Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Denmark instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 35.5% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Denmark, that number is 14.3% of people as of 2024.
be 12.2% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Denmark, it is 10.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 52.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Denmark, that number is 5.5% as of 2025.
make 21.7% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Denmark, the GDP per capita is $76,970 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.3% 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 Denmark, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 66.7% 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 Denmark, on the other hand, 3.5 children do as of 2024.
have 15.2% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Denmark, there are 9.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 13.0% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Denmark spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 47.2% more coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Denmark, that number is 7,314 km.
Safety
be 34.9% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Denmark, that number is 0.8 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 15.6% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Denmark has 43.4 as of 2024.
live with 64.8 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Denmark withdraws 25% as of 2022.
use 87.4% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Denmark uses 6,165 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 49.8% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Denmark emits 4.3 tonnes as of 2024.
be 62.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Denmark, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook, United Nations SDG Indicators (2019). How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Denmark
Denmark: At a glance
How big is Denmark compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.