Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Japan, you would:
Health
see 29.1% more spent on your healthcare
Japan spends $5,365 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 65.1% more doctors per person
Japan has 26.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
be 31.7% less likely to die by suicide
Japan has a suicide rate of 17.4 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
live 1.2 years less
In Japan, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 87 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 3.8 times more likely to be obese
In Japan, 5.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
Economy
make 2.7 times more money
Japan has a GDP per capita of $35,951 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
be 47.8% more likely to be unemployed
In Japan, 2.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
Life
have 96.5% more children
In Japan, there are approximately 5.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
be 16.7% more likely to die during infancy
In Japan, approximately 1.8 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Iceland, on the other hand, 2.1 children do as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 14.8% more likely to have internet access
In Japan, approximately 85.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 16.4% less on healthcare
Japan spends 10.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
spend 2.2 times more on education
Japan spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 83.3% less coastline
Japan has a total of 29,751 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 11.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Japan, road accidents kill 2.7 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 5.6 times more likely to be murdered
Japan has a homicide rate of 0.2 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 98.9% less strain on fresh water
Japan withdraws 37% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 6.5 times more electricity
Japan uses 7,530 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 33.3% less likely to die from air pollution
In Japan, air pollution causes 12.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 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: Japan vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Japan? See an in-depth size comparison.