Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in United States instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

live 3.0 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In United States, that number is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

be 65.3% more likely to be obese

In Iceland, 21.9% of adults are obese as of 2016. In United States, that number is 36.2% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 15.1% more money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $52,300 as of 2020, while in United States, the GDP per capita is $60,200 as of 2020.

pay a 14.5% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In United States, the top tax rate is 39.6% as of 2016.

be 71.6% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In United States, however, that number is 15.1% as of 2010.

Life

be 4.8 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In United States, 19.0 women do as of 2017.

be 3.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In United States, on the other hand, 5.2 children do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 34.2% less on education

Iceland spends 7.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. United States spends 5.0% of total GDP on education as of 2014.

spend 95.3% more on healthcare

Iceland spends 8.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In United States, that number is 16.8% of GDP as of 2019.

Geography

see 4.0 times more coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In United States, that number is 19,924 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

United States: At a glance

United States (sometimes abbreviated US or USA) is a sovereign country in North America, with a total land area of approximately 9,147,593 sq km. Britain's American colonies broke with the mother country in 1776 and were recognized as the new nation of the United States of America following the Treaty of Paris in 1783. During the 19th and 20th centuries, 37 new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65), in which a northern Union of states defeated a secessionist Confederacy of 11 southern slave states, and the Great Depression of the 1930s, an economic downturn during which about a quarter of the labor force lost its jobs. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation state. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.
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How big is United States compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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