Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Romania, you would:
Health
live 6.4 years longer
In Romania, the average life expectancy is 76 years (73 years for men, 80 years for women) as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 83 years (81 years for men, 84 years for women) as of 2024.
be 31.5% less likely to be obese
In Romania, 32.4% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
see 2.6 times more spent on your healthcare
Romania spends $2,614 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 20.6% more doctors per person
Romania has 36.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2022. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 14.1% more access to essential health services
Romania scores 78 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 23.8% more likely to die by suicide
Romania has a suicide rate of 9.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 39.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Romania, 6.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
make 4.4 times more money
Romania has a GDP per capita of $22,538 as of 2025, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 75.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Romania, approximately 12.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 65.0% less likely to die during infancy
In Romania, approximately 6.0 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 49.3% more children
In Romania, there are approximately 7.5 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 2.2 times more on education
Romania spends 3.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2022. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 57.3% more on healthcare
Romania spends 5.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 22.1 times more coastline
Romania has a total of 225 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 75.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Romania, road accidents kill 9.6 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 16.2% more likely to be murdered
Romania has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 94.9% less strain on fresh water
Romania withdraws 8% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 19.0 times more electricity
Romania uses 2,585 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 82.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In Romania, air pollution causes 46.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 2.3 times more CO2
Romania emits 3.7 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2021–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Romania vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Romania? See an in-depth size comparison.