Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Norway instead of Iceland, you would:
Health
live 1.1 years less
In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Norway, that number is 83 years (80 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022.
Economy
make 21.4% more money
Iceland has a GDP per capita of $55,600 as of 2022, while in Norway, the GDP per capita is $67,500 as of 2022.
be 14.8% less likely to be unemployed
In Iceland, 3.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Norway, that number is 3.2% as of 2022.
pay a 16.8% lower top tax rate
Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Norway, the top tax rate is 38.5% as of 2017.
be 44.3% more likely to live below the poverty line
In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Norway, however, that number is 12.7% as of 2019.
Life
be 33.3% less likely to die during childbirth
In Iceland, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Norway, 2.0 women do as of 2020.
be 40.0% 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 Norway, on the other hand, 2.3 children do as of 2022.
have 17.5% fewer children
In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Norway, there are 10.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 23.4% less on education
Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Norway spends 5.9% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
spend 18.8% more on healthcare
Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Norway, that number is 11.4% of GDP as of 2020.
Geography
see 5.1 times more coastline
Iceland has a total of 4,970 km of coastline. In Norway, that number is 25,148 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Norwegian Tax Administration, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Norway: At a glance
How big is Norway compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.