Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of South Africa, you would:
Health
be 99.5% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In South Africa, 20.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2018. In Iceland, that number is 0.1% of people as of 2018.
live 18.5 years longer
In South Africa, the average life expectancy is 65 years (63 years for men, 66 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 22.6% less likely to be obese
In South Africa, 28.3% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 3.8 times more money
South Africa has a GDP per capita of $13,600 as of 2017, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $52,200 as of 2017.
be 89.8% less likely to be unemployed
In South Africa, 27.5% of adults are unemployed as of 2017. In Iceland, that number is 2.8% as of 2017.
Life
be 96.6% less likely to die during childbirth
In South Africa, approximately 119.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Iceland, 4.0 women do as of 2017.
be 92.4% less likely to die during infancy
In South Africa, approximately 27.8 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 30.7% fewer children
In South Africa, there are approximately 19.2 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 18.8% more likely to have access to electricity
In South Africa, approximately 84% of the population has electricity access as of 2017. In Iceland, 100% of the population do as of 2016.
be 76.3% more likely to have internet access
In South Africa, approximately 56.2% of the population has internet access as of 2018. In Iceland, about 99.0% do as of 2018.
Expenditures
spend 21.0% more on education
South Africa spends 6.2% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Iceland spends 7.5% of total GDP on education as of 2016.
Geography
see 77.6% more coastline
South Africa has a total of 2,798 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to South Africa? See an in-depth size comparison.