Iceland vs United States
United States is 95.4 times larger than Iceland. Iceland would fit into United States about 95 times.
IcelandUnited StatesIceland moved onto United States · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
0.01×
Iceland is 0.01× the area of United States. Put the other way, United States is 95.4× the size of Iceland.
 Iceland |  United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaUnited States: 95.4× the area | 103,004 km²#106 of 194 | 9,826,675 km²#3 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 2 |
| People | ||
| PopulationUnited States: 871× the population | 392,404#172 of 194 · 2025 | 341,784,857#3 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityUnited States: 9.13× the density | 3.8 / km²#191 of 194 | 35 / km²#145 of 194 |
| Urban populationIceland: 1.17× the urban share | 94%#12 of 192 · 2025 | 80%#41 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateUnited States: 1.04× the births per woman | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 | 1.63 per woman#121 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthIceland: 0.99 points higher | +1.51%#68 of 192 · 2025 | +0.52%#125 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateIceland: 1.06× the birth rate | 11.2 per 1,000#119 of 192 · 2024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateUnited States: 1.32× the death rate | 6.8 per 1,000#112 of 192 · 2024 | 9.0 per 1,000#52 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Iceland: 0.4 points higher | 17.5%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65United States: 2.4 points higher | 16.0%#51 of 192 · 2025 | 18.4%#38 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationIceland: 3.3 per 1,000 higher | +6.9 per 1,000#13 of 192 · 2025 | +3.6 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,000#174 of 190 · 2025 | 0.01 per 1,000#155 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyIceland: 3.9 years longer | 82.8 years#21 of 192 · 2024 | 78.9 years#46 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityUnited States: 2.62× the infant mortality | 2.1 per 1,000 births#180 of 191 · 2024 | 5.5 per 1,000 births#139 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsIceland: 1.19× the doctors per person | 4.37 per 1,000#21 of 178 · 2023 | 3.68 per 1,000#39 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentUnited States: 1.