Sweden vs Switzerland: Share of population living in cities
Sweden
32.0%
in 2020
Switzerland
31.7%
in 2020
Sweden rank
131st
Switzerland rank
134th
Share of population living in cities over time
- Sweden
- Switzerland
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 32.0% against 31.7% in Switzerland, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Sweden ahead.
Sweden ranks 131st and Switzerland ranks 134th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Sweden averaged higher in 5 and Switzerland in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Sweden | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 18.6% | 16.8% | 1.8% | Sweden |
| 1960s | 21.3% | 18.0% | 3.3% | Sweden |
| 1970s | 23.6% | 22.3% | 1.3% | Sweden |
| 1980s | 23.1% | 23.0% | 0.1% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 23.3% | 26.7% | 3.4% | Switzerland |
| 2000s | 25.8% | 27.6% | 1.8% | Switzerland |
| 2010s | 28.6% | 28.9% | 0.3% | Switzerland |
| 2020s | 32.0% | 31.7% | 0.3% | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, Sweden or Switzerland?
- Sweden, at 32.0% against 31.7% in Switzerland as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between Sweden and Switzerland?
- 0.3%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Sweden and Switzerland?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Sweden and Switzerland rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- Sweden ranks 131st and Switzerland ranks 134th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in cities. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.