Quality of life comparison
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
be 85.6% less likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 42.4% more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 31.6% of people as of 2024.
see 46.2% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 as of 2023.
have 31.6% fewer doctors per person
Iceland has 43.7 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. United Arab Emirates has 29.9 as of 2023.
Economy
be 40.1% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 2.2% as of 2025.
make 48.9% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in United Arab Emirates, the GDP per capita is $50,274 as of 2024.
Life
be 81.0% 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 United Arab Emirates, on the other hand, 3.8 children do as of 2024.
have 12.3% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, there are 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 46.8% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of total GDP on education as of 2021.
spend 44.7% less on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 5.0% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 73.5% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In United Arab Emirates, that number is 1,318 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 United Arab Emirates, that number is 0.7 per 100,000 as of 2022.
be 2.5 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In United Arab Emirates, they kill 5.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
live with 3871.6 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% as of 2022.
use 68.8% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
be 8.8 times more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In United Arab Emirates, it causes 70.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.1 times more CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 tonnes as of 2024.
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. United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates: At a glance
How big is United Arab Emirates compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.