CountryDuel

Land

Size, shape and altitude

Total area

How big is it, really?

Iceland is 47% bigger than Ireland

Iceland: 103,000 km² (2024) · Ireland: 70,280 km² (2024)

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Coastline

How much coast is there?

Iceland’s coastline is 3.4 times as long as Ireland’s

Iceland: 4,970 km (2026 edition) · Ireland: 1,448 km (2026 edition)

Highest point

How high can you climb?

Iceland’s highest peak towers 1,069 m above Ireland’s

Iceland: 2,110 m (2026 edition) · Ireland: 1,041 m (2026 edition)

Farmland

How much of the land is farmed?

Farmland covers 65% of Ireland, versus 16% of Iceland

Iceland: 16.2% (2024) · Ireland: 65.1% (2024)

How far apart are they?

People

Who lives there, and how closely

Population

How many people live there?

Ireland has 14 times as many people as Iceland

Iceland: 392,404 (2025) · Ireland: 5.48 million (2025)

Population density

How crowded is it?

Ireland is 20 times as densely populated as Iceland

Iceland: 4 per km² (2025) · Ireland: 80 per km² (2025)

Height of men

How tall are the men?

Men in Iceland are 3.1 cm taller than in Ireland

Iceland: 182.1 cm (2019) · Ireland: 179 cm (2019)

Height of women

How tall are the women?

Women in Iceland are 4.4 cm taller than in Ireland

Iceland: 168.9 cm (2019) · Ireland: 164.5 cm (2019)

Median age

How old is the typical person?

The typical person in Ireland is 2.6 years older than in Iceland

Iceland: 35.8 years (2023) · Ireland: 38.4 years (2023)

Fertility rate

How many children per woman?

Women in Iceland have 0.1 more children on average than in Ireland

Iceland: 1.56 children per woman (2024) · Ireland: 1.47 children per woman (2024)

Aged 65 and over

How many people are 65 or older?

Ireland and Iceland are practically level

Iceland: 16% (2025) · Ireland: 16.2% (2025)

Refugees hosted per 1,000 residents

How many refugees does it host?

Ireland hosts 17% more refugees per resident than Iceland

Iceland: 21.6 per 1,000 (2025) · Ireland: 25.1 per 1,000 (2025)

Nobel laureates per 10 million people

How many Nobel laureates were born there?

Iceland: no data · Ireland: 9.1 (2026)

Official languages

How many official languages?

Ireland has 2 official languages, Iceland 1

Iceland: 1 (2026) · Ireland: 2 (2026)

What shape is the population?

Money

What an economy looks like per person

Economy size (GDP)

How big is the economy?

Ireland’s economy is 19 times the size of Iceland’s

Iceland: $38.6 billion (2025) · Ireland: $722 billion (2025)

GDP per person (PPP)

How much is produced per person?

Ireland produces 86% more per person than Iceland

Iceland: Int$83,431 (2025) · Ireland: Int$155,089 (2025)

Income inequality (Gini)

How evenly is income shared?

Income is more unequally shared in Ireland than in Iceland (Gini 2.2 points higher)

Iceland: 26.8 (2019) · Ireland: 29 (2023)

Extreme poverty ($3.00 a day)

How many live on less than $3 a day?

Iceland and Ireland are practically level

Iceland: 0.1% (2019) · Ireland: 0.1% (2023)

Unemployment

How many people are looking for work?

Unemployment is 4.6% in Ireland, versus 3.6% in Iceland

Iceland: 3.6% (2025) · Ireland: 4.6% (2025)

Military spending

How much goes to the military?

Ireland and Iceland are practically level

Iceland: 0% (2025) · Ireland: 0.2% (2025)

Tax revenue (central government)

How much does the central government collect in tax?

Iceland’s central government collects 23% of GDP in tax, Ireland’s 18%

Iceland: 23.2% (2023) · Ireland: 17.9% (2024)

Price level (US = 100)

How expensive is it?

Iceland’s price level (US = 100) is 1.4× Ireland’s

Iceland: 118% (2025) · Ireland: 85% (2025)

Health

Long lives, small beginnings

Health spending per person

How much is spent on health?

Iceland spends 3% more on health per person than Ireland

Iceland: $7,642 (2024) · Ireland: $7,395 (2024)

Life expectancy

How long do people live?

Ireland and Iceland are practically level

Iceland: 82.8 years (2024) · Ireland: 83 years (2024)

Infant mortality

How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?

A baby in Ireland is 62% more likely to die before turning one than in Iceland

Iceland: 2.1 per 1,000 (2024) · Ireland: 3.4 per 1,000 (2024)

Doctors

How many doctors are there?

Iceland has 13% more doctors per person than Ireland

Iceland: 4.4 per 1,000 (2023) · Ireland: 3.9 per 1,000 (2023)

Hospital beds

How many hospital beds are there?

Ireland has 5% more hospital beds per person than Iceland

Iceland: 2.8 per 1,000 (2020) · Ireland: 3 per 1,000 (2023)

Suicide rate

How common is suicide?

The suicide rate in Iceland is 44% higher than in Ireland

Iceland: 10.4 per 100k (2023) · Ireland: 7.2 per 100k (2023)

Adult obesity

How common is obesity?

31% of adults in Ireland are obese, versus 24% in Iceland

Iceland: 23.5% (2024) · Ireland: 30.6% (2024)

Smoking

How many adults smoke?

