Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Estonia instead of Iceland, you would:

Health

live 5.8 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Estonia, that number is 78 years (73 years for men, 83 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 56.8% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Estonia, the top tax rate is 20.0% as of 2016.

make 36.8% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $66,500 as of 2023, while in Estonia, the GDP per capita is $42,000 as of 2023.

be 78.4% more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Estonia, that number is 6.3% as of 2023.

be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Estonia, however, that number is 22.5% as of 2022.

Life

be 66.7% more likely to die during childbirth

In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Estonia, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.1 times more likely to die during infancy

In Iceland, approximately 1.6 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Estonia, on the other hand, 3.4 children do as of 2022.

have 34.9% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Estonia, there are 8.2 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 14.3% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Estonia spends 6.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 18.8% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Estonia, that number is 7.8% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 23.7% less coastline

Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Estonia, that number is 3,794 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: Estonian Tax and Customs Board, The World Factbook, Directorate of Internal Revenue.

Estonia: At a glance

Estonia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 42,388 sq km. After centuries of Danish, Swedish, German, and Russian rule, Estonia attained independence in 1918. Forcibly incorporated into the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US - it regained its freedom in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the last Russian troops left in 1994, Estonia has been free to promote economic and political ties with the West. It joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004, formally joined the OECD in late 2010, and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2011.
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How big is Estonia compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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