Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Estonia, you would:
Health
live 3.5 years longer
In Estonia, the average life expectancy is 79 years (75 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
see 85.2% more spent on your healthcare
Estonia spends $3,741 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 26.1% more doctors per person
Estonia has 34.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 12.7% more access to essential health services
Estonia scores 79 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 20.3% less likely to die by suicide
Estonia has a suicide rate of 14.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 56.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Estonia, 8.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 2.9 times more money
Estonia has a GDP per capita of $34,418 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 40.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Estonia, approximately 5.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 57.7% more children
In Estonia, there are approximately 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 40.0% more likely to die during infancy
In Estonia, approximately 1.5 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.
Expenditures
spend 40.3% more on education
Estonia spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 14.5% more on healthcare
Estonia spends 7.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 31.0% more coastline
Estonia has a total of 3,794 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 16.2% less likely to be murdered
Estonia has a homicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 21.2% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Estonia, 75% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2021. In Iceland, that number is 91% as of 2022.
be 45.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Estonia, road accidents kill 4.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 97.0% less strain on fresh water
Estonia withdraws 13% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 9.2 times more electricity
Estonia uses 5,298 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 38.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Estonia, air pollution causes 13.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Estonia vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Estonia? See an in-depth size comparison.