Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
Health
be 29.8% less likely to be obese
In United Arab Emirates, 31.6% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Iceland, that number is 22.2% of people as of 2024.
see 85.9% more spent on your healthcare
United Arab Emirates spends $3,727 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Iceland spends $6,927 as of 2024.
have 46.2% more doctors per person
United Arab Emirates has 29.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2023. Iceland has 43.7 as of 2023.
be 7.0 times more likely to die by suicide
United Arab Emirates has a suicide rate of 1.7 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Iceland, it is 11.9 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Economy
make 95.6% more money
United Arab Emirates has a GDP per capita of $50,274 as of 2024, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $98,323 as of 2025.
be 66.8% more likely to be unemployed
In United Arab Emirates, 2.2% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Iceland, that number is 3.6% as of 2025.
Life
be 44.7% less likely to die during infancy
In United Arab Emirates, approximately 3.8 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 14.1% more children
In United Arab Emirates, there are approximately 9.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 11.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 87.9% more on education
United Arab Emirates spends 3.9% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Iceland spends 7.3% of total GDP on education as of 2022.
spend 80.7% more on healthcare
United Arab Emirates spends 5.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Iceland, that number is 9.0% of GDP as of 2024.
Geography
see 3.8 times more coastline
United Arab Emirates has a total of 1,318 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
Safety
be 59.3% less likely to die in a road accident
In United Arab Emirates, road accidents kill 5.9 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Iceland, they kill 2.4 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 87.0% more likely to be murdered
United Arab Emirates has a homicide rate of 0.7 per 100,000 people as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 1.3 per 100,000 as of 2023.
Infrastructure
live with 100.0% less strain on fresh water
United Arab Emirates withdraws 1510% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Iceland withdraws 0% as of 2022.
use 3.2 times more electricity
United Arab Emirates uses 15,285 kWh of electricity per person each year as of 2023. Iceland uses 48,998 kWh as of 2024.
Environment
be 88.6% less likely to die from air pollution
In United Arab Emirates, air pollution causes 70.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Iceland, it causes 8.0 as of 2019.
emit 53.3% less CO2
United Arab Emirates emits 18.3 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: United Arab Emirates vs. Iceland
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to United Arab Emirates? See an in-depth size comparison.