of adults 16+	12% lower	Sweden
Meat Consumption per Person	67.47 kg/person/yr	77.07 kg/person/yr	12% lower	Sweden
Disposable Income (Per Capita)	$46,898	$42,260	11% higher	Norway
Political Corruption Index	0.01	0.01	11% higher	Norway
Dependency Ratio	53.78% of working-age pop.	60.6% of working-age pop.	11% lower	Sweden
Land Area	364.3K km²	407.3K km²	11% lower	Sweden
Inflation Rate	3.1%	2.8%	11% higher	Norway
Broadband Access (%)	45.44 per 100 people	41 per 100 people	11% higher	Norway
Death Rate	8.6 per 1k	9.6 per 1k	11% lower	Sweden
Chronic Pain	27% of adults 15+	24.5% of adults 15+	10% higher	Norway
Time Dissatisfaction	9.4% of adults 16+	10.48% of adults 16+	10% lower	Sweden
Inequality (Gini)	26.5	29.3	10% lower	Sweden
Electricity Generation	156.12 TWh	172.79 TWh	10% lower	Sweden
Relationship Inequality	1.6 vs bottom 20%	1.8 vs bottom 20%	9% lower	Sweden
Spirits Consumption	1.2 L/person/yr	1.1 L/person/yr	9% higher	Norway
Elderly Population (%)	18.79%	20.75%	9% lower	Sweden
Home Internet Access	98.6% of households	90.96% of households	8% higher	Norway
Social Time	6.7 hrs/week	6.1 hrs/week	8% higher	Norway
Voter Turnout	77.16% of votes	84.21% of votes	8% lower	Sweden
Road Deaths	2.0 per 100k	2.2 per 100k	8% lower	Sweden
Water Withdrawal	2.7 B m³	2.5 B m³	8% higher	Norway
Income Gap (Rich vs Poor)	4.0 vs bottom 20%	4.3 vs bottom 20%	7% lower	Sweden
Air Pollution (PM2.5)	6.1 µg/m³	5.6 µg/m³	7% higher	Norway
Job Satisfaction	8.0 pts	7.6 pts	6% higher	Norway
Beer Consumption	2.8 L/person/yr	2.7 L/person/yr	6% higher	Norway
Renewable Energy (%)	61.4%	57.9%	6% higher	Norway
Urban Population (%)	83.33%	88.86%	6% lower	Sweden
Total CO2 Emissions	40 Mt CO2e	37.77 Mt CO2e	6% higher	Norway
Women in Parliament (%)	44.38%	46.7%	5% lower	Sweden
Suicide Rate	13.19 per 100k	13.84 per 100k	5% lower	Sweden
Infant Mortality	1.9 per 1k births	2.0 per 1k births	5% lower	Sweden
Fertility Rate	1.6 children/woman	1.7 children/woman	5% lower	Sweden
Military Spending	2.1% of GDP	2.0% of GDP	5% higher	Norway
Youth Population (%)	16.19%	16.99%	5% lower	Sweden
Earnings Inequality	2.3 vs bottom 10%	2.2 vs bottom 10%	4% higher	Norway
Child Mortality	2.4 per 1k births	2.5 per 1k births	4% lower	Sweden
Big Mac Price	$7.52	$7.26	4% higher	Norway
Average Weekly Work Hours	32.7 hrs/week	34.2 hrs/week	4% lower	Sweden
Internet Users (%)	99%	95.53%	4% higher	Norway
Employment Rate (%)	81.32% of adults 25-64	84.23% of adults 25-64	3% lower	Sweden
Math Skills	468.45 pts	481.77 pts	3% lower	Sweden
Science Skills	478.23 pts	493.55 pts	3% lower	Sweden
Air Pollution Exposure	70.57% of population	73.02% of population	3% lower	Sweden
