Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Malawi, you would:
Health
be 98.9% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Malawi, 9.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2018. In Iceland, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2018.
live 20.1 years longer
In Malawi, the average life expectancy is 63 years (61 years for men, 65 years for women) as of 2020. In Iceland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2020.
be 3.8 times more likely to be obese
In Malawi, 5.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 43.5 times more money
Malawi has a GDP per capita of $1,200 as of 2017, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $52,200 as of 2017.
be 86.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Malawi, 20.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2013. In Iceland, that number is 2.8% as of 2017.
pay a 54.3% higher top tax rate
Malawi has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2016. In Iceland, the top tax rate is 46.3% as of 2016.
Life
be 98.9% less likely to die during childbirth
In Malawi, approximately 349.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Iceland, 4.0 women do as of 2017.
be 94.7% less likely to die during infancy
In Malawi, approximately 39.5 children die before they reach the age of one as of 2020. In Iceland, on the other hand, 2.1 children do as of 2020.
have 66.8% fewer children
In Malawi, there are approximately 40.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020. In Iceland, there are 13.3 babies per 1,000 people as of 2020.
Basic Needs
be 9.1 times more likely to have access to electricity
In Malawi, approximately 11% of the population has electricity access as of 2017. In Iceland, 100% of the population do as of 2016.
be 7.2 times more likely to have internet access
In Malawi, approximately 13.8% of the population has internet access as of 2018. In Iceland, about 99.0% do as of 2018.
be 12.7% more likely to have access to improved drinking water
In Malawi, approximately 89% of people have improved drinking water access (96% in urban areas, and 87% in rural areas) as of 2017. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2017.
Expenditures
spend 87.5% more on education
Malawi spends 4.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2017. Iceland spends 7.5% of total GDP on education as of 2016.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Malawi Revenue Authority, The World Factbook, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Malawi? See an in-depth size comparison.