Quality of life comparison
If you lived in China instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 58.2% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In China, that number is 9.3% of people as of 2024.
be 24.9% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In China, it is 8.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 4.8 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In China, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 78.5% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). China spends $1,487 as of 2023.
have 28.8% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. China has 31.1 as of 2022.
Economy
be 27.6% more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In China, that number is 4.6% as of 2025.
make 85.9% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in China, the GDP per capita is $13,862 as of 2025.
Life
be 5.3 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 China, 16.0 women do as of 2023.
be 95.2% 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 China, on the other hand, 4.1 children do as of 2024.
have 39.6% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In China, there are 6.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 46.6% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. China spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 33.9% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In China, that number is 5.9% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.9 times more coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In China, that number is 14,500 km.
Safety
be 61.2% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In China, that number is 0.5 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 7.2 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In China, they kill 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 25.8% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. China has 47.2 as of 2024.
live with 106.5 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. China withdraws 42% as of 2022.
use 86.7% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. China uses 6,524 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 8.0 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In China, it causes 64.0 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. China
China: At a glance
How big is China compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.