Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Sweden fits inside Ethiopia 2.1 times
Ethiopia: 1,129,820 km² (2024) · Sweden: 528,860 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Ethiopia: 0 km (2026 edition) · Sweden: 3,218 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Ethiopia’s highest peak towers 2,450 m above Sweden’s
Ethiopia: 4,550 m (2026 edition) · Sweden: 2,100 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 34% of Ethiopia, versus 7.3% of Sweden
Ethiopia: 34.3% (2024) · Sweden: 7.3% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Ethiopia has 13 times as many people as Sweden
Ethiopia: 135 million (2025) · Sweden: 10.6 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Ethiopia is 4.6 times as densely populated as Sweden
Ethiopia: 121 per km² (2025) · Sweden: 26 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Sweden are 11.6 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 168.8 cm (2019) · Sweden: 180.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Sweden are 9.5 cm taller than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 157.2 cm (2019) · Sweden: 166.7 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sweden is 21 years older than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 18.7 years (2023) · Sweden: 39.9 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Ethiopia have 2.5 more children on average than in Sweden
Ethiopia: 3.91 children per woman (2024) · Sweden: 1.43 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
21% of people in Sweden are 65 or older, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Sweden: 20.9% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Sweden hosts 82% more refugees per resident than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 7.5 per 1,000 (2025) · Sweden: 13.6 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Sweden has produced 28.3 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Ethiopia 0.1
Ethiopia: 0.1 (2026) · Sweden: 28.3 (2026)
How many official languages?
Ethiopia and Sweden are practically level
Ethiopia: 1 (2026) · Sweden: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Sweden’s economy is 5.3 times the size of Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: $126 billion (2025) · Sweden: $669 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Sweden produces 20 times as much per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Int$3,622 (2025) · Sweden: Int$72,529 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Ethiopia than in Sweden (Gini 1.8 points higher)
Ethiopia: 31.1 (2021) · Sweden: 29.3 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
39% of people in Ethiopia live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.8% in Sweden
Ethiopia: 38.6% (2021) · Sweden: 0.8% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.7% in Sweden, versus 3.3% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.3% (2025) · Sweden: 8.7% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sweden spends 2.5% of its GDP on the military, Ethiopia 0.5%
Ethiopia: 0.5% (2025) · Sweden: 2.5% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Sweden’s central government collects 27% of GDP in tax, Ethiopia’s 3.4%
Ethiopia: 3.4% (2024) · Sweden: 27.2% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Sweden’s price level (US = 100) is 3.4× Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: 26% (2025) · Sweden: 87% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Sweden spends 186 times as much on health per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: $35 (2023) · Sweden: $6,485 (2024)
How long do people live?
People in Sweden live 16 years longer than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 67.6 years (2024) · Sweden: 84.1 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Ethiopia is 17 times as likely to die before turning one as in Sweden
Ethiopia: 34.5 per 1,000 (2024) · Sweden: 2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Sweden has 31 times as many doctors per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 per 1,000 (2023) · Sweden: 4.4 per 1,000 (2021)
How many hospital beds are there?
Sweden has 5.8 times as many hospital beds per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.3 per 1,000 (2016) · Sweden: 1.9 per 1,000 (2022)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Ethiopia is 13% higher than in Sweden
Ethiopia: 14.4 per 100k (2023) · Sweden: 12.7 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
19% of adults in Sweden are obese, versus 2.5% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.5% (2024) · Sweden: 18.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
20% of adults in Sweden smoke, versus 5.2% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 5.2% (2024) · Sweden: 20.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Sweden rate their lives 3.27 points higher than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 3.99 (2025) · Sweden: 7.26 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sweden drink 3.8 times as much alcohol as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.3 litres (2023) · Sweden: 8.7 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Sweden has 9.9 times as much meat per person as Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 6.9 kg (2023) · Sweden: 68.4 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Sweden has 808 kcal more food per person per day than Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2,558 kcal (2023) · Sweden: 3,367 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Ethiopia put in 168 more hours a year than in Sweden
Ethiopia: 1,599 hours (2023) · Sweden: 1,432 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sweden went to school 10 years longer than in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 2.4 years (2023) · Sweden: 12.7 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Sweden welcomed 156 times as many tourists per resident as Ethiopia (2019)
Ethiopia: 0.0041 (2024) · Sweden: 0.63 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Sweden has 3 more World Heritage sites than Ethiopia (15 against 12)
Ethiopia: 12 (2026) · Sweden: 15 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Sweden has won 709 Olympic medals, Ethiopia 62
Ethiopia: 62 (2026 edition) · Sweden: 709 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Sweden are online, versus 22% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22% (2024) · Sweden: 96% (2025)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Sweden is 12 times as fast as in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 22 Mbps (2026) · Sweden: 248 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Sweden have electricity, versus 57% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 56.6% (2024) · Sweden: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
89% of people in Sweden live in cities, versus 24% in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 24% (2025) · Sweden: 89% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sweden has 141 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ethiopia 65
Ethiopia: 65 (2024) · Sweden: 141 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Sweden’s railway network is 13 times as long as Ethiopia’s
Ethiopia: 754 km (2018) · Sweden: 9,714 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Sweden fly 16 times as many passengers per resident as those from Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.11 (2023) · Sweden: 1.85 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 69% of Sweden, but only 24% of Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 23.8% (2024) · Sweden: 68.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Sweden emits 27 times as much CO₂ as someone in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: 0.1 t (2024) · Sweden: 3.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Ethiopia’s electricity is renewable, versus 71% in Sweden
Ethiopia: 100% (2025) · Sweden: 71.2% (2025)
How clean is the air?
The air in Ethiopia carries 3.5 times as much fine dust as in Sweden
Ethiopia: 20.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Sweden: 5.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Ethiopia: no data · Sweden: 1.1 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Ethiopia are 7 times as deadly as in Sweden
Ethiopia: 23.9 per 100k (2023) · Sweden: 3.4 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Ethiopia is on average 19.6 °C warmer than Sweden
Ethiopia: 23.9°C (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 4.3°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Ethiopia gets 20% more rain than Sweden
Ethiopia: 962 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Sweden: 801 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Ethiopia bigger than Sweden?
Ethiopia is larger. Sweden fits inside Ethiopia 2.1 times.
Which has more people, Ethiopia or Sweden?
Ethiopia has 13 times as many people as Sweden (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Ethiopia or Sweden?
People in Sweden live 16 years longer than in Ethiopia. Life expectancy at birth is 67.6 years in Ethiopia and 84.1 in Sweden.
Are people taller in Ethiopia or Sweden?
Men in Sweden are 11.6 cm taller than in Ethiopia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
