Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Denmark, you would:
Health
be 54.9% more likely to be obese
In Denmark, 14.3% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
be 13.9% more likely to die by suicide
Denmark has a suicide rate of 10.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Denmark, 5.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 27.7% more money
Denmark has a GDP per capita of $76,970 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 25.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Denmark, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 40.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Denmark, approximately 3.5 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.
have 17.9% more children
In Denmark, there are approximately 9.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 14.9% more on education
Denmark spends 6.4% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 32.0% less coastline
Denmark has a total of 7,314 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 53.6% more likely to be murdered
Denmark 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 98.5% less strain on fresh water
Denmark withdraws 25% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 7.9 times more electricity
Denmark uses 6,165 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
find 13.5% less home broadband
Denmark has 43.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
Environment
be 38.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Denmark, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 99.1% more CO2
Denmark emits 4.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Denmark vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Denmark? See an in-depth size comparison.