Iceland vs Liberia
Liberia is 8% larger than Iceland.
IcelandLiberiaIceland moved onto Liberia · Equal-area projection
0.92×
Iceland is 0.92× the area of Liberia. Put the other way, Liberia is 1.08× the size of Iceland.
 Iceland |  Liberia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaLiberia: 1.08× the area | 103,004 km²#106 of 194 | 111,369 km²#102 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationLiberia: 14.6× the population | 392,404#172 of 194 · 2025 | 5,731,206#116 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityLiberia: 13.5× the density | 3.8 / km²#191 of 194 | 51 / km²#133 of 194 |
| Urban populationIceland: 1.68× the urban share | 94%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 56%#117 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateLiberia: 2.47× the births per woman | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 | 3.86 per woman#29 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthLiberia: 0.58 points higher | +1.51%#68 of 192 · 2025 | +2.09%#43 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateLiberia: 2.73× the birth rate | 11.2 per 1,000#119 of 192 · 2024 | 30.6 per 1,000#27 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateLiberia: 1.18× the death rate | 6.8 per 1,000#112 of 192 · 2024 | 8.0 per 1,000#70 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Liberia: 21.6 points higher | 17.5%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 39.1%#28 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Iceland: 12.7 points higher | 16.0%#51 of 192 · 2025 | 3.3%#158 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationIceland: 8.6 per 1,000 higher | +6.9 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2025 | −1.7 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.89 per 1,000#63 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyIceland: 20.5 years longer | 82.8 years#21 of 192 · 2024 | 62.3 years#177 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityLiberia: 30.1× the infant mortality | 2.1 per 1,000 births#180 of 191 · 2024 | 63.2 per 1,000 births#5 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsIceland: 24.3× the doctors per person | 4.37 per 1,000#21 of 178 · 2023 | 0.18 per 1,000#153 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | 76.5%#35 of 145 · 2023 | — |
| Human Development IndexIceland: 0.462 higher | 0.972#1 of 190 · 2023 | 0.510#174 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaIceland: 107× the income per person | $89,220#4 of 185 · 2025 | $830#174 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPIceland: 7.35× the economy | $38.58B2025 | $5.25B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Iceland: 42.1× the output per person | $83,431#11 of 184 · 2025 | $1,981#177 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthLiberia: 3.7 points higher | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 | +5.0%#45 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationLiberia: 4.2 points higher | +4.1%#52 of 176 · 2025 | +8.3%#27 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentIceland: 1.24× the unemployment | 3.6%#119 of 178 · 2025 | 2.9%#144 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyLiberia: 336× the share in extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2019 | 33.6%#27 of 149 · 2016 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Liberia: 8.5 higher | 26.8#136 of 149 · 2019 | 35.3#70 of 149 · 2016 |
| Jobs in agricultureLiberia: 37.5 points higher | 3.6% of jobs#141 of 178 · 2025 | 41.1% of jobs#39 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryIceland: 9.9 points higher | 18.2% of jobs#102 of 178 · 2025 | 8.3% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesIceland: 27.6 points higher | 78.1% of jobs#22 of 178 · 2025 | 50.5% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentLiberia: 11.7 points higher | -2.2% of GDP#176 of 184 · 2025 | 9.5% of GDP#20 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 40.1% of GDP#71 of 168 · 2025 | — |
| Military spending | 0.0% of GDP#153 of 155 · 2025 | 0.8% of GDP#125 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersIceland: 3.05× the share online | 98%#10 of 184 · 2024 | 32%#163 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsIceland: 3.78× the mobile subscriptions | 121 per 100#78 of 191 · 2024 | 32 per 100#189 of 191 · 2022 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaLiberia: 110× the forest share | 1% of land#184 of 192 · 2024 | 66% of land#18 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personIceland: 56.8× the CO₂ per person | 8.52 t a year#22 of 185 · 2024 | 0.15 t a year#174 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyLiberia: 10.4 points higher | 82.4%#13 of 190 · 2021 | 92.8%#3 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityIceland: 65.1 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 34.9%#184 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Liberia: 3.65× the air pollution | 4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023 | 17.9 µg/m³#98 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIceland: 16.9 points higher | 20.9% of land#80 of 191 · 2025 | 4.0% of land#171 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landLiberia: 4.0 points higher | 1.2% of land#170 of 190 · 2024 | 5.2% of land#128 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressIceland: 1.33× the water stress | 0.4%#167 of 176 · 2022 | 0.3%#168 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationLiberia: 1.23× the rain and snow | 1,940 mm#36 of 180 · 2022 | 2,391 mm#15 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityIceland: 1.46 higher | +1.32#10 of 193 · 2025 | −0.14#113 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionIceland: 2.78 higher | +1.82#11 of 193 · 2025 | −0.96#152 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicunitary parliamentary republic | Presidential republic |
| Member of | NATO, Schengen Area, OECD | — |
| Capital | Reykjavik | Monrovia |
| Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK) | Liberian dollar (LRD) |
| Official languages | Icelandic | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC |
| Calling code | +354 | +231 |
| Region | Northern Europe, Europe | Western Africa, Africa |
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. Iceland sits at about 65° N and is stretched to 5.6× its true area; Liberia at 6° N is stretched to 1.01×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to Liberia. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iceland bigger than Liberia?
- No. Iceland is 8% smaller than Liberia. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and Liberia covers 111,369 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into Liberia?
- About 1.1 times: Liberia has 1.08× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and Liberia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iceland is drawn about 5.6× its true area there and Liberia about 1.01×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to Liberia. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iceland or Liberia?
- Liberia: 5,731,206 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², Liberia 51 per km².
- Which is richer, Iceland or Liberia?
- By gross national income per person, Iceland: $89,220 against $830 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 107× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Iceland or Liberia?
- In Iceland: life expectancy at birth is 82.8 years, against 62.3 — 20.5 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Iceland and Liberia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Iceland: parliamentary republic; Liberia: presidential republic.