Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Zambia is 42% bigger than Sweden
Sweden: 528,860 km² (2024) · Zambia: 752,612 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Sweden: 3,218 km (2026 edition) · Zambia: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Zambia’s highest peak towers 230 m above Sweden’s
Sweden: 2,100 m (2026 edition) · Zambia: 2,330 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 32% of Zambia, versus 7.3% of Sweden
Sweden: 7.3% (2024) · Zambia: 32.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Zambia has 2.1 times as many people as Sweden
Sweden: 10.6 million (2025) · Zambia: 21.9 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
Zambia is 13% more densely populated than Sweden
Sweden: 26 per km² (2025) · Zambia: 29 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in Sweden are 12.8 cm taller than in Zambia
Sweden: 180.5 cm (2019) · Zambia: 167.6 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in Sweden are 9.3 cm taller than in Zambia
Sweden: 166.7 cm (2019) · Zambia: 157.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Sweden is 22 years older than in Zambia
Sweden: 39.9 years (2023) · Zambia: 17.5 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Zambia have 2.6 more children on average than in Sweden
Sweden: 1.43 children per woman (2024) · Zambia: 4.04 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
21% of people in Sweden are 65 or older, versus 2.0% in Zambia
Sweden: 20.9% (2025) · Zambia: 2% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Sweden hosts 3.6 times as many refugees per resident as Zambia
Sweden: 13.6 per 1,000 (2025) · Zambia: 3.8 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Sweden has produced 28.3 Nobel laureates per 10 million people, Zambia none
Sweden: 28.3 (2026) · Zambia: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
Sweden and Zambia are practically level
Sweden: 1 (2026) · Zambia: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Sweden’s economy is 23 times the size of Zambia’s
Sweden: $669 billion (2025) · Zambia: $28.9 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
Sweden produces 17 times as much per person as Zambia
Sweden: Int$72,529 (2025) · Zambia: Int$4,379 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Zambia than in Sweden (Gini 22.2 points higher)
Sweden: 29.3 (2023) · Zambia: 51.5 (2022)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
72% of people in Zambia live on less than $3 a day, versus 0.8% in Sweden
Sweden: 0.8% (2023) · Zambia: 71.7% (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 8.7% in Sweden, versus 5.9% in Zambia
Sweden: 8.7% (2025) · Zambia: 5.9% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Sweden spends 2.5% of its GDP on the military, Zambia 1.3%
Sweden: 2.5% (2025) · Zambia: 1.3% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Sweden’s central government collects 27% of GDP in tax, Zambia’s 19%
Sweden: 27.2% (2024) · Zambia: 18.8% (2024)
How expensive is it?
Sweden’s price level (US = 100) is 2.9× Zambia’s
Sweden: 87% (2025) · Zambia: 30% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Sweden spends 82 times as much on health per person as Zambia
Sweden: $6,485 (2024) · Zambia: $80 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in Sweden live 18 years longer than in Zambia
Sweden: 84.1 years (2024) · Zambia: 66.5 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Zambia is 17 times as likely to die before turning one as in Sweden
Sweden: 2 per 1,000 (2024) · Zambia: 34.6 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
Sweden has 14 times as many doctors per person as Zambia
Sweden: 4.4 per 1,000 (2021) · Zambia: 0.3 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
Sweden: 1.9 per 1,000 (2022) · Zambia: no data
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Zambia is 63% higher than in Sweden
Sweden: 12.7 per 100k (2023) · Zambia: 20.7 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
19% of adults in Sweden are obese, versus 10% in Zambia
Sweden: 18.7% (2024) · Zambia: 10.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
20% of adults in Sweden smoke, versus 14% in Zambia
Sweden: 20.3% (2024) · Zambia: 14.3% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in Sweden rate their lives 3.15 points higher than in Zambia
Sweden: 7.26 (2025) · Zambia: 4.11 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in Sweden drink 4.1 times as much alcohol as in Zambia
Sweden: 8.7 litres (2023) · Zambia: 2.1 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
Sweden has 3.9 times as much meat per person as Zambia
Sweden: 68.4 kg (2023) · Zambia: 17.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Sweden has 1,197 kcal more food per person per day than Zambia
Sweden: 3,367 kcal (2023) · Zambia: 2,170 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Workers in Zambia put in 768 more hours a year than in Sweden
Sweden: 1,432 hours (2023) · Zambia: 2,200 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in Sweden went to school 5.3 years longer than in Zambia
Sweden: 12.7 years (2023) · Zambia: 7.4 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
Sweden welcomed 9.2 times as many tourists per resident as Zambia (2019)
Sweden: 0.63 (2022) · Zambia: 0.07 (2019)
How many World Heritage sites?
Sweden has 14 more World Heritage sites than Zambia (15 against 1)
Sweden: 15 (2026) · Zambia: 1 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Sweden has won 709 Olympic medals, Zambia 3
Sweden: 709 (2026 edition) · Zambia: 3 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
96% of people in Sweden are online, versus 17% in Zambia
Sweden: 96% (2025) · Zambia: 17% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Sweden is 3.6 times as fast as in Zambia
Sweden: 248 Mbps (2026) · Zambia: 69 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in Sweden have electricity, versus 54% in Zambia
Sweden: 100% (2024) · Zambia: 53.6% (2024)
How many live in cities?
89% of people in Sweden live in cities, versus 46% in Zambia
Sweden: 89% (2025) · Zambia: 46% (2025)
How many phones per person?
Sweden has 141 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Zambia 109
Sweden: 141 (2024) · Zambia: 109 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Sweden’s railway network is 7.8 times as long as Zambia’s
Sweden: 9,714 km (2021) · Zambia: 1,248 km (2019)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from Sweden fly 126 times as many passengers per resident as those from Zambia
Sweden: 1.85 (2023) · Zambia: 0.01 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 69% of Sweden, but only 60% of Zambia
Sweden: 68.6% (2024) · Zambia: 60.5% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in Sweden emits 6.4 times as much CO₂ as someone in Zambia
Sweden: 3.6 t (2024) · Zambia: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
87% of Zambia’s electricity is renewable, versus 71% in Sweden
Sweden: 71.2% (2025) · Zambia: 87.5% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Zambia carries 4.5 times as much fine dust as in Sweden
Sweden: 5.7 µg/m³ (2024) · Zambia: 25.4 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 4.5 times as likely to be murdered in Zambia as in Sweden
Sweden: 1.1 per 100k (2023) · Zambia: 5.2 per 100k (2015)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Zambia are 7.4 times as deadly as in Sweden
Sweden: 3.4 per 100k (2023) · Zambia: 25.2 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Zambia is on average 18.0 °C warmer than Sweden
Sweden: 4.3°C (2016–2025 avg) · Zambia: 22.3°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Zambia gets 39% more rain than Sweden
Sweden: 801 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Zambia: 1,116 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is Sweden bigger than Zambia?
Zambia is larger. Zambia is 42% bigger than Sweden.
Which has more people, Sweden or Zambia?
Zambia has 2.1 times as many people as Sweden (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, Sweden or Zambia?
People in Sweden live 18 years longer than in Zambia. Life expectancy at birth is 84.1 years in Sweden and 66.5 in Zambia.
Are people taller in Sweden or Zambia?
Men in Sweden are 12.8 cm taller than in Zambia (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
