# Finland and Sweden compared Finland and Sweden side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 10 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/fin-vs-swe Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Finland: 6 December 1917 — Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire - Sweden: 6 June 1523 — Gustav Vasa is elected king and Sweden leaves the Kalmar Union ## Economy | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $299 B | 2024 | $604 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $53,150 | 2024 | $57,117 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 0.4% | 2024 | 0.8% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.6% | 2024 | 2.8% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 83.5% | 2024 | 105.9% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 5.6 m | 2024 | 11 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.3 yrs | 2024 | 84.1 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 74.3% | 2024 | 88.9% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.3 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 89.3 | 2024 | 87.1 | 2024 | | Political stability | 80.1 | 2024 | 76.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 86.7 | 2024 | 85.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 85.8 | 2024 | 81.2 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 91.8 | 2024 | 86.7 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 92.2 | 2024 | 87.7 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 10.5% | 2023 | 11.2% | 2024 | | Physicians | 3.61 | 2021 | 4.41 | 2021 | | Under-5 mortality | 2.4 | 2024 | 2.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 94.0% | 2024 | 93.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.6% | 2024 | 99.8% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 6.4% | 2022 | 7.3% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 98.9% | 2024 | 114.9% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 142.4% | 2024 | 132.0% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 110.3% | 2024 | 84.0% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.1% | 2023 | 3.6% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 8,315 | 2023 | 8,911 | 2023 | | Internet users | 93.7% | 2024 | 95.8% | 2025 | | Mobile subscriptions | 126 | 2024 | 141 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 9.3% | 2024 | 17.7% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 303,960 km² | 2023 | 407,270 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 73.7% | 2023 | 68.7% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 7.4% | 2023 | 7.3% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 5.5 | 2024 | 3.6 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 50.2% | 2021 | 57.9% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.4% | 2021 | 1.2% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 1.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | | Phosphate rock | 980 kt | 2025 | — | — | | Iron ore | — | — | 26 Mt | 2025 | | Zinc (mined) | — | — | 230 kt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Finland | Observed | Sweden | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.3% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $7.0 B | 2024 | $12 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 22,000 | 2020 | 15,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/FIN.md and https://terralore.co/country/SWE.md. ## Entangled histories (10 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 13th century: **Turku and the Christianization of Finland** — Carried by the Swedish crusades, Latin Christianity spread through Finland; Turku (Abo), founded in the thirteenth century, became the principal town and episcopal seat of the eastern realm. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: Finland: Finland under Swedish rule; Main outlines of Finnish history) - 1323: **Treaty of Noteborg** — The peace of Noteborg fixed an approximate frontier between the Swedish and Russian spheres in Karelia, assigning Finland to Sweden's orbit and splitting the Karelians between Catholic west and Orthodox east. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: Main outlines of Finnish history; Finland: Finland under Swedish rule) - 30 Aug 1721: **Treaty of Nystad ends the empire** — The peace ending the Great Northern War ceded Sweden's Baltic provinces — Estonia, Livonia, Ingria and part of Karelia — to Russia, ending the age of greatness, though Finland was restored to Sweden. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: Treaty of Nystad (1721); Battle of Poltava) - 1808–1809: **The Finnish War and the end of Swedish rule** — Russia conquered Finland from Sweden in the war of 1808-09, ending some six centuries during which Finland had formed the eastern half of the Kingdom of Sweden. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: Finland: Finland under Swedish rule; History of Finland) - 1809: **Finland becomes an autonomous Grand Duchy** — By the Treaty of Fredrikshamn Sweden ceded Finland to Russia; it became the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, joined to the empire through the tsar, who reigned as Grand Duke, and kept its own laws and religion. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: History of Finland; History of Finland) - 17 Sep 1809: **Treaty of Fredrikshamn: the loss of Finland** — Ending the Finnish War, the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Hamina) ceded the whole of Finland and the Åland Islands to Russia, stripping Sweden of about a third of its territory and people. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: Treaty of Hamina (Fredrikshamn, 1809); Sweden: History) - 1920: **Aland Autonomy Act** — Finland granted the Swedish-speaking Aland Islands wide-ranging cultural and political autonomy, anticipating the conditions the League of Nations would attach to its sovereignty the following year. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: The special status of the Aland Islands; The Aland example: Autonomy protects a minority) - 24 Jun 1921: **League of Nations awards Aland to Finland** — The Council of the League of Nations awarded sovereignty over the Aland Islands to Finland, while obliging it to guarantee the islanders' Swedish language, culture and self-government, a landmark of peaceful conflict resolution. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: The special status of the Aland Islands; The Aland example: Autonomy protects a minority; The Aland Islands Solution: a precedent for successful international disputes settlement) - 1 Jan 1995: **Finland joins the European Union** — After a 1994 referendum in which about 57 per cent voted yes, Finland joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 with Sweden and Austria, and later adopted the euro. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: Main outlines of Finnish history; History of Finland) - May 2022: **Finland applies to join NATO** — Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 reversed Finnish opinion on military alignment; together with Sweden, Finland applied to join NATO, abandoning its long-standing non-alignment. (from the Finland chronicle; sources: Finland joins NATO as 31st Ally; History of Finland) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/FIN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SWE/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Finland and Sweden compared", terralore.co/compare/fin-vs-swe, retrieved .