Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden
Sweden: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax was 33.1% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden, 2013–2023
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 33.1% for reduction in income inequality before and after tax in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.5% on the previous year and down 10.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden peaked at 37.0% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 33.1%, in 2023.
Sweden ranks 21st of 39 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 11 years of available data.
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 37.0% | — |
| 2014 | 36.4% | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 35.8% | -1.7% |
| 2016 | 35.5% | -0.9% |
| 2017 | 35.0% | -1.4% |
| 2018 | 36.2% | +3.5% |
| 2019 | 35.4% | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 36.3% | +2.3% |
| 2021 | 35.0% | -3.5% |
| 2022 | 33.9% | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 33.1% | -2.5% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 33.1% is below the median for high income countries, which is 34.3%, 96% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 33.1% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 36.2%, 92% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 35.9% | 35.0% | 37.0% | 7 |
| 2020s | 34.6% | 33.1% | 36.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More poverty & inequality data for Sweden
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.43 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 4,456 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -27.03 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 41.37 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 41.4% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Sweden was 33.1% in 2023, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 37.0% in 2013.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.1% in 2023.
- How does Sweden rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax?
- Sweden ranks 21st out of 39 countries with data for 2023.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Reduction in income inequality before and after tax. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 11 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
This is the percentage difference between the Gini coefficient before taxes and benefits and the Gini coefficient after taxes and benefits.