How’s Life?

Sweden performs very well in many measures of well-being relative to most other countries in the Better Life Index. Sweden ranks above the average in all dimensions: environmental quality, civic engagement, education and skills, work-life balance, health status, subjective well-being, income and wealth, jobs and earnings, housing, personal safety, and social connections. These rankings are based on available selected data.

Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards. In Sweden, the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 31 287 a year, lower than the OECD average of USD 33 604 a year. There is a considerable gap between the richest and poorest – the top 20% of the population earn four times as much as the bottom 20%.

In terms of employment, 77% of people aged 15 to 64 in Sweden have a paid job, above the OECD employment average of 68%. Some 78% of men are in paid work, compared with 75% of women. In Sweden, only 1% of employees work very long hours, one of the lowest rates in the OECD where the average is 11%. Nearly 2% of men work very long hours, compared with almost 1% of women.

Good education and skills are important requisites for finding a job. In Sweden, 83% of adults aged 25-64 have completed upper secondary education, higher than the OECD average of 78%. This is truer of women than men, as 82% of men have successfully completed high-school compared with 84% of women. In terms of the quality of the educational system, the average student scored 496 in reading literacy, maths and science in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), above the OECD average of 486. On average in Sweden, girls outperformed boys by 16 points, much more than the average OECD gap of 2 points.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth in Sweden is 82 years, two years higher than the OECD average of 80 years. Life expectancy for women is 84 years, compared with 81 for men. The level of atmospheric PM2.5 – tiny air pollutant particles small enough to enter and cause damage to the lungs – is 6.2 micrograms per cubic meter, considerably lower than the OECD average of 13.9 micrograms per cubic meter. Sweden also does well in terms of water quality, as 96% of people say they are satisfied with the quality of their water, compared with an OECD average of 81%.

Concerning the public sphere, there is a strong sense of community and high levels of civic participation in Sweden, where 91 of people believe that they know someone they could rely on in time of need, more than the OECD average of 89%. Voter turnout, a measure of citizens' participation in the political process, was 86% during recent elections, higher than the OECD average of 68%. Voter turnout for the top 20% of the population is an estimated 84% and for the bottom 20% it is an estimated 78%, much lower than the OECD average gap of 13 percentage points, and suggests there is broad social inclusion in Sweden's democratic institutions.

In general, Swedes are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average. When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Swedes gave it a 7.3 grade on average, higher than the OECD average of 6.5.

For more information on estimates and years of reference, see FAQ section and BLI database.