Swedish vs Swiss: what’s the difference?
For most Europeans, the difference between Sweden and Switzerland is obvious. They are two separate countries, each with its own government, culture and language.
Sweden is a country of lakes, forests, wide open spaces and moose roaming wild, while Switzerland is beautiful with chocolate boxes of snow-capped mountains, flower-strewn villages and mountain goats!
So questions like “Are Sweden and Switzerland the same thing?” can seem quite odd.
If you’ve visited either country, or even done a little basic research, it’s as simple as chocolate, cheese and cuckoo clocks versus Abba, Ikea and meatballs!
But there are similarities between the two countries – both are beautiful, affluent and sometimes snowy – and there is no reason for anyone outside of these two relatively small countries to know the differences between them.
![Sweden is a large country in northern Europe.](https://www.routesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sweden.jpg)
So join us as we sort out some common questions like “Is a Swede from Switzerland?” and “Are Swedish and Swiss the same thing?”.
Is Sweden the same as Switzerland?
First of all, let’s clear up the knotty question of “Is Sweden in Switzerland?” And the answer is definitely… no.
If we look at Sweden vs Switzerland on a map, we can see that Sweden is in northern Europe and that Switzerland is about 1600 km away in central Europe.
![Sweden is more than ten times larger than Switzerland.](https://www.routesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Sweden_Switzerland_Locator.svg_.png)
Sweden is located in the northern European land mass known as Scandinavia – for more on this, see ours quick guide to Scandinavia – while Switzerland is nestled in the Alps, pretty much in the middle of Europe.
And Switzerland’s capital is Bern (although it’s actually only the country’s fourth largest city, after the better-known cities of Zurich, Geneva and Basel), while Sweden’s capital is Stockholm.
Are the Swiss from Sweden or Switzerland?
Ok, let’s get this straight: if you’re from Switzerland, you’re Swiss. And if you’re from Sweden, you’re Swedish – not to be confused with the root fruit of the same name!
Also, if you are from Sweden, your culture and language is Swedish. If you are from Switzerland, your culture is Swiss, but you do not speak Swiss because there is no such thing as the Swiss language.
Mazy? Yes, but we’ll get into that in more detail below.
Do Sweden and Switzerland speak the same language?
People in Sweden speak Swedish, a Nordic language descended from Old Norse, with Germanic influences. For more about the Swedish language, see our posts about the Swedish alphabet and how many people speak Swedish.
As for people in Switzerland, well, they speak any of four languages depending on which part of the country they live in. Switzerland’s four official languages are German, French, Italian, and Romansh.
![Switzerland has four official languages.](https://www.routesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/English-language_version_of_Linguistic_map_of_Switzerland.jpg)
Swiss German (a local variant of German) is the most widely spoken language (about 60 percent of the population speaks it), followed by French (spoken by about 22 percent), then Italian (about 8 percent).
Only 0.5 percent of the Swiss population speaks Romansh, a Rhaeto-Romance language derived from Latin.
Some areas of Switzerland are officially bilingual, while the canton (district) of Graubünden is even trilingual. So as a visitor, you can “try” any of the three spoken languages!
Many Swiss are likely to speak at least one of these languages – in fact, more than two-thirds of Swiss adults regularly speak more than one language.
However, there is one language that both Swiss and Swedish have in common – and that is English.
Around 45 percent of the Swiss speak English regularly – and it has even become the de facto official language in some cases – while an astonishing 85 percent of Swedes can speak English fluently or fluently.
Sweden vs Switzerland: which is bigger?
Sweden is more than ten times larger than Switzerland and covers an area of 447,430 square kilometers, compared to Switzerland’s 41,285 square kilometers. Switzerland has a population of 8.6 million, compared to Sweden, with 10.4 million people.
So Sweden has a much lower population density with around 25 people per square kilometer compared to Switzerland’s 219 people per square kilometer.
