Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Uruguay instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 4.5 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024. In Uruguay, that number is 78 years (74 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024.
be 57.4% more likely to be obese
In Iceland, 22.2% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Uruguay, that number is 35.0% of people as of 2024.
see 54.7% less spent on your healthcare
Iceland spends $6,927 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Uruguay spends $3,135 as of 2023.
be 2.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Iceland has a suicide rate of 11.9 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Uruguay, it is 24.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 2.1 times more likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Uruguay, that number is 7.5% as of 2025.
make 74.4% less money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $98,323 as of 2025, while in Uruguay, the GDP per capita is $25,216 as of 2025.
Life
be 5.0 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 Uruguay, 15.0 women do as of 2023.
be 3.0 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 Uruguay, on the other hand, 6.2 children do as of 2024.
have 12.5% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Uruguay, there are 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 34.9% less on education
Iceland spends 7.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Uruguay spends 4.8% of total GDP on education as of 2023.
Geography
see 86.7% less coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Uruguay, that number is 660 km.
Safety
be 8.7 times more likely to be murdered
Iceland has a homicide rate of 1.3 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Uruguay, that number is 11.2 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 5.4 times more likely to die in a road accident
In Iceland, road accidents kill 2.4 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Uruguay, they kill 13.0 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 11.9% less home broadband
Iceland has 37.5 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Uruguay has 33.0 as of 2024.
live with 30.9 times more strain on fresh water
Iceland withdraws 0% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Uruguay withdraws 12% as of 2022.
use 92.3% less electricity
Iceland uses 48,998 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Uruguay uses 3,790 kWh as of 2023.
Environment
emit 69.8% less CO2
Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Uruguay emits 2.6 tonnes as of 2024.
be 100.0% more likely to die from air pollution
In Iceland, air pollution causes 8.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Uruguay, it causes 16.0 as of 2019.
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. Uruguay
Uruguay: At a glance
How big is Uruguay compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.