Norway vs Sweden: Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain

Norway
72 Percentage of employees
in 2022
Sweden
88 Percentage of employees
in 2024
Norway rank
10th
Sweden rank
7th

Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain over time

  • Norway
  • Sweden
020406080100196019922024

How they compare

Sweden currently reports 88 Percentage of employees against 72 Percentage of employees in Norway, a difference of 16 Percentage of employees.

That makes Sweden's figure about 1.2 times Norway's.

Across all 18 years both countries report, Sweden has been ahead every year.

Norway ranks 10th and Sweden ranks 7th of 29 countries.

Sweden has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Norway Sweden Difference Ahead
1960s 70 Percentage of employees 75 Percentage of employees 5 Percentage of employees Sweden
1970s 70 Percentage of employees 81.5 Percentage of employees 11.5 Percentage of employees Sweden
1980s 72.5 Percentage of employees 89.5 Percentage of employees 17 Percentage of employees Sweden
1990s 75.5 Percentage of employees 90.7 Percentage of employees 15.2 Percentage of employees Sweden
2000s 73.5 Percentage of employees 89.15 Percentage of employees 15.65 Percentage of employees Sweden
2010s 71 Percentage of employees 88.47 Percentage of employees 17.47 Percentage of employees Sweden
2020s 72 Percentage of employees 87.25 Percentage of employees 15.25 Percentage of employees Sweden

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain, Norway or Sweden?
Sweden, at 88 Percentage of employees against 72 Percentage of employees in Norway as of 2024.
What is the difference in collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain between Norway and Sweden?
16 Percentage of employees, with Sweden ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
18 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2022.
How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain?
Norway ranks 10th and Sweden ranks 7th of 29 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Norway vs Sweden: Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/collective-bargaining-coverage-employees-with-the-right-to-bargain/norway/sweden/

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About this data

Indicator
Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain
Unit
Percentage of employees
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
37 places, 1,069 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm