Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Sweden
Sweden: Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings was 13.4% in 2013. ▼ Falling
Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Sweden, 1975–2013
Source: OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sweden recorded 13.4% for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in 2013.
The figure is down 11.3% on the previous year and down 16.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Sweden peaked at 19.6% in 1989 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 1980.
Sweden ranks 18th of 29 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 17.5% | 16.6% | 18.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 15.6% | 12.8% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.9% | 16.4% | 19.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.5% | 14.4% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.7% | 13.4% | 15.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More work & labour data for Sweden
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 64.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 67.6% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 91.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 61.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 83.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 85.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 82.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Sweden?
- Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings in Sweden was 13.4% in 2013, according to OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 19.6% in 1989.
- What is the lowest unadjusted gender gap in median earnings recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 1980.
- How does Sweden rank for unadjusted gender gap in median earnings?
- Sweden ranks 18th out of 29 countries with data for 2013.
- Is unadjusted gender gap in median earnings rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sweden data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Unadjusted gender gap in median earnings. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The gender wage gap is unadjusted and is defined as the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men. Estimates refer to full-time employees and to self-employed workers.