Switzerland vs Swedish: geography
The geography of the two countries is also completely different. Switzerland is a small landlocked country with no coastline and lots of mountains. In fact, about 60 percent of the country lies within the Alps and another 11 percent in the Jura mountain range.
Sweden is a much larger country – Europe’s fourth largest – and its coastline stretches over 3218 km. It has too more islands than any other country in the world – a staggering 220,000 of them! – and around 100,000 lakes.
Sweden has land borders with only two other countries – Norway and Finland – while Switzerland’s neighbors are France, Germany, Austria, Italy and the small principality of Liechtenstein.
Swiss Franc vs Swedish Krona: What’s the Difference?
The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss franc, and the currency in Sweden is the Swedish krona.
Although both countries are in Europe, Sweden is part of the EU and EEA (European Economic Area), while Switzerland is not a member of either. However, it is in the European single market.
And while Sweden is a full member of the EU, it has not adopted the euro as its currency but has retained the Swedish krona.
Sweden vs Switzerland: cost of living
The cost of living in both Sweden and Switzerland is relatively high. But Switzerland definitely beats Sweden here, regularly ranking among the ten most expensive countries in the world to live in.
A recent survey found Switzerland to be the third most expensive country in the world (topped only by Monaco and the Cayman Islands), with Sweden in 27th place.
Switzerland’s GDP per capita is US$95,000 (the sixth highest in the world) compared to Sweden at around US$59,000.
There is more about the cost of living in Sweden here.
Sweden vs Switzerland: quality of life
As affluent developed Western European countries, both Sweden and Switzerland offer their citizens a good quality of life.
Both have low crime (although an increase in gun crime and gang violence has made Sweden’s rate higher than one might expect), good healthcare, good education systems and high life expectancy.
Switzerland ranks higher than Sweden in most quality of life indices, but only just and Sweden certainly beats it in population density with much more open space per person than Switzerland.
Swiss flag vs Swedish flag
So let’s look at the flags of the two countries. Switzerland may be more familiar, due to its similarity to the Red Cross international charity emblem.
![The Swiss flag is a white cross on a red background.](https://www.routesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/swiss-flag.jpg)
In fact, the Red Cross was founded under the Geneva Convention and took its symbol from the Swiss flag, simply inverting the colors from the Swiss white cross on a red background to a red cross on a white background.
Unusually, the Swiss flag is square – the only country in the world to have a square flag other than the Vatican.
The Swedish flag also has a cross, but it has a yellow Nordic cross on a blue background. For more about the Swedish flag and its origins, read Everything you need to know about Scandinavian flags.
![The Swedish flag is a yellow cross on a blue background.](https://www.routesnorth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/800px-Flag_of_Sweden_2.jpg)
Swiss kris vs Swedish bitters
So you can have both of these in your medicine cabinet if you suffer from stomach problems.
Both contain powdered senna leaves, but Swiss kriss is an herbal laxative while Swedish bitters is a traditional tonic that has been used to aid digestion since the 17th century.
Swiss vs Swedish people
It is clear that it is difficult to generalize about the citizens of any country and their personalities, but we can look at traits and characteristics that they may have in common.
Politically, for example, the Swedish tend to be more liberal and progressive than the Swiss, with a more open-minded approach to life. The Swiss are more conservative and have an (unfair) reputation for secrecy – especially when it comes to their bank accounts!
The Swiss are known for their punctuality and strong work ethic, while the Swedes (who are also fans of being on time) tend to have a more laid-back, family-centric outlook on life.
However, both nationalities are known for their ecological credentials, with Switzerland producing around 75 percent of its energy from renewable energy and Sweden around 52 percent.
In fact, in 2022 Environmental performance indexSwitzerland came top as the world’s greenest country, with Sweden in fifth place.
See also:
Danish vs Dutch: what’s the difference?
Where is Danish spoken?
Nordic vs Scandinavian: what’s the difference?