Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Estonia instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

live 5.8 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Estonia, that number is 78 years (73 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 56.8% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Estonia, the top tax rate is 20.0% as of 2016.

make 31.9% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $52,300 as of 2020, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $35,600 as of 2020.

be 36.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Estonia, that number is 4.9% as of 2019.

be 2.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Estonia, however, that number is 21.7% as of 2018.

Life

be 2.2 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Estonia, 9.0 women do as of 2017.

be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Estonia, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2022.

have 32.5% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 13.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Estonia, there are 8.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 31.6% less on education

Iceland spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Estonia spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2018.

spend 22.1% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Estonia, that number is 6.7% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 23.7% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Estonia, that number is 3,794 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Estonian Tax and Customs Board, The World Factbook, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
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How big is Estonia compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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