Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Latvia, you would:
Health
live 6.4 years longer
In Latvia, the average life expectancy is 76 years (72 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
see 2.3 times more spent on your healthcare
Latvia spends $3,034 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 28.7% more doctors per person
Latvia has 34.0 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 18.7% more access to essential health services
Latvia scores 75 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 21.7% less likely to die by suicide
Latvia has a suicide rate of 15.2 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 44.9% less likely to be unemployed
In Latvia, 6.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 3.7 times more money
Latvia has a GDP per capita of $26,312 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 84.2% less likely to die during childbirth
In Latvia, approximately 19.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
have 62.3% more children
In Latvia, there are approximately 6.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 69.2% more on education
Latvia spends 4.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 23.4% more on healthcare
Latvia spends 7.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 10.0 times more coastline
Latvia has a total of 498 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 48.4% less likely to be murdered
Latvia has a homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 21.2% more likely to feel safe walking alone at night
In Latvia, 75% of people feel safe walking alone at night as of 2020. In Iceland, that number is 91% as of 2022.
be 75.5% less likely to die in a road accident
In Latvia, road accidents kill 9.8 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 45.7% more home broadband
Latvia has 25.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 61.8% less strain on fresh water
Latvia withdraws 1% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 13.0 times more electricity
Latvia uses 3,768 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 80.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Latvia, air pollution causes 40.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.3 times more CO2
Latvia emits 3.6 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 (2019–2022), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Latvia vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Latvia? See an in-depth size comparison.