Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of United States, you would:
Health
live 3.0 years longer
In United States, the average life expectancy is 81 years (78 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022.
be 39.5% less likely to be obese
In United States, 36.2% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
be 41.7% less likely to live below the poverty line
In United States, 15.1% live below the poverty line as of 2010. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
make 13.9% less money
United States has a GDP per capita of $64,600 as of 2022, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $55,600 as of 2022.
pay a 16.9% higher top tax rate
United States has a top tax rate of 39.6% as of 2016. In Iceland, the top tax rate is 46.3% as of 2016.
Life
be 85.7% less likely to die during childbirth
In United States, approximately 21.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2020.
be 68.1% less likely to die during infancy
In United States, approximately 5.2 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.
Expenditures
spend 48.9% less on healthcare
United States spends 18.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Iceland, that number is 9.6% of GDP as of 2020.
spend 26.2% more on education
United States spends 6.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Iceland spends 7.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 75.1% less coastline
United States has a total of 19,924 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Internal Revenue Service, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to United States? See an in-depth size comparison.