# Norway and Sweden compared

Norway 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/nor-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

- Norway: 872 (traditional) — Harald Fairhair wins at Hafrsfjord and becomes king over the whole country
- Sweden: 6 June 1523 — Gustav Vasa is elected king and Sweden leaves the Kalmar Union

## Economy

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $484 B | 2024 | $604 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $86,785 | 2024 | $57,117 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 2.1% | 2024 | 0.8% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.1% | 2024 | 2.8% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 81.4% | 2024 | 105.9% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 5.6 m | 2024 | 11 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 83.2 yrs | 2024 | 84.1 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 83.3% | 2024 | 88.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.4 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 90.6 | 2024 | 87.1 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 81.3 | 2024 | 76.2 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 87.2 | 2024 | 85.8 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 81.2 | 2024 | 81.2 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 90.5 | 2024 | 86.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 87.5 | 2024 | 87.7 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 9.4% | 2023 | 11.2% | 2024 |
| Physicians | 4.97 | 2023 | 4.41 | 2021 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.5 | 2024 | 2.4 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 96.0% | 2024 | 93.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 99.1% | 2024 | 99.8% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education spending | 5.4% | 2022 | 7.3% | 2022 |
| Primary enrolment | 98.5% | 2024 | 114.9% | 2024 |
| Secondary enrolment | 116.3% | 2024 | 132.0% | 2024 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 95.5% | 2024 | 84.0% | 2024 |

## Technology

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.9% | 2023 | 3.6% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 7,451 | 2023 | 8,911 | 2023 |
| Internet users | 99.0% | 2024 | 95.8% | 2025 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 109 | 2024 | 141 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 25.4% | 2024 | 17.7% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 364,270 km² | 2023 | 407,270 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 33.5% | 2023 | 68.7% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 2.7% | 2023 | 7.3% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.2 | 2024 | 3.6 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 61.4% | 2021 | 57.9% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 10.0% | 2021 | 1.2% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 6.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 1.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.2% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Iron ore | — | — | 26 Mt | 2025 |
| Zinc (mined) | — | — | 230 kt | 2025 |

## Military

| Metric | Norway | Observed | Sweden | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.1% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $10 B | 2024 | $12 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 25,000 | 2020 | 15,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/NOR.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.

- 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. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Norway chronicle; sources: 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. (from the Sweden chronicle; sources: Norway: The union conflict, 1859–1905)

## 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
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex
- 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

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/NOR/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SWE/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Norway and Sweden compared", terralore.co/compare/nor-vs-swe, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.