Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Italy, you would:
Health
see 38.7% more spent on your healthcare
Italy spends $4,993 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
live 1.1 years less
In Italy, the average life expectancy is 84 years (82 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
be 58.7% more likely to be obese
In Italy, 14.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
be 70.4% more likely to die by suicide
Italy has a suicide rate of 7.0 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 43.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Italy, 6.4% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 2.3 times more money
Italy has a GDP per capita of $43,309 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 50.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Italy, approximately 6.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 77.8% more children
In Italy, there are approximately 6.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 10.1% more likely to have internet access
In Italy, approximately 89.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 79.6% more on education
Italy spends 4.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 34.6% less coastline
Italy has a total of 7,600 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 52.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Italy, road accidents kill 5.0 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 2.3 times more likely to be murdered
Italy has a homicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 18.1% more home broadband
Italy has 31.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 98.7% less strain on fresh water
Italy withdraws 30% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 9.5 times more electricity
Italy uses 5,137 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 46.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Italy, air pollution causes 15.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 67.7% more CO2
Italy emits 5.1 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 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: Italy vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Italy? See an in-depth size comparison.