Reading Score Gap	1.9 vs bottom 10%	1.9 vs bottom 10%	3% higher	Norway
Literacy Gap	1.5 vs bottom 10%	1.6 vs bottom 10%	3% lower	Sweden
Happiness Inequality	2.0 vs bottom 20%	2.0 vs bottom 20%	3% lower	Sweden
ATMs per 100,000 Adults	25.32 per 100k	24.63 per 100k	3% higher	Norway
All-Time Olympic Gold Medals	231 gold medals	224 gold medals	3% higher	Norway
Reading Skills	476.52 pts	486.98 pts	2% lower	Sweden
Social Support	93.97% of adults 15+	92.14% of adults 15+	2% higher	Norway
Relationship Satisfaction	8.5 pts	8.3 pts	2% higher	Norway
Life Satisfaction	7.6 pts	7.4 pts	2% higher	Norway
Time Use Inequality	2.4 vs bottom 20%	2.5 vs bottom 20%	2% lower	Sweden
Birth Rate	10.35 per 1k	10.56 per 1k	2% lower	Sweden
Tax Revenue (% GDP)	27.05% of GDP	27.58% of GDP	2% lower	Sweden
Poverty Rate	8.0% of population	8.0% of population	1% lower	Sweden
Financial Hardship	9.8% of adults 16+	9.9% of adults 16+	1% lower	Sweden
Housing Affordability	81.66% of income	81.06% of income	1% higher	Norway
Human Development Index	0.97	0.96	1% higher	Norway
Corruption Perceptions Index	81 pts	80 pts	1% higher	Norway
Liberal Democracy Index	0.85	0.85	1% lower	Sweden
Median Age	39.5 years	39.9 years	1% lower	Sweden
Safe Drinking Water (%)	99.06%	99.76%	1% lower	Sweden
Sanitation Access (%)	98.05%	98.74%	1% lower	Sweden
Government Debt (% GDP)	36.5% of GDP	36.9% of GDP	1% lower	Sweden
Can Raise Emergency Money	99.14% of adults	97.96% of adults	1% higher	Norway
Freedom of Expression Index	0.95	0.95	1% higher	Norway
Gender Gap in Work	-23.68 min/day	8.3 min/day	ranked lower	Sweden
Time Satisfaction	7.5 pts	7.4 pts	equal	Norway
Deaths (Suicide/Alcohol/Drugs)	0 per 100k	21.25 per 100k	ranked lower	Sweden
Adult Numeracy	286.61 pts	285.21 pts	equal	Norway
Adult Literacy	282.8 pts	284.08 pts	equal	Sweden
Extreme Temperature Exposure	0% of population	0% of population	ranked higher	Norway
Math Score Gap	1.7 vs bottom 10%	1.7 vs bottom 10%	equal	Norway
Science Score Gap	1.8 vs bottom 10%	1.8 vs bottom 10%	equal	Norway
Numeracy Gap	1.6 vs bottom 10%	1.6 vs bottom 10%	equal	Sweden
Time Zones Count	1.0 time zones	1.0 time zones	equal	Norway
Minimum Paid Vacation Days	25 days/yr	25 days/yr	equal	Norway
Women's Political Empowerment	0.93	0.92	equal	Norway
Coal Electricity Share	0%	0%	ranked higher	Norway
Electricity Access (%)	100%	100%	equal	Norway
Life Expectancy	83.1 years	83.3 years	equal	Sweden
Electoral Democracy Index	0.89	0.89	equal	Norway
Life Evaluation Score	7.2 pts	7.3 pts	equal	Sweden
Lowest Elevation	0 m	-2.4 m	ranked higher	Norway
Digital Payments Used	99.48% of adults	99.06% of adults	equal	Norway

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Norway Sweden

Analysis

Sweden leads in 102 of 184 shared metrics, while Norway leads in 82.

Norway's Coastline Length is 6.8x that of Sweden (25.1K km vs 3.2K km).

Norway's Merchant Fleet Size is 3.8x that of Sweden (1.7K vs 361).

Norway's Official Languages Count is 3.0x that of Sweden (4.0 vs 1.0).

Norway's Insufficient Physical Activity is 2.8x that of Sweden (34.83% of adults vs 9.3% of adults).

Norway's GDP Growth Rate is 1.6x that of Sweden (2.1% vs 0.82%).

Key Comparisons

Coastline LengthNorway leads

Norway

25.1K km

Sweden

3.2K km

Merchant Fleet SizeNorway leads

Norway

1.7K

Sweden

361

Official Languages CountNorway leads

Norway

4.0

Sweden

1.0

Insufficient Physical ActivityNorway leads

Norway

34.83% of adults

Sweden

9.3% of adults

GDP Growth RateNorway leads

Norway

2.1%

Sweden

0.82%

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)Norway leads

Norway

14.1% of GDP

Sweden

6.1% of GDP

Coastline Length

25.1K km

3.2K km

Merchant Fleet Size

1.7K

361

Official Languages Count

4.0

1.0

Insufficient Physical Activity

34.83% of adults

9.3% of adults

GDP Growth Rate

2.1%

0.82%

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)

14.1% of GDP

6.1% of GDP

Electricity Use (Per Capita)

23.5K kWh/person

12.1K kWh/person

Solar Electricity Share

0.33%

2.6%

CO2 Per Capita

6.7 t/person/yr

3.6 t/person/yr

Hospital Beds (per 1,000)

3.4 per 1k

2.0 per 1k

GNI Per Capita

$98,170

$58,190

Armed Forces Personnel

25.0K

15.0K

Nurses & Midwives

18.89 per 1k

11.41 per 1k

Railway Length

3.8K km

10.9K km

Wind Electricity Share

8.4%

22.79%

Agricultural Land (%)

2.7%

7.3%

Seafood Consumption per Person

50.57 kg/person/yr

31.34 kg/person/yr

Loneliness

3.1% of adults 16+

7.9% of adults 16+

Railway Network

3.9K km

9.7K km

Forest Area

122.0K km²

279.8K km²

Norway vs Sweden

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What matters for both sides

Norway

Sweden

Analysis

Key Comparisons

All Metrics

Coastline Length

Merchant Fleet Size

Official Languages Count

Insufficient Physical Activity

GDP Growth Rate

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)

Electricity Use (Per Capita)

Solar Electricity Share

CO2 Per Capita

Hospital Beds (per 1,000)

GNI Per Capita

Armed Forces Personnel

Nurses & Midwives

Railway Length

Wind Electricity Share

Agricultural Land (%)

Seafood Consumption per Person

Loneliness

Railway Network

Forest Area

Overcrowded Housing

R&D Spending (% GDP)

FDI Inflows (% GDP)

Long-Term Unemployment

Unemployment Rate

Water Stress (%)

Forest Coverage (%)

Border Neighbors

Foreign Patents

Population

Domestic Patents

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Fuel Poverty

Informal Employment Share

Homicide Rate

Youth Unemployment Rate

EV Chargers per 100,000 People

High-Tech Exports (%)

Shipping Traffic

Relationship Dissatisfaction

GDP Per Capita (PPP)

Job Strain

Depression Rate

Population Density

Health Spending Per Capita

Food Waste per Person

Renewable Energy (%)

Gender Pay Gap (%)

McDonald's Outlets per Million People

Credit Card Ownership

Smoking Rate

Tobacco Use Prevalence

Scientific Publications

Homicide Rate

Job Insecurity

Youth NEET Rate

Imports (% GDP)

Irrigated Land

Women in Senior Management

Nobel Laureates Born per Million People

Airports

Tourist Arrivals

Road Traffic Death Rate

Housing Cost Burden

Green Space Access

Health Spending (% GDP)

Low Adult Numeracy

Electric Generating Capacity

Education Spending (% GDP)

Average Earnings

Lack of Support

Milk Consumption per Person