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

Health

be 63.9% less likely to be obese

In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In India, that number is 8.0% of people as of 2024.

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live 10.6 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In India, that number is 72 years (71 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.

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see 95.0% less spent on your healthcare

Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). India spends $346 as of 2023.

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have 83.5% fewer doctors per person

Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. India has 7.2 as of 2020.

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have 29.2% less access to essential health services

Iceland scores 89 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. India scores 63 as of 2021.

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Economy

be 16.6% more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In India, that number is 4.2% as of 2025.

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make 97.3% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in India, the GDP per capita is $2,702 as of 2025.

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Life

have 42.7% more children

In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In India, there are 16.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

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be 26.7 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 India, 80.0 women do as of 2023.

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be 11.1 times 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 India, on the other hand, 23.3 children do as of 2024.

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Basic Needs

be 28.7% less likely to have internet access

In Iceland, approximately 98.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In India, about 70.0% do as of 2025.

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Expenditures

spend 43.9% less on education

Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. India spends 4.1% of total GDP on education as of 2022.

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spend 62.8% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In India, that number is 3.3% of GDP as of 2023.

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Geography

see 40.8% more coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In India, that number is 7,000 km.

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Safety

be 2.2 times more likely to be murdered

Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In India, that number is 2.8 per 100,000 as of 2022.

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be 6.4 times more likely to die in a road accident

In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In India, they kill 15.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.

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Infrastructure

find 91.6% less home broadband

Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. India has 3.1 as of 2024.

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live with 170.5 times more strain on fresh water

Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. India withdraws 66% as of 2022.

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use 97.6% less electricity

Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. India uses 1,182 kWh as of 2023.

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Environment

emit 74.5% less CO2

Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. India emits 2.2 tonnes as of 2024.

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be 10.4 times more likely to die from air pollution

In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In India, it causes 83.0 as of 2019.

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Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this

India: At a glance

India is a sovereign country in South Asia, with a total land area of approximately 2,973,193 sq km. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Years of nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually resulted in Indian independence, which was granted in 1947. Large-scale communal violence took place before and after the subcontinent partition into two separate states - India and Pakistan. The neighboring nations have fought three wars since independence, the last of which was in 1971 and resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 emboldened Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, economic growth following the launch of economic reforms in 1991 and a massive youthful population are driving India's emergence as a regional and global power.
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