Norway vs Sweden
Norway vs Sweden: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 54% of GDP in Norway and 34.6% of GDP in Sweden, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Norway, by 19.5 percentage points, or 1.56 times that in Sweden.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Norway has been higher since 2019, when it overtook Sweden.
- In 2025, Norway ranked 71 and Sweden ranked 118 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Norway at 26% of GDP and Sweden at 30.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Norway | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 54 | 34.6 |
| 2024 | 52.8 | 33.9 |
| 2023 | 42.4 | 32.2 |
| 2022 | 34.8 | 34.4 |
| 2021 | 40.1 | 37.2 |
| 2020 | 44.3 | 40.5 |
| 2019 | 39 | 36 |
| 2018 | 38.1 | 40.2 |
| 2017 | 36.9 | 41.9 |
| 2016 | 36.7 | 43.2 |
| 2015 | 33.2 | 44.8 |
| 2014 | 28.8 | 46.1 |
| 2013 | 30.6 | 41.2 |
| 2012 | 30.2 | 38.1 |
| 2011 | 29 | 37.8 |
| 2010 | 42.1 | 38.7 |
| 2009 | 41.7 | 41.3 |
| 2008 | 46.8 | 38 |
| 2007 | 48.9 | 39.3 |
| 2006 | 52.2 | 43.9 |
| 2005 | 42.1 | 49 |
| 2004 | 43.8 | 48.7 |
| 2003 | 43.1 | 49.5 |
| 2002 | 34 | 49.9 |
| 2001 | 27.3 | 52 |
| 2000 | 28.8 | 50.4 |
| 1999 | 25.1 | 60.3 |
| 1998 | 23.8 | 65.4 |
| 1997 | 26 | 67.7 |
| 1996 | 28.6 | 68.9 |
| 1995 | 32.9 | 68.7 |
| 1994 | 51 | 68.6 |
| 1993 | 54 | 66.1 |
| 1992 | 45.3 | – |
| 1991 | 39.5 | – |
| 1990 | 29.1 | – |
| 1989 | 32.5 | – |
| 1988 | 32.6 | – |
| 1987 | 38.7 | – |
| 1986 | 46.2 | – |
| 1985 | 37 | – |
| 1984 | 35.3 | – |
| 1983 | 35.5 | – |
| 1982 | 38.6 | – |
| 1981 | 43.5 | – |
| 1980 | 47.9 | – |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Norway | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40 | 35.1 |
| 2027 | 40 | 35.5 |
| 2028 | 36.5 | 34.8 |
| 2029 | 33 | 33.6 |
| 2030 | 29.5 | 32.3 |
| 2031 | 26 | 30.7 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Norway vs Sweden
Health
- Life expectancyNorway: 83.3 years in 2023Sweden: 83.3 years in 2023
- Child mortalityNorway: 0.3 per 100 live births in 2024Sweden: 0.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityNorway: 1.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Sweden: 1.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterNorway: 98.8% in 2022Sweden: 99.7% in 2022
- DepressionNorway: 3.77% in 2017Sweden: 4.49% in 2017
- Suicide rateNorway: 9.3 per 100,000 people in 2017Sweden: 11.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationNorway: 5.52 million people in 2023Sweden: 10.6 million people in 2023
- Population growthNorway: 1.11% a year in 2023Sweden: 0.56% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateNorway: 1.41 births per woman in 2023Sweden: 1.43 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationNorway: 83.6% in 2025Sweden: 89.1% in 2025
- Median ageNorway: 39.5 years in 2023Sweden: 39.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overNorway: 18.5% in 2023Sweden: 20.5% in 2023
- Net migration rateNorway: 9.7 per 1,000 people in 2023Sweden: 5.2 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingNorway: 3.28% of GDP in 2025Sweden: 2.47% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsNorway: $16.1B in 2025Sweden: $15B in 2025
- Military spending per personNorway: $3,040 in 2025Sweden: $1,549 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingNorway: 6.7% of government spending in 2025Sweden: 5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelNorway: 25,000 people in 2020Sweden: 15,000 people in 2020
- National powerNorway: 0.14% of world capability in 2022Sweden: 0.19% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersNorway: 0.85% of the labour force in 2020Sweden: 0.27% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsNorway: 407 million TIV in 2025Sweden: 146 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsNorway: 415 million TIV in 2025Sweden: 235 million TIV in 2025