Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Thailand instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 26.3% less likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 16.4% of people as of 2024.
live 6.2 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 77 years (72 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2024.
see 84.6% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Thailand spends $1,067 as of 2023.
have 87.6% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Thailand has 5.4 as of 2021.
be 39.3% more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Thailand, it is 16.6 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 78.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Thailand, that number is 0.8% as of 2025.
make 91.8% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Thailand, the GDP per capita is $8,057 as of 2025.
Life
be 11.3 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 Thailand, 34.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.7 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 Thailand, on the other hand, 7.7 children do as of 2024.
have 27.5% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Thailand, there are 8.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 65.5% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Thailand spends 2.5% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
spend 49.4% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Thailand, that number is 4.5% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 35.2% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Thailand, that number is 3,219 km.
Safety
be 26.3% less likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Iceland, 91% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2022. In Thailand, that number is 67% as of 2022.
be 10.6 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Thailand, they kill 25.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 60.3% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Thailand has 14.9 as of 2024.
live with 59.0 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Thailand withdraws 23% as of 2022.
use 93.9% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Thailand uses 2,965 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 53.5% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Thailand emits 4.0 tonnes as of 2024.
be 3.6 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Thailand, it causes 29.0 as of 2019.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2022), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Iceland vs. Thailand
Thailand: At a glance
How big is Thailand compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.