Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Switzerland, you would:
Health
be 12.3% more likely to be obese
In Switzerland, 19.5% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 45.0% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Switzerland, 16.0% live below the poverty line as of 2018. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 23.5% less money
Switzerland has a GDP per capita of $68,400 as of 2020, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $52,300 as of 2020.
be 56.7% more likely to be unemployed
In Switzerland, 2.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2019. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2019.
pay a 15.7% higher top tax rate
Switzerland has a top tax rate of 40.0% as of 2016. In Iceland, the top tax rate is 46.3% as of 2016.
Life
be 20.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Switzerland, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2017. In Iceland, 4.0 women do as of 2017.
be 53.9% less likely to die during infancy
In Switzerland, approximately 3.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Iceland, on the other hand, 1.6 children do as of 2022.
have 25.1% more children
In Switzerland, there are approximately 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022. In Iceland, there are 13.0 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.
Expenditures
spend 23.9% less on healthcare
Switzerland spends 11.3% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2019. In Iceland, that number is 8.6% of GDP as of 2019.
spend 55.1% more on education
Switzerland spends 4.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2018. Iceland spends 7.6% of total GDP on education as of 2018.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Swiss Federal Tax Administration, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Switzerland? See an in-depth size comparison.