Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Japan instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 1.2 years longer
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 years for women) as of 2024.
be 73.4% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 5.9% of people as of 2024.
see 22.5% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Japan spends $5,365 as of 2023.
have 39.4% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Japan has 26.5 as of 2022.
be 46.3% more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Japan, it is 17.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 32.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Japan, that number is 2.5% as of 2025.
make 63.4% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Japan, the GDP per capita is $35,951 as of 2025.
Life
be 14.3% less 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 Japan, on the other hand, 1.8 children do as of 2024.
have 49.1% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Japan, there are 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.9% less likely to have internet access
In Iceland, approximately 98.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Japan, about 85.5% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 54.3% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Japan spends 3.3% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 19.6% more on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Japan, that number is 10.7% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 6.0 times more coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Japan, that number is 29,751 km.
Safety
be 82.2% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Japan, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 12.5% more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Japan, they kill 2.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 93.9 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Japan withdraws 37% as of 2022.
use 84.6% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Japan uses 7,530 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 50.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Japan, it causes 12.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Japan
Japan: At a glance
How big is Japan compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.