Iceland vs Sweden: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Iceland
- Sweden
How they compare
Iceland currently reports 90.6 Percentage of employees against 65.9 Percentage of employees in Sweden, a difference of 24.7 Percentage of employees.
That makes Iceland's figure about 1.4 times Sweden's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 37 shared years of data; in 1979 it was Sweden ahead.
Iceland ranks 1st and Sweden ranks 2nd of 31 countries.
Across the 6 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 3 and Sweden in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 61.6 Percentage of employees | 77.1 Percentage of employees | 15.5 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 1980s | 67.47 Percentage of employees | 79.23 Percentage of employees | 11.77 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 1990s | 81.96 Percentage of employees | 82.27 Percentage of employees | 0.3111 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 2000s | 84.93 Percentage of employees | 74.66 Percentage of employees | 10.27 Percentage of employees | Iceland |
| 2010s | 88.75 Percentage of employees | 67.23 Percentage of employees | 21.52 Percentage of employees | Iceland |
| 2020s | 90.95 Percentage of employees | 66.17 Percentage of employees | 24.78 Percentage of employees | Iceland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Iceland or Sweden?
- Iceland, at 90.6 Percentage of employees against 65.9 Percentage of employees in Sweden as of 2023.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Iceland and Sweden?
- 24.7 Percentage of employees, with Iceland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Sweden?
- 37 years are reported by both, from 1979 to 2023.
- How do Iceland and Sweden rank globally for trade union density?
- Iceland ranks 1st and Sweden ranks 2nd of 31 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Trade union density. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm