Side by side
Norway and Sweden compared
Two sourced records set beside each other — the figures each nation publishes, and the events each chronicle records of the other. Compared, never graded.
872 (traditional) — Harald Fairhair wins at Hafrsfjord and becomes king over the whole country
6 June 1523 — Gustav Vasa is elected king and Sweden leaves the Kalmar Union
- Shared indicators
- 42
- Domains
- 9
- Crossed events
- 10
- Data through
- 2026-08-10
The figures, side by side
Each figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two dossiers. Every value shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation. A “—” is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Metric names link to the world ranking; values open the figure on its own dossier.
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Entangled histories
10 events in which either nation’s sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle; nothing here was written for this page.
- Jun 1397
Formation of the Kalmar Union
Queen Margaret united Denmark, Norway and Sweden under one monarch, her grandnephew Erik of Pomerania, creating a Scandinavian union intended to resist German power but soon dominated by Denmark.
Politics & Power · from the Sweden chronicle · The Kalmar Union, the Bloodbath and the War of Liberation · Kalmar Union, Queen Margaret and the Union of Kalmar
- 1397
The Kalmar Union
Under Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Denmark, Norway and Sweden were united in the Kalmar Union, with Erik of Pomerania crowned common king; Norway became the weakest of the three partners.
Politics & Power · from the Norway chronicle · The Black Death, the Kalmar Union and the Danish Centuries · Kalmarunionen
- 1537
Norway reduced to a Danish province
After Sweden left the union, Norway remained tied to Denmark and was governed from Copenhagen, becoming in effect a Danish province while keeping its own laws and church.
Politics & Power · from the Norway chronicle · The Black Death, the Kalmar Union and the Danish Centuries · Kalmarunionen, Norway: The Treaty of Kiel
- 1810
Bernadotte chosen as heir
The French marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Swedish crown prince, founding the Bernadotte dynasty; he ruled from 1818 as Charles XIV John, king of Sweden and Norway.
Politics & Power · from the Sweden chronicle · Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality · Treaty of Kiel, Sweden: History
- 14 Jan 1814
The Treaty of Kiel
Defeated in the Napoleonic Wars, Denmark-Norway was forced to cede Norway: by the Treaty of Kiel the Danish king renounced all claims to Norway in favour of the king of Sweden.
Politics & Power · from the Norway chronicle · The Black Death, the Kalmar Union and the Danish Centuries · Kieltraktaten, Treaty of Kiel, Norway: The Treaty of Kiel
- 14 Jan 1814
Treaty of Kiel and the union with Norway
Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden by the Treaty of Kiel; Norwegian resistance produced not annexation but a personal union of the two kingdoms under one crown, lasting until 1905.
Politics & Power · from the Sweden chronicle · Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality · Treaty of Kiel, Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905
- 4 Nov 1814
Union with Sweden
After a short war, Sweden accepted the Eidsvoll constitution and the Storting voted to enter a personal union with Sweden under a shared king, with Norway keeping its parliament and laws.
Politics & Power · from the Norway chronicle · Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening · The story of 1814 in 1-2-3, Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905
- 1884
Parliamentarism and the consular dispute
The introduction of parliamentary government strengthened the Storting, while the conflict with Sweden over Norway's right to its own consular service drove the two countries apart.
Politics & Power · from the Norway chronicle · Eidsvoll, the Union with Sweden and National Awakening · Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905
- 7 Jun 1905
Dissolution of the union with Sweden
The Storting declared the union with Sweden dissolved; confirmed by referendum and settled peacefully at Karlstad, it made Norway a fully sovereign state for the first time in centuries.
Independence · from the Norway chronicle · Independence, Polar Sovereignty and the Second World War · Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905, Haakon VII
- 1905
Peaceful dissolution of the union with Norway
After Norway's parliament declared the union dissolved, Sweden agreed at Karlstad to a peaceful separation, recognising Norwegian independence without war in a settlement held up as a diplomatic model.
Independence · from the Sweden chronicle · Loss of Finland, Union with Norway and the Birth of Neutrality · Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905