Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Maldives, you would:
Health
live 1.5 years longer
In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 81 years (80 years for men, 83 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 3.0 times more spent on your healthcare
Maldives spends $2,288 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 45.9% more access to essential health services
Maldives scores 61 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 24.3% more likely to be obese
In Maldives, 17.9% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
be 8.1 times more likely to die by suicide
Maldives has a suicide rate of 1.5 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 19.7% less likely to be unemployed
In Maldives, 4.5% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 6.7 times more money
Maldives has a GDP per capita of $14,615 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
be 63.0% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Maldives, 5.4% live below the poverty line as of 2019. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
Life
be 90.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In Maldives, approximately 32.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 55.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Maldives, approximately 4.7 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 15.2% more likely to have internet access
In Maldives, approximately 85.2% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 41.4% more on education
Maldives spends 5.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2023. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 7.7 times more coastline
Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 84.6% more likely to die in a road accident
In Maldives, road accidents kill 1.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 90.9% more home broadband
Maldives has 19.6 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 97.5% less strain on fresh water
Maldives withdraws 16% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
Environment
be 72.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Maldives, air pollution causes 29.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.4 times more CO2
Maldives emits 3.6 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), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Maldives vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.