Quality of life comparison
If you lived in France instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 49.6% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In France, that number is 11.2% of people as of 2024.
have 25.0% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. France has 32.8 as of 2022.
be 39.2% more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In France, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In France, that number is 7.5% as of 2025.
make 50.2% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in France, the GDP per capita is $48,986 as of 2025.
Life
be 2.3 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 France, 7.0 women do as of 2023.
be 61.9% 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 France, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2024.
have 13.4% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In France, there are 9.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 27.2% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. France spends 5.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 28.5% more on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In France, that number is 11.5% of GDP as of 2024.
Safety
be 95.8% more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In France, they kill 4.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 30.4% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. France has 48.9 as of 2024.
live with 54.8 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. France withdraws 21% as of 2022.
use 86.8% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. France uses 6,447 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 53.1% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. France emits 4.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 25.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In France, it causes 10.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. France
France: At a glance
How big is France compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.