Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Qatar instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 60.5% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Qatar, it is 4.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 89.4% more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Qatar, that number is 42.0% of people as of 2024.
see 58.1% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Qatar spends $2,901 as of 2023.
have 30.9% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Qatar has 30.2 as of 2023.
have 14.6% less access to essential health services
Iceland scores 89 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Qatar scores 76 as of 2021.
Economy
be 96.4% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Qatar, that number is 0.1% as of 2025.
make 26.2% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Qatar, the GDP per capita is $72,525 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 Qatar, 4.0 women do as of 2023.
be 2.3 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 Qatar, on the other hand, 4.8 children do as of 2024.
have 15.0% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Qatar, there are 9.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 55.8% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Qatar spends 3.2% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 71.9% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Qatar, that number is 2.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 88.7% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Qatar, that number is 563 km.
Safety
be 94.6% less likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Qatar, that number is 0.1 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 3.0 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Qatar, they kill 7.3 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 68.5% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Qatar has 11.8 as of 2024.
live with 1105.2 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Qatar withdraws 431% as of 2022.
use 59.3% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Qatar uses 19,963 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 11.4 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Qatar, it causes 91.0 as of 2019.
emit 5.6 times more CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Qatar emits 47.3 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. Qatar
Qatar: At a glance
How big is Qatar compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.