Norway vs Sweden: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Norway
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 65.9 Percentage of employees against 52.1 Percentage of employees in Norway, a difference of 13.8 Percentage of employees.
That makes Sweden's figure about 1.3 times Norway's.
Across all 65 years both countries report, Sweden has been ahead every year.
Norway ranks 4th and Sweden ranks 2nd of 31 countries.
Sweden has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 53.28 Percentage of employees | 65.02 Percentage of employees | 11.74 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 1970s | 53.01 Percentage of employees | 72.21 Percentage of employees | 19.2 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 1980s | 56.32 Percentage of employees | 80.22 Percentage of employees | 23.9 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 1990s | 56.02 Percentage of employees | 82.05 Percentage of employees | 26.03 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 2000s | 51.11 Percentage of employees | 74.66 Percentage of employees | 23.55 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 2010s | 50.03 Percentage of employees | 67.23 Percentage of employees | 17.2 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
| 2020s | 50.74 Percentage of employees | 66.12 Percentage of employees | 15.38 Percentage of employees | Sweden |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Norway or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 65.9 Percentage of employees against 52.1 Percentage of employees in Norway as of 2024.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Norway and Sweden?
- 13.8 Percentage of employees, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for trade union density?
- Norway ranks 4th 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