Cuba vs Iceland
Cuba is 7% larger than Iceland.
CubaIcelandCuba moved onto Iceland · Equal-area projection
1.07×
Cuba is 1.07× the area of Iceland.
 Cuba |  Iceland | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaCuba: 1.07× the area | 109,884 km²#104 of 194 | 103,004 km²#106 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationCuba: 27.9× the population | 10,937,203#88 of 194 · 2025 | 392,404#172 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityCuba: 26.1× the density | 100 / km²#89 of 194 | 3.8 / km²#191 of 194 |
| Urban populationIceland: 1.22× the urban share | 77%#54 of 192 · 2025 | 94%#12 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateIceland: 1.08× the births per woman | 1.45 per woman#146 of 192 · 2024 | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthIceland: 1.90 points higher | −0.39%#176 of 192 · 2025 | +1.51%#68 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateIceland: 1.3× the birth rate | 8.6 per 1,000#161 of 192 · 2024 | 11.2 per 1,000#119 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateCuba: 1.53× the death rate | 10.4 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2024 | 6.8 per 1,000#112 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Iceland: 2.5 points higher | 15.0%#162 of 192 · 2025 | 17.5%#135 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Cuba: 1.0 points higher | 17.0%#46 of 192 · 2025 | 16.0%#51 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationIceland: 8.9 per 1,000 higher | −2.0 per 1,000#144 of 192 · 2025 | +6.9 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 2.69 per 1,000#35 of 190 · 2025 | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyIceland: 4.5 years longer | 78.3 years#50 of 192 · 2024 | 82.8 years#21 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityCuba: 3.24× the infant mortality | 6.8 per 1,000 births#135 of 191 · 2024 | 2.1 per 1,000 births#180 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsCuba: 2.18× the doctors per person | 9.54 per 1,000#1 of 178 · 2021 | 4.37 per 1,000#21 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolmentIceland: 1.77× the university enrolment | 43.1%#85 of 145 · 2024 | 76.5%#35 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexIceland: 0.210 higher | 0.762#96 of 190 · 2023 | 0.972#1 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $89,220#4 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPCuba: 2.78× the economy | $107.35B2020 | $38.58B2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $83,431#11 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthIceland: 2.4 points higher | −1.1%#180 of 187 · 2024 | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +4.1%#52 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentIceland: 2.12× the unemployment | 1.7%#164 of 178 · 2025 | 3.6%#119 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 26.8#136 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureCuba: 11.9 points higher | 15.5% of jobs#91 of 178 · 2025 | 3.6% of jobs#141 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryIceland: 1.3 points higher | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 | 18.2% of jobs#102 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesIceland: 10.5 points higher | 67.6% of jobs#62 of 178 · 2025 | 78.1% of jobs#22 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentCuba: 2.2 points higher | 0.0% of GDP#162 of 184 · 2020 | -2.2% of GDP#176 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsCuba: 2.4 points higher | 42.5% of GDP#61 of 168 · 2024 | 40.1% of GDP#71 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 0.0% of GDP#153 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersIceland: 1.39× the share online | 71%#117 of 184 · 2024 | 98%#10 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsIceland: 1.66× the mobile subscriptions | 73 per 100#155 of 191 · 2024 | 121 per 100#78 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaCuba: 58.2× the forest share | 35% of land#84 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personIceland: 4.46× the CO₂ per person | 1.91 t a year#104 of 185 · 2024 | 8.52 t a year#22 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyIceland: 61.5 points higher | 20.9%#103 of 190 · 2021 | 82.4%#13 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Cuba: 1.92× the air pollution | 9.4 µg/m³#158 of 191 · 2023 | 4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIceland: 5.3 points higher | 15.6% of land#111 of 191 · 2025 | 20.9% of land#80 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landCuba: 26.8 points higher | 28.0% of land#34 of 190 · 2024 | 1.2% of land#170 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressCuba: 59.7× the water stress | 23.9%#62 of 176 · 2022 | 0.4%#167 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationIceland: 1.45× the rain and snow | 1,335 mm#68 of 180 · 2022 | 1,940 mm#36 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityIceland: 1.01 higher | +0.31#79 of 193 · 2025 | +1.32#10 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionIceland: 2.55 higher | −0.73#135 of 193 · 2025 | +1.82#11 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateCuba: 3.46× the homicide rate | 4.5 per 100,000#51 of 146 · 2019 | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party statecommunist state | Parliamentary republicunitary parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | NATO, Schengen Area, OECD |
| Capital | Havana | Reykjavik |
| Currency | Cuban peso (CUP) | Icelandic króna (ISK) |
| Official languages | Spanish | Icelandic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 | UTC |
| Calling code | +53 | +354 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Northern Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Cuba sits at about 22° N and is stretched to 1.16× its true area; Iceland at 65° N is stretched to 5.6×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to Cuba. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Cuba bigger than Iceland?
- Yes. Cuba is 7% larger than Iceland. Cuba covers 109,884 km² and Iceland covers 103,004 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into Cuba?
- About 1.1 times: Cuba has 1.07× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Cuba and Iceland look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Cuba is drawn about 1.16× its true area there and Iceland about 5.6×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Cuba. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Cuba or Iceland?
- Cuba: 10,937,203 people against 392,404. Density: Cuba 100 per km², Iceland 3.8 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Cuba or Iceland?
- In Iceland: life expectancy at birth is 82.8 years, against 78.3 — 4.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Cuba and Iceland have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Cuba: one-party state; Iceland: parliamentary republic.