Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Iceland instead of Syria, you would:
Health
live 9.4 years longer
In Syria, the average life expectancy is 74 years (73 years for men, 76 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 21.2% less likely to be obese
In Syria, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Iceland, that number is 21.9% of people as of 2016.
Economy
make 19.2 times more money
Syria has a GDP per capita of $2,900 as of 2015, while in Iceland, the GDP per capita is $55,600 as of 2022.
be 72.6% less likely to be unemployed
In Syria, 13.8% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Iceland, that number is 3.8% as of 2022.
be 89.3% less likely to live below the poverty line
In Syria, 82.5% live below the poverty line as of 2014. In Iceland, however, that number is 8.8% as of 2017.
pay a 2.1 times higher top tax rate
Syria has a top tax rate of 22.0% as of 2016. In Iceland, the top tax rate is 46.3% as of 2016.
Life
be 90.0% less likely to die during childbirth
In Syria, approximately 30.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Iceland, 3.0 women do as of 2020.
be 89.6% less likely to die during infancy
In Syria, approximately 15.9 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.
have 41.9% fewer children
In Syria, there are approximately 21.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Iceland, there are 12.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Basic Needs
be 12.6% more likely to have access to electricity
In Syria, approximately 89% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Iceland, 100% of the population do as of 2021.
be 2.1 times more likely to have internet access
In Syria, approximately 46.6% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Iceland, about 100.0% do as of 2021.
Expenditures
spend 51.0% more on education
Syria spends 5.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2009. Iceland spends 7.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.
Geography
see 25.8 times more coastline
Syria has a total of 193 km of coastline. In Iceland, that number is 4,970 km.
The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Syria, Directorate of Internal Revenue.
Iceland: At a glance
How big is Iceland compared to Syria? See an in-depth size comparison.