Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Cabo Verde instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 24.6% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 16.7% of people as of 2024.
live 6.6 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 76 years (73 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2024.
see 91.1% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Cabo Verde spends $617 as of 2023.
have 83.3% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Cabo Verde has 7.3 as of 2023.
have 20.2% less access to essential health services
Iceland scores 89 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Cabo Verde scores 71 as of 2021.
be 25.1% more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, it is 14.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 3.3 times more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Cabo Verde, that number is 11.9% as of 2025.
make 94.1% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Cabo Verde, the GDP per capita is $5,796 as of 2025.
Life
be 13.3 times more likely to die during childbirth
In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Cabo Verde, 40.0 women do as of 2023.
be 5.0 times more likely to die during infancy
In Iceland, approximately 2.1 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, on the other hand, 10.6 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 23.9% less likely to have internet access
In Iceland, approximately 98.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, about 74.7% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 40.5% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Cabo Verde spends 4.3% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 34.9% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Cabo Verde, that number is 5.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 80.6% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Cabo Verde, that number is 965 km.
Safety
be 5.4 times more likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Cabo Verde, that number is 7.0 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 6.9 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Cabo Verde, they kill 16.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 77.9% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Cabo Verde has 8.3 as of 2024.
live with 153.0 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Cabo Verde withdraws 60% as of 2022.
Environment
emit 84.9% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Cabo Verde emits 1.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 7.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Cabo Verde, it causes 59.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Cabo Verde
Cabo Verde: At a glance
How big is Cabo Verde compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.