18% of adults in Ireland smoke, versus 9.2% in Iceland

Iceland: 9.2% (2024) · Ireland: 18.2% (2024)

Everyday life

Plates, glasses and happiness

Life satisfaction

How do people rate their lives?

People in Iceland rate their lives 0.61 points higher than in Ireland

Iceland: 7.54 (2025) · Ireland: 6.93 (2025)

Alcohol consumption

How much do people drink?

Adults in Ireland drink 33% more alcohol than in Iceland

Iceland: 7.7 litres (2023) · Ireland: 10.3 litres (2023)

Meat supply

How much meat is on the menu?

Ireland and Iceland are nearly identical here

Iceland: 98.1 kg (2023) · Ireland: 98.4 kg (2023)

Daily calories

How much food is there per day?

Ireland has 240 kcal more food per person per day than Iceland

Iceland: 3,681 kcal (2023) · Ireland: 3,921 kcal (2023)

Working hours

How long do people work?

Workers in Ireland put in 202 more hours a year than in Iceland

Iceland: 1,452 hours (2023) · Ireland: 1,654 hours (2023)

Years of schooling

How long do people go to school?

Adults in Iceland went to school 2.2 years longer than in Ireland

Iceland: 13.9 years (2023) · Ireland: 11.7 years (2023)

Tourists per resident

How many tourists visit?

Iceland welcomed 2.5 times as many tourists per resident as Ireland (2019)

Iceland: 5.58 (2019) · Ireland: 2.2 (2019)

World Heritage sites

How many World Heritage sites?

Iceland has 1 more World Heritage site than Ireland (3 against 2)

Iceland: 3 (2026) · Ireland: 2 (2026)

Olympic medals (all time)

How many Olympic medals has it won?

Ireland has won 42 Olympic medals, Iceland 4

Iceland: 4 (2026 edition) · Ireland: 42 (2026 edition)

Connected

Online, electrified, urban

Internet users

How many people are online?

98% of people in Iceland are online, versus 97% in Ireland

Iceland: 98% (2024) · Ireland: 97% (2024)

Fixed broadband download speed

How fast is home internet?

Home internet in Iceland is 28% faster than in Ireland

Iceland: 385 Mbps (2026) · Ireland: 300 Mbps (2026)

Access to electricity

Who has electricity at home?

Iceland and Ireland are practically level

Iceland: 100% (2024) · Ireland: 100% (2024)

Urban population

How many live in cities?

94% of people in Iceland live in cities, versus 65% in Ireland

Iceland: 94% (2025) · Ireland: 65% (2025)

Mobile subscriptions

How many phones per person?

Iceland has 121 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Ireland 113

Iceland: 121 (2024) · Ireland: 113 (2024)

Railway network

How much railway is there?

Iceland: no data · Ireland: 1,650 km (2021)

Air passengers per resident

How much do they fly?

Airlines from Ireland fly 3.2 times as many passengers per resident as those from Iceland

Iceland: 11.07 (2023) · Ireland: 35.11 (2023)

Planet

Air, forests and energy

Forest cover

How much of the land is forest?

Forest covers 12% of Ireland, but only 0.6% of Iceland

Iceland: 0.6% (2024) · Ireland: 12% (2024)

CO₂ per person

How much CO₂ does each person emit?

The average person in Iceland emits 53% more CO₂ than someone in Ireland

Iceland: 9.7 t (2024) · Ireland: 6.3 t (2024)

Renewable electricity

How green is the power grid?

100% of Iceland’s electricity is renewable, versus 48% in Ireland

Iceland: 100% (2024) · Ireland: 48.1% (2025)

Air pollution (PM2.5)

How clean is the air?

The air in Ireland carries 61% more fine dust than in Iceland

Iceland: 4.6 µg/m³ (2024) · Ireland: 7.4 µg/m³ (2024)

Where does the power come from?

Safety

Measured risk, not vibes

Homicide rate

How common is murder?

You are 2 times as likely to be murdered in Iceland as in Ireland

Iceland: 1.3 per 100k (2023) · Ireland: 0.7 per 100k (2023)

Road deaths

How dangerous are the roads?

Roads in Ireland are 33% deadlier than in Iceland

Iceland: 3.9 per 100k (2023) · Ireland: 5.2 per 100k (2023)

Climate

What the year feels like

Average temperature

How warm is it?

Ireland is on average 8.3 °C warmer than Iceland

Iceland: 2°C (2016–2025 avg) · Ireland: 10.3°C (2016–2025 avg)

Rainfall

How much rain falls?

Iceland gets 26% more rain than Ireland

Iceland: 1,439 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Ireland: 1,139 mm (2016–2025 avg)

What does the year feel like?

Between them

People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other

Who has moved between them?
Can they visit without a visa?
What do they sell each other?
Have they met on the pitch?
Time machine

Quick answers

Is Iceland bigger than Ireland?

Iceland is larger. Iceland is 47% bigger than Ireland.

Which has more people, Iceland or Ireland?

Ireland has 14 times as many people as Iceland (2025 estimates).

Where do people live longer, Iceland or Ireland?

Ireland and Iceland are practically level. Life expectancy at birth is 82.8 years in Iceland and 83.0 in Ireland.

Are people taller in Iceland or Ireland?

Men in Iceland are 3.1 cm taller than in Ireland (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).

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