Norway vs Sweden
Sweden has 1.9× the population of Norway: 10,596,620 vs 5,610,870, a gap of 5.0 million. Norway is growing faster (+0.69% vs +0.25% a year), adding about 38,724 people a year against +26,945. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Norway would overtake Sweden in about 146 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2171) — a projection, not a forecast. Sweden is the older society: 20.9% aged 65+ against 19.1% in Norway. Sweden is 1.7× as densely populated (25.9 vs 15.2 people per km²). GDP per capita is 1.5× higher in Norway ($94,594 vs $63,133).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Norway) and 2025 (Sweden); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Norway vs Sweden — side by side
 Norway |  Sweden | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 5,610,8702025 | 10,596,6202025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +0.69%2025 | +0.25%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 9.72024 | 9.32024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 7.92024 | 8.62024 |
| Children per woman | 1.452024 | 1.432024 |
| Life expectancy | 83.2 yrs2024 | 84.1 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 15.9%2025 | 16.7%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 19.1%2025 | 20.9%2025 |
| Density | 15.2 /km²2023 | 25.9 /km²2023 |
| Area | 370,293 km²2023 | 528,660 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 83.6%2025 | 89.1%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | +29,7982025 | +47,0792025 |
| GDP per capita | $94,5942025 | $63,1332025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #118 | #92 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.07% | 0.13% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Norway: 1.6× from 1960 to 2025; Sweden: 1.4× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Europe & Central Asia · rankings
Norway: Norway vs Sweden, Norway vs Lebanon, Norway vs Liberia, Norway vs Finland, Norway vs Central African Republic, Norway vs Oman, Norway vs Ireland.
Sweden: Sweden vs Portugal, Sweden vs Tajikistan, Sweden vs Papua New Guinea, Sweden vs Greece, Sweden vs Azerbaijan, Sweden vs Israel, Sweden vs Norway.
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