Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Portugal, you would:
Health
see 40.6% more spent on your healthcare
Portugal spends $4,928 per person on healthcare as of 2024 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
be 22.9% more likely to be obese
In Portugal, 18.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
have 25.3% fewer doctors per person
Portugal has 58.5 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
Economy
be 41.2% less likely to be unemployed
In Portugal, 6.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 3.1 times more money
Portugal has a GDP per capita of $32,082 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 80.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Portugal, approximately 15.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 22.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Portugal, approximately 2.7 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.
have 41.8% more children
In Portugal, there are approximately 7.9 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 11.0% more likely to have internet access
In Portugal, approximately 88.5% of the population has internet access as of 2024. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 12.3% less on healthcare
Portugal spends 10.2% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
spend 60.7% more on education
Portugal spends 4.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
Geography
see 2.8 times more coastline
Portugal has a total of 1,793 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 66.7% less likely to die in a road accident
In Portugal, road accidents kill 7.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 79.2% more likely to be murdered
Portugal has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 96.8% less strain on fresh water
Portugal withdraws 12% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 9.3 times more electricity
Portugal uses 5,294 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2024. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
find 17.1% less home broadband
Portugal has 45.2 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
Environment
be 20.0% less likely to die from air pollution
In Portugal, air pollution causes 10.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.6 times more CO2
Portugal emits 3.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2022–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Portugal vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Portugal? See an in-depth size comparison.