Denmark vs Sweden: Human Development Index

Denmark

0.962

in 2023

Sweden

0.959

in 2023

Denmark rank

4th

Sweden rank

5th

Human Development Index over time

Denmark
Sweden

How they compare

Denmark currently reports 0.962 against 0.959 in Sweden, a difference of 0.003.

The two have swapped places 8 times across 34 shared years of data; in 1990 it was Denmark ahead.

Globally, Denmark ranks 4th and Sweden ranks 5th of 192 countries.

Individual pages

Human Development Index in Denmark
Human Development Index in Sweden
Full country ranking

About this data

Indicator: Human Development Index
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 192 places, 5,938 data points, 1990–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, a good education, and a decent standard of living. Higher values indicate higher human development.