Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Malta instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 45.7% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Malta, it is 6.5 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 37.9% more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Malta, that number is 30.6% of people as of 2024.
see 17.6% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Malta spends $5,706 as of 2023.
Economy
be 19.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Malta, that number is 2.9% as of 2025.
make 51.3% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Malta, the GDP per capita is $47,907 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 Malta, 8.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.2 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 Malta, on the other hand, 4.7 children do as of 2024.
have 31.2% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Malta, there are 7.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 35.6% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Malta spends 4.7% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 96.0% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Malta, that number is 197 km.
Safety
be 56.6% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Malta, that number is 0.6 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 20.8% less likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Malta, they kill 1.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 18.6% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Malta has 44.5 as of 2024.
live with 186.2 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Malta withdraws 73% as of 2022.
use 89.8% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Malta uses 5,013 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 62.7% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Malta emits 3.2 tonnes as of 2024.
be 2.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Malta, it causes 21.0 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. Malta
Malta: At a glance
How big is Malta compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.