Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Kuwait instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 1.8 years longer
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 85 years (84 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2024.
be 80.6% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Kuwait, it is 2.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 82.1% more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 40.4% of people as of 2024.
see 62.9% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Kuwait spends $2,567 as of 2023.
have 48.0% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Kuwait has 22.7 as of 2020.
have 12.4% less access to essential health services
Iceland scores 89 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Kuwait scores 78 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Kuwait, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 67.1% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Kuwait, the GDP per capita is $32,312 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 Kuwait, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.3 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 Kuwait, on the other hand, 7.0 children do as of 2024.
have 10.5% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Kuwait, there are 10.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 11.9% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Kuwait spends 6.4% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 44.8% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Kuwait, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 90.0% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Kuwait, that number is 499 km.
Safety
be 80.6% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Kuwait, that number is 0.2 per 100,000 as of 2020.
be 3.8 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Kuwait, they kill 9.2 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 97.3% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Kuwait has 1.0 as of 2023.
live with 9873.1 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Kuwait withdraws 3850% as of 2022.
use 66.3% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait uses 16,496 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 5.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Kuwait, it causes 45.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.8 times more CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Kuwait emits 23.7 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Kuwait
Kuwait: At a glance
How big is Kuwait compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.