Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Finland instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
have 17.5% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Finland has 36.1 as of 2021.
be 22.3% more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Finland, it is 14.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Finland, that number is 9.5% as of 2025.
make 42.9% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Finland, the GDP per capita is $56,149 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.7 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 Finland, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
have 30.4% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Finland, there are 7.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.7% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Finland spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 16.6% more on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Finland, that number is 10.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 74.8% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Finland, that number is 1,250 km.
Safety
be 24.0% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Finland, that number is 1.0 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 75.0% more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Finland, they kill 4.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 18.2 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Finland withdraws 7% as of 2022.
use 69.8% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Finland uses 14,819 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 12.5% less likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Finland, it causes 7.0 as of 2019.
emit 35.0% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Finland emits 5.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Finland
Finland: At a glance
How big is Finland compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.