Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Ghana, you would:
Health
be 93.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Ghana, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 17.1 years longer
In Ghana, the average life expectancy is 66 years (63 years for men, 68 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 29.5 times more spent on your healthcare
Ghana spends $234 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 16.4 times more doctors per person
Ghana has 2.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 85.4% more access to essential health services
Ghana scores 48 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 52.6% more likely to be obese
In Ghana, 14.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
be 2.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Ghana has a suicide rate of 5.3 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 62.4% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Ghana, 23.4% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 30.2 times more money
Ghana has a GDP per capita of $3,257 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
be 21.5% more likely to be unemployed
In Ghana, 3.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 98.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In Ghana, approximately 234.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 92.4% less likely to die during infancy
In Ghana, approximately 27.5 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 56.8% fewer children
In Ghana, there are approximately 25.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 11.7% more likely to have access to electricity
In Ghana, approximately 90% of people have electricity access (98% in urban areas, and 78% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 36.1% more likely to have internet access
In Ghana, approximately 72.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
be 11.2% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Ghana, approximately 90% of people have access to drinking water (99% in urban areas, and 76% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.5 times more on education
Ghana spends 2.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 3.0 times more on healthcare
Ghana spends 3.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 9.2 times more coastline
Ghana has a total of 539 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 29.5% less likely to be murdered
Ghana has a homicide rate of 1.8 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 90.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Ghana, road accidents kill 25.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 56.8 times more home broadband
Ghana has 0.7 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 93.8% less strain on fresh water
Ghana withdraws 6% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 86.7 times more electricity
Ghana uses 565 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 91.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Ghana, air pollution causes 89.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 12.2 times more CO2
Ghana emits 0.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2016–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Ghana vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Ghana? See an in-depth size comparison.