Sweden

Overview

Out of 72 countries, Sweden sits at #67 — 6th Least Cooked. Three departments are doing the heavy lifting here: political institutions (political polarization beats 29% of the field, just not in a good way), economic policy (income inequality, 19th percentile), and housing policy bringing up the rear. Different agencies, same energy.

Sweden scores 14 out of 100, the global median sits at 27 — so this is 13 points below that line (higher means more cooked). Performance is lopsided: political polarization ranks worse than 29% of countries, while homicide rate (Homicide 1.1/100k) is the closest thing to a bright spot — and it still only beats 63% of the field. None of this is really about Sweden specifically — it's about what's propping up the political institutions numbers underneath.

Sources: V-Dem + Global Peace Index (2025) · World Bank — Gini Index (SI.POV.GINI) (2018–2022) · OECD Affordable Housing Database (HC1.2) (2024)