Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Lesotho, you would:
Health
be 99.4% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Lesotho, 17.1% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2024.
live 25.0 years longer
In Lesotho, the average life expectancy is 58 years (55 years for men, 60 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 18.0 times more spent on your healthcare
Lesotho spends $386 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 18.6 times more doctors per person
Lesotho has 2.4 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 67.9% more access to essential health services
Lesotho scores 53 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 58.4% less likely to die by suicide
Lesotho has a suicide rate of 28.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 77.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Lesotho, 16.3% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
be 82.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Lesotho, 49.7% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 90.3 times more money
Lesotho has a GDP per capita of $1,089 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 99.4% less likely to die during childbirth
In Lesotho, approximately 478.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 96.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Lesotho, approximately 56.3 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.
have 52.9% fewer children
In Lesotho, there are approximately 23.8 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 74.5% more likely to have access to electricity
In Lesotho, approximately 57% of people have electricity access (85% in urban areas, and 45% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 89.6% more likely to have internet access
In Lesotho, approximately 51.8% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
be 28.1% more likely to have access to drinking water
In Lesotho, approximately 78% of people have access to drinking water (95% in urban areas, and 71% in rural areas) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 28.8% less on healthcare
Lesotho spends 12.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
spend 10.4% more on education
Lesotho spends 6.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2024. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Safety
be 88.9% less likely to die in a road accident
In Lesotho, road accidents kill 21.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 98.7 times more home broadband
Lesotho has 0.4 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 84.8% less strain on fresh water
Lesotho withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
be 92.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Lesotho, air pollution causes 100.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 19.8 times more CO2
Lesotho emits 0.4 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021). How we calculate this
Compare further: Lesotho vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Lesotho? See an in-depth size comparison.