Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Qatar, you would:
Health
be 47.2% less likely to be obese
In Qatar, 42.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
see 2.4 times more spent on your healthcare
Qatar spends $2,901 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 44.7% more doctors per person
Qatar has 30.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 17.1% more access to essential health services
Qatar scores 76 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 2.5 times more likely to die by suicide
Qatar has a suicide rate of 4.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 35.6% more money
Qatar has a GDP per capita of $72,525 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
be 27.8 times more likely to be unemployed
In Qatar, 0.1% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 25.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Qatar, approximately 4.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 56.2% less likely to die during infancy
In Qatar, approximately 4.8 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 17.6% more children
In Qatar, there are approximately 9.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.3 times more on education
Qatar spends 3.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 3.6 times more on healthcare
Qatar spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 8.8 times more coastline
Qatar has a total of 563 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 67.1% less likely to die in a road accident
In Qatar, road accidents kill 7.3 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 18.4 times more likely to be murdered
Qatar has a homicide rate of 0.1 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
find 3.2 times more home broadband
Qatar has 11.8 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2024. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 99.9% less strain on fresh water
Qatar withdraws 431% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 2.5 times more electricity
Qatar uses 19,963 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 91.2% less likely to die from air pollution
In Qatar, air pollution causes 91.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 82.0% less CO2
Qatar emits 47.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Qatar vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Qatar? See an in-depth size comparison.