Switzerland vs. Sweden
Economy
Switzerland | Sweden | |
---|---|---|
Economy - overview | Switzerland, a country that espouses neutrality, is a prosperous and modern market economy with low unemployment, a highly skilled labor force, and a per capita GDP among the highest in the world. Switzerland's economy benefits from a highly developed service sector, led by financial services, and a manufacturing industry that specializes in high-technology, knowledge-based production. Its economic and political stability, transparent legal system, exceptional infrastructure, efficient capital markets, and low corporate tax rates also make Switzerland one of the world's most competitive economies. The Swiss have brought their economic practices largely into conformity with the EU's to gain access to the Union's Single Market and enhance the country's international competitiveness. Some trade protectionism remains, however, particularly for its small agricultural sector. The fate of the Swiss economy is tightly linked to that of its neighbors in the euro zone, which purchases half of Swiss exports. The global financial crisis of 2008 and resulting economic downturn in 2009 stalled demand for Swiss exports and put Switzerland into a recession. During this period, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) implemented a zero-interest rate policy to boost the economy, as well as to prevent appreciation of the franc, and Switzerland's economy began to recover in 2010. The sovereign debt crises unfolding in neighboring euro-zone countries, however, coupled with economic instability in Russia and other Eastern European economies drove up demand for the Swiss franc by investors seeking a safehaven currency. In January 2015, the SNB abandoned the Swiss franc's peg to the euro, roiling global currency markets and making active SNB intervention a necessary hallmark of present-day Swiss monetary policy. The independent SNB has upheld its zero interest rate policy and conducted major market interventions to prevent further appreciation of the Swiss franc, but parliamentarians have urged it to do more to weaken the currency. The franc's strength has made Swiss exports less competitive and weakened the country's growth outlook; GDP growth fell below 2% per year from 2011 through 2017. In recent years, Switzerland has responded to increasing pressure from neighboring countries and trading partners to reform its banking secrecy laws, by agreeing to conform to OECD regulations on administrative assistance in tax matters, including tax evasion. The Swiss Government has also renegotiated its double taxation agreements with numerous countries, including the US, to incorporate OECD standards. | Sweden's small, open, and competitive economy has been thriving and Sweden has achieved an enviable standard of living with its combination of free-market capitalism and extensive welfare benefits. Sweden remains outside the euro zone largely out of concern that joining the European Economic and Monetary Union would diminish the country's sovereignty over its welfare system.
Timber, hydropower, and iron ore constitute the resource base of a manufacturing economy that relies heavily on foreign trade. Exports, including engines and other machines, motor vehicles, and telecommunications equipment, account for more than 44% of GDP. Sweden enjoys a current account surplus of about 5% of GDP, which is one of the highest margins in Europe.
GDP grew an estimated 3.3% in 2016 and 2017 driven largely by investment in the construction sector. Swedish economists expect economic growth to ease slightly in the coming years as this investment subsides. Global economic growth boosted exports of Swedish manufactures further, helping drive domestic economic growth in 2017. The Central Bank is keeping an eye on deflationary pressures and bank observers expect it to maintain an expansionary monetary policy in 2018. Swedish prices and wages have grown only slightly over the past few years, helping to support the country's competitiveness.
In the short and medium term, Sweden's economic challenges include providing affordable housing and successfully integrating migrants into the labor market. |
GDP (purchasing power parity) | $588.472 billion (2019 est.) $583.056 billion (2018 est.) $567.448 billion (2017 est.) note: data are in 2010 dollars | $547.595 billion (2019 est.) $540.776 billion (2018 est.) $530.433 billion (2017 est.) note: data are in 2010 dollars |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.11% (2019 est.) 3.04% (2018 est.) 1.65% (2017 est.) | 1.29% (2019 est.) 2.06% (2018 est.) 2.82% (2017 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP) | $68,628 (2019 est.) $68,479 (2018 est.) $67,139 (2017 est.) note: data are in 2010 dollars | $53,240 (2019 est.) $53,146 (2018 est.) $52,739 (2017 est.) note: data are in 2010 dollars |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.7% (2017 est.) industry: 25.6% (2017 est.) services: 73.7% (2017 est.) | agriculture: 1.6% (2017 est.) industry: 33% (2017 est.) services: 65.4% (2017 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 16% (2018 est.) | 17.1% (2018 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 7.5% highest 10%: 19% (2007) | lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24% (2012) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (2019 est.) 0.9% (2018 est.) 0.5% (2017 est.) | 1.7% (2019 est.) 1.9% (2018 est.) 1.7% (2017 est.) |
Labor force | 5.067 million (2020 est.) | 5.029 million (2020 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3.3% industry: 19.8% services: 76.9% (2015) | agriculture: 2% industry: 12% services: 86% (2014 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2.31% (2019 est.) 2.55% (2018 est.) | 6.78% (2019 est.) 6.33% (2018 est.) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index | 32.7 (2017 est.) 33.1 (1992) | 28.8 (2017 est.) 25 (1992) |
