Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Syria, you would:
Health
live 10.2 years longer
In Syria, the average life expectancy is 73 years (70 years for men, 75 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 32.7% less likely to be obese
In Syria, 33.0% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
see 56.6 times more spent on your healthcare
Syria spends $122 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 2.9 times more doctors per person
Syria has 15.2 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2021. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
have 39.1% more access to essential health services
Syria scores 64 out of 100 on the universal health coverage index as of 2021. Iceland scores 89 as of 2021.
be 20.2 times more likely to die by suicide
Syria has a suicide rate of 0.6 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
be 73.3% less likely to be unemployed
In Syria, 13.6% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
be 89.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Syria, 82.5% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 93.0 times more money
Syria has a GDP per capita of $1,057 as of 2022, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
Life
be 85.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Syria, approximately 20.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2023.
be 88.1% less likely to die during infancy
In Syria, approximately 17.7 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 51.6% fewer children
In Syria, there are approximately 23.2 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 13.1% more likely to have access to electricity
In Syria, approximately 88% of people have electricity access (100% in urban areas, and 73% in rural areas) as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 100% of people on average (100% in urban areas, and 100% in rural areas) as of 2023.
be 2.1 times more likely to have internet access
In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Iceland, about 98.2% do as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.3 times more on healthcare
Syria spends 2.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 25.8 times more coastline
Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 92.0% less likely to die in a road accident
In Syria, road accidents kill 29.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 5.5 times more home broadband
Syria has 6.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2023. Iceland has 37.5 as of 2024.
live with 99.7% less strain on fresh water
Syria withdraws 124% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 57.4 times more electricity
Syria uses 854 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 90.4% less likely to die from air pollution
In Syria, air pollution causes 83.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 6.7 times more CO2
Syria emits 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Iceland emits 8.5 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2017–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), The World Factbook (2014–2022), World Health Organization (2024). How we calculate this
Compare further: Syria vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.