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Norway vs Sweden

Compare Norway and Sweden using 16 indicators with exactly comparable years.

Compare Norway and Sweden using 16 indicators with exactly comparable years.

Norway

NO

Sweden

SE

Shared indicators

16

Norway better

13

Sweden better

3

Tie

0

Norway(NO)

Indicators comparison

Sweden(SE)
4.5%

Unemployment rate

i

Measures unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force aged 15 to 74.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

8.8%
9.4%

Jobless Households

i

Measures people aged 0 to 64 living in households where working-age members worked 20% or less of their combined potential working time during the previous year. Eurostat excludes specified groups such as certain students and retired people from the work-intensity calculation.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Sweden

8%
7.5%

Housing & Utility Bill Arrears

i

Measures the share of people living in households with arrears on mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, or hire-purchase instalments.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

8.5%
13.5%

Housing Affordability

i

Measures the share of people living in households where total housing costs exceed 40% of disposable household income.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Sweden

10.8%
6.8%

Overcrowded Housing

i

Measures the share of people living in a dwelling with fewer rooms than required under the Eurostat overcrowding standard. The minimum number of rooms depends on household composition and the ages of its members.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

15.7%
1.7%

Energy Poverty / Cold Homes

i

Measures the share of people living in households that cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

4.7%
159

GDP per Capita

i

Measures GDP per inhabitant after adjusting for differences in price levels between countries using purchasing power standards (PPS). The EU27 average is set to 100, so values above or below 100 indicate a level above or below the EU average for that year. The index is primarily intended for cross-country comparison and changes over time should not be interpreted as real GDP growth.

Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

111
23.7 index

Income Inequality (Gini Index)

i

Measures inequality in the distribution of equivalised disposable income. A value of 0 represents complete equality and 100 represents maximum inequality.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

28.6 index
3.39 ratio

Income Inequality (Rich-Poor Gap)

i

Measures the ratio between the total equivalised disposable income received by the highest-income 20% of the population and that received by the lowest-income 20%. A ratio of 5 means the top fifth receives five times as much income as the bottom fifth.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

4.58 ratio
11.3%

Poverty Rate

i

Measures the share of people whose equivalised disposable income after social transfers is below 60% of the national median. It is a relative-income measure rather than a measure of absolute poverty.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

15.6%
16.1%

Poverty & Social Exclusion Risk

i

Measures the share of people experiencing at least one of three conditions: risk of poverty after social transfers, severe material and social deprivation, or living in a household with very low work intensity. People meeting more than one condition are counted only once.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

18.6%
22.7%

Financial Vulnerability

i

Measures the share of people living in households that cannot afford to meet an unexpected necessary financial expense from their available resources.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

23%
83.2 years

Life Expectancy

i

Measures the average number of years a newborn would live if the age-specific mortality conditions observed in the reference period remained applicable throughout life.

Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Sweden

83.8 years
5.6%

Material and Social Deprivation

i

Measures the share of people who, because they cannot afford them, lack at least 5 of 13 specified material or social items considered relevant to an adequate standard of living.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

6.9%
2.1 rooms/person

Housing Space per Person

i

Measures the average number of rooms available in a household relative to the number of people living there, using Eurostat rules on which habitable spaces count as rooms.

Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

1.7 rooms/person
2.6%

Severe Material Deprivation

i

Measures the share of people who, because they cannot afford them, lack at least 7 of the 13 material or social items used in the Eurostat material and social deprivation framework.

Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.

Eurostat ↗

Better outcomeBetter: Norway

3.9%

Indicative result based on the count of shared indicators. Each indicator uses the latest exact year available for both countries, and no weighted composite score is applied.

View data table
Indicator Country A value Country B value Better outcome
Unemployment rate 4.5% 8.8% Norway
Persons living in households with very low work intensity (0 to 64 years) 9.4% 8% Sweden
Arrears on housing or utility bills 7.5% 8.5% Norway
Housing cost overburden rate 13.5% 10.8% Sweden
Overcrowding rate 6.8% 15.7% Norway
Inability to keep home adequately warm 1.7% 4.7% Norway
GDP per capita in PPS 159 111 Norway
Gini coefficient 23.7 index 28.6 index Norway
Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 3.39 ratio 4.58 ratio Norway
At-risk-of-poverty rate 11.3% 15.6% Norway
Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion 16.1% 18.6% Norway
Inability to face unexpected financial expenses 22.7% 23% Norway
Life expectancy at birth 83.2 years 83.8 years Sweden
Material and social deprivation rate 5.6% 6.9% Norway
Average number of rooms per person 2.1 rooms/person 1.7 rooms/person Norway
Severe material and social deprivation rate 2.6% 3.9% Norway

Housing & Energy Costs: mixed signals

Norway has the more favorable reading on Overcrowded Housing, while Sweden has it on Housing Affordability. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Overcrowded Housing. Both are on the adverse side of the European benchmark for Housing Affordability.

Topic: Housing & Energy Costs Primary indicator: Overcrowded Housing Year: 2025 Difference: strong

Income & Purchasing Power: more favorable reading for Norway

Norway has the more favorable reading on GDP per Capita compared with Sweden. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for GDP per Capita.

Topic: Income & Purchasing Power Primary indicator: GDP per Capita Year: 2025 Difference: strong

Poverty & Financial Hardship: more favorable reading for Norway

Norway has the more favorable reading on Poverty Rate compared with Sweden. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Poverty Rate.

Topic: Poverty & Financial Hardship Primary indicator: Poverty Rate Year: 2025 Difference: significant

Quality of Life in Europe: more favorable reading for Norway

Norway has the more favorable reading on Housing Space per Person compared with Sweden. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Housing Space per Person.

Topic: Quality of Life in Europe Primary indicator: Housing Space per Person Year: 2025 Difference: significant