Budget | revenues: 242.1 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 234.4 billion (2017 est.) note: includes federal, cantonal, and municipal budgets | revenues: 271.2 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 264.4 billion (2017 est.) |
Industries | machinery, chemicals, watches, textiles, precision instruments, tourism, banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals | iron and steel, precision equipment (bearings, radio and telephone parts, armaments), wood pulp and paper products, processed foods, motor vehicles |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.4% (2017 est.) | 4.1% (2017 est.) |
Agriculture - products | milk, sugar beet, wheat, potatoes, pork, barley, apples, maize, beef, grapes | wheat, milk, sugar beet, barley, potatoes, oats, rapeseed, pork, rye, triticale |
Exports | $443.997 billion (2019 est.) $444.605 billion (2018 est.) $430.129 billion (2017 est.) note: trade data exclude trade with Switzerland | $302.65 billion (2019 est.) $291.846 billion (2018 est.) $279.461 billion (2017 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gold, packaged medicines, medical cultures/vaccines, watches, jewelry (2019) | cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, lumber (2019) |
Exports - partners | Germany 16%, United States 14%, United Kingdom 8%, China 7%, France 6%, India 6%, Italy 5% (2019) | Germany 10%, Norway 9%, United States 8%, Denmark 7%, Finland 6%, United Kingdom 5%, Netherlands 5%, China 5% (2019) |
Imports | $344.477 billion (2019 est.) $344.557 billion (2018 est.) $343.367 billion (2017 est.) | $276.622 billion (2019 est.) $273.125 billion (2018 est.) $262.597 billion (2017 est.) |
Imports - commodities | gold, packaged medicines, jewelry, cars, medical cultures/vaccines (2019) | cars and vehicle parts, crude petroleum, refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, computers (2019) |
Imports - partners | Germany 21%, Italy 8%, United States 6%, France 6%, United Kingdom 5%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019) | Germany 18%, Netherlands 9%, Denmark 7%, Norway 7%, China 6%, Finland 5%, Belgium 5%, Poland 5% (2019) |
Debt - external | $1,909,446,000,000 (2019 est.) $1,930,819,000,000 (2018 est.) | $911.317 billion (2019 est.) $1,012,171,000,000 (2018 est.) |
Exchange rates | Swiss francs (CHF) per US dollar - 0.88995 (2020 est.) 0.98835 (2019 est.) 0.99195 (2018 est.) 0.9627 (2014 est.) 0.9152 (2013 est.) | Swedish kronor (SEK) per US dollar - 8.49085 (2020 est.) 9.52915 (2019 est.) 9.01895 (2018 est.) 8.4335 (2014 est.) 6.8612 (2013 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Public debt | 41.8% of GDP (2017 est.) 41.8% of GDP (2016 est.) note: general government gross debt; gross debt consists of all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest and/or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future; includes debt liabilities in the form of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), currency and deposits, debt securities, loans, insurance, pensions and standardized guarantee schemes, and other accounts payable; all liabilities in the GFSM (Government Financial Systems Manual) 2001 system are debt, except for equity and investment fund shares and financial derivatives and employee stock options | 40.8% of GDP (2017 est.) 42.3% of GDP (2016 est.) note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $811.2 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $679.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.) | $62.22 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $59.39 billion (31 December 2016 est.) |
Current Account Balance | $79.937 billion (2019 est.) $63.273 billion (2018 est.) | $22.339 billion (2019 est.) $13.902 billion (2018 est.) |
GDP (official exchange rate) | $731.502 billion (2019 est.) | $531.35 billion (2019 est.) |
Credit ratings | Fitch rating: AAA (2000) Moody's rating: Aaa (1982) Standard & Poors rating: AAA (1988) | Fitch rating: AAA (2004) Moody's rating: Aaa (2002) Standard & Poors rating: AAA (2004) |
Ease of Doing Business Index scores | Overall score: 76.6 (2020) Starting a Business score: 88.4 (2020) Trading score: 96.1 (2020) Enforcement score: 64.1 (2020) | Overall score: 82 (2020) Starting a Business score: 93.1 (2020) Trading score: 98 (2020) Enforcement score: 67.6 (2020) |
Taxes and other revenues | 35.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.) | 50.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | 1.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.) | 1.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.) |
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 8% male: 8.8% female: 7.2% (2019 est.) | total: 20.1% male: 20.5% female: 19.7% (2019 est.) |
GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 53.7% (2017 est.) government consumption: 12% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 24.5% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: -1.4% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 65.1% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -54% (2017 est.) | household consumption: 44.1% (2017 est.) government consumption: 26% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 24.9% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 0.8% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 45.3% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -41.1% (2017 est.) |
Gross national saving | 35.3% of GDP (2019 est.) 33.8% of GDP (2018 est.) 30.6% of GDP (2017 est.) | 29.4% of GDP (2019 est.) 28.5% of GDP (2018 est.) 28.4% of GDP (2017 est.) |
Source: CIA Factbook