Sword used to have the highest range together with being most stamina efficient, with good speed and damage. So basically the best dedicated weapon that is not specialized and not a tool.

Numbers have changed a bit with H&H

I hope these stats are correct https://valheim.fandom.com/wiki/Weapons

Just compare them, you will see that the sword still has an edge over other weapons.
Higher range and speed than axes.
Lower stamina usage and higher secondary attack multiplier than clubs.
Clubs do have more stagger and knockback though, but then again the knockback often prevents you from being able to chain more attacks. So I guess clubs are more defensive in that regard.

Comparing only the one-handed versions here, obviously.