Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Netherlands instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 33.8% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 14.7% of people as of 2024.
see 18.3% more spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Netherlands spends $8,195 as of 2024.
live 0.8 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 82 years (81 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2024.
have 11.4% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Netherlands has 38.8 as of 2022.
Economy
make 25.1% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Netherlands, the GDP per capita is $73,684 as of 2025.
Life
be 33.3% 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 Netherlands, 4.0 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 Netherlands, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2024.
have 17.9% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Netherlands, there are 9.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 29.1% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Netherlands spends 5.2% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 11.5% more on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Netherlands, that number is 10.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 90.9% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Netherlands, that number is 451 km.
Safety
be 46.5% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Netherlands, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 41.7% more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Netherlands, they kill 3.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 14.6% more home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Netherlands has 43.0 as of 2024.
live with 42.7 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Netherlands withdraws 17% as of 2022.
use 87.0% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Netherlands uses 6,386 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
emit 22.5% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Netherlands emits 6.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 62.5% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Netherlands, it causes 13.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Netherlands
Netherlands: At a glance
How big is Netherlands compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.