Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Samoa instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 11.0 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 72 years (70 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.
be 2.9 times more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 64.3% of people as of 2024.
see 93.1% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Samoa spends $475 as of 2023.
have 87.2% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Samoa has 5.6 as of 2021.
have 38.2% less access to essential health services
Iceland scores 89 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Samoa scores 55 as of 2021.
Economy
be 38.1% more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Samoa, that number is 5.0% as of 2025.
be 2.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line
In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Samoa, however, that number is 21.9% as of 2018.
make 94.0% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Samoa, the GDP per capita is $5,873 as of 2025.
Life
have 2.2 times more children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Samoa, there are 25.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 33.7 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 Samoa, 101.0 women do as of 2023.
be 5.9 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 Samoa, on the other hand, 12.3 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 23.3% less likely to have internet access
In Iceland, approximately 98.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Samoa, about 75.3% do as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 25.3% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Samoa spends 5.5% of total GDP on education as of 2024.
spend 24.5% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Samoa, that number is 6.8% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 91.9% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Samoa, that number is 403 km.
Safety
be 4.0 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Samoa, they kill 9.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 97.7% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Samoa has 0.9 as of 2022.
Environment
emit 81.2% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Samoa emits 1.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 4.2 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Samoa, it causes 34.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Samoa
Samoa: At a glance
How big is Samoa compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.