Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

live 5.3 years less

In Iceland, the average life expectancy is 84 years (81 years for men, 86 years for women) as of 2022. In Slovakia, that number is 78 years (75 years for men, 82 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

pay a 46.0% lower top tax rate

Iceland has a top tax rate of 46.3% as of 2016. In Slovakia, the top tax rate is 25.0% as of 2016.

make 40.9% less money

Iceland has a GDP per capita of $66,500 as of 2023, while in Slovakia, the GDP per capita is $39,300 as of 2023.

be 64.0% more likely to be unemployed

In Iceland, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Slovakia, that number is 5.8% as of 2023.

be 55.7% more likely to live below the poverty line

In Iceland, 8.8% live below the poverty line as of 2017. In Slovakia, however, that number is 13.7% as of 2021.

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 Slovakia, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.9 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 Slovakia, on the other hand, 4.8 children do as of 2022.

have 29.0% fewer children

In Iceland, there are approximately 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Slovakia, there are 8.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2022.

Basic Needs

be 10.0% less likely to have internet access

In Iceland, approximately 100.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Slovakia, about 90.0% do as of 2022.

Expenditures

spend 40.3% less on education

Iceland spends 7.7% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Slovakia spends 4.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

spend 25.0% less on healthcare

Iceland spends 9.6% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Slovakia, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

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

Slovakia: At a glance

Slovakia is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 48,105 sq km. Slovakia's roots can be traced to the 9th century state of Great Moravia. Subsequently, the Slovaks became part of the Hungarian Kingdom, where they remained for the next 1,000 years. Following the formation of the dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1867, language and education policies favoring the use of Hungarian (Magyarization) resulted in a strengthening of Slovak nationalism and a cultivation of cultural ties with the closely related Czechs, who were under Austrian rule. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the close of World War I, the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar period, Slovak nationalist leaders pushed for autonomy within Czechoslovakia, and in 1939 Slovakia became an independent state allied with Nazi Germany. Following World War II, Czechoslovakia was reconstituted and came under communist rule within Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize communist rule and create "socialism with a human face," ushering in a period of repression known as "normalization." The peaceful "Velvet Revolution" swept the Communist Party from power at the end of 1989 and inaugurated a return to democratic rule and a market economy. On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a nonviolent "velvet divorce" into its two national components, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Slovakia joined both NATO and the EU in the spring of 2004 and the euro zone on 1 January 2009.
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How big is Slovakia compared to Iceland? See an in-depth size comparison.

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