Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Australia, you would:
Health
be 27.4% less likely to be obese
In Australia, 30.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
Economy
be 11.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Australia, 4.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
be 34.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Australia, 13.4% live below the poverty line as of 2020. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 51.0% more money
Australia has a GDP per capita of $65,130 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 32.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Australia, approximately 3.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Iceland, on the other hand, 2.1 children do as of 2024.
be 50.0% more likely to die during childbirth
In Australia, approximately 2.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
Expenditures
spend 13.7% less on healthcare
Australia spends 10.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
spend 44.5% more on education
Australia spends 5.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 80.7% less coastline
Australia has a total of 25,760 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 46.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Australia, road accidents kill 4.5 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 51.8% more likely to be murdered
Australia has a homicide rate of 0.8 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 91.6% less strain on fresh water
Australia withdraws 5% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 5.0 times more electricity
Australia uses 9,801 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 20.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Australia, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 39.6% less CO2
Australia emits 14.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2020), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Australia vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Australia? See an in-depth size comparison.