This country comparison is a concise, tabular overview of numerous data from our respective country pages for Switzerland and Norway. For further information and explanations, we provide many details per country that go far beyond this comparison. For example, there are separate sub-pages for both countries on economy, climate, energy, refugees, inflation, population and much more.
In addition, we offer several international comparisons on individual topics, which are also linked on this page.
See also: Explanations and country ranking on quality of life
In addition, we offer several international comparisons on individual topics, which are also linked on this page.
General information
| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Region: | Western Europe | Northern Europe |
| Area: | 41,290 km² | 385,203 km² |
| Official language: | German | Norwegian |
| Government form: | Federal republic | Parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
| Independent since: | 1499 AD | 1905 AD |
| Capital: | Bern | Oslo |
Population
Details for Switzerland and Norway| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Population: | 8,698,000 | 5,408,000 |
| Inhabitants/km²: | 210.6 | 14.0 |
| Life expectancy males: | Ø 81 years | Ø 82 years |
| Life expectancy females: | Ø 85 years | Ø 85 years |
| Average age: | Ø 42.7 years | Ø 39.5 years |
| Birthrate: | 9.90 ‰ | 9.80 ‰ |
| Deathrate: | 8.80 ‰ | 7.50 ‰ |
| Migrationrate: | 4.52 ‰ | 3.92 ‰ |
Quality of life
Values from 0 (bad) to 100 (very good)See also: Explanations and country ranking on quality of life
| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Political stability: | 91 | 88 |
| Civil rights: | 99 | 99 |
| Health: | 93 | 90 |
| Climate: | 34 | 17 |
| Cost of Living: | 44 | 42 |
| Popularity: | 40 | 37 |
Economy
Details for Switzerland and Norway| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Currency: | Swiss Franc (1 CHF = 100 Rappen) | Norwegian Krone (1 NOK =100 Øre) |
| Unemployment rate: | 5.3 % | 5.0 % |
| Inflation rate: | 0.58 % | 3.48 % |
| Cost of Living: (USA = 100%) | 142.40 % | 124.56 % |
| Commercial taxes and contributions: | 28.80 % | 36.20 % |
| Average income: | 90,360 US$ | 84,090 US$ |
| Corruption index: | 16 (good) | 15 (good) |
| CHE: total | per 1000 inh. | NOR: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross domestic product: | 812,867 M US$ | 93.46 M US$ | 482,437 M US$ | 89.20 M US$ |
| Gross national product: | 785,904 M US$ | 90.36 M US$ | 454,779 M US$ | 84.09 M US$ |
| Exported goods: | 567,175 M US$ | 65.21 M US$ | 199,165 M US$ | 36.83 M US$ |
| Imported goods: | 462,337 M US$ | 53.16 M US$ | 139,552 M US$ | 25.80 M US$ |
Infrastructure
Details for Switzerland and Norway| CHE: total | per 1000 inh. | NOR: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roadways: | 71,557 km | 8.23 km | 94,902 km | 17.55 km |
| Railways: | 3,236 km | 0.37 km | 4,200 km | 0.78 km |
| Waterways: | 1,292 km | 0.15 km | 1,577 km | 0.29 km |
| Harbours: | 28 | 0.0032 | 1,644 | 0.3040 |
| Passenger airports: | 5 | 0.0006 | 49 | 0.0091 |
Energy balance
Details for Switzerland and Norway| CHE: total | per 1000 inh. | NOR: total | per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy consumption: | 58.46 bn kWh | 6.72 m kWh | 122.20 bn kWh | 22.59 m kWh |
| Energy production: | 59.01 bn kWh | 6.78 m kWh | 147.70 bn kWh | 27.31 m kWh |
| Energy export: | 30.17 bn kWh | 3.47 m kWh | 15.53 bn kWh | 2.87 m kWh |
| Energy imports: | 34.10 bn kWh | 3.92 m kWh | 5.74 bn kWh | 1.06 m kWh |
| CO2 emissions: | 37.38 m t | 4,297.68 t | 35.95 m t | 6,647.17 t |
Telecommunication
Details for Switzerland and Norway| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| International dialing: | +41 | +47 |
| Internet domain: | .ch | .no |
| CHE total | CHE per 1000 inh. | NOR total | NOR per 1000 inh. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landlines: | 3,071,296 | 353 | 348,808 | 64 |
| Mobile cellulars: | 11,017,913 | 1267 | 5,825,584 | 1077 |
| Internet server: | 5,301,000 | 609 | 3,588,000 | 663 |
| Internet users: | 8,193,255 | 942 | 5,246,070 | 970 |
| Broadband Internet: | 4,028,238 | 463 | 2,387,661 | 441 |
Healthcare system
Details for Switzerland and Norway| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital beds per 1000 inh.: | 4.63 | 3.53 |
| Physicians per 1000 inh.: | 4.24 | 4.63 |
| Diabetes: | 5.7 % | 5.3 % |
| HIV: | 0.05 % | 0.02 % |
| Tuberculosis: | 0.05 ‰ | 0.03 ‰ |
| Tuberculosis cure rate: | 68.0 % | 85.0 % |
| Smokers: | 25.5 % | 16.2 % |
Climate
We also provide a more detailed climate comparison of both countries.The data for each country can be found here: Switzerland and Norway
| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime temperatures: | 15.1 °C | 8.9 °C |
| Nighttime temperatures: | 6.3 °C | 2.0 °C |
| Water temperature: | 10.8 °C | 8.8 °C |
| Rel. humidity: | 76 % | 78 % |
| Rain days: | 9.5 | 11.5 |
| Sunshine hours per day: | 5.2 | 4.2 |
Native languages
| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Norwegian: | n/a | 96.6 % |
| German: | 62.5 % | n/a |
| French: | 21.3 % | n/a |
| Italian: | 8.3 % | n/a |
| Croatian: | 1.4 % | n/a |
| Albanian: | 1.3 % | n/a |
| Portuguese: | 1.2 % | n/a |
| Spanish: | 1.1 % | n/a |
| Romansh: | 0.5 % | n/a |
| English: | n/a | 0.5 % |
| Danish: | n/a | 0.4 % |
| Swedish: | n/a | 0.3 % |
| other: | 2.4 % | 2.2 % |
Religions
| Switzerland | Norway | |
|---|---|---|
| Christianity: | 70.8 % | 87.8 % |
| Nondenominational: | 21.4 % | n/a |
| Islam: | 4.9 % | 2.3 % |
| Jewry: | 0.2 % | n/a |
| other: | 2.7 % | 9.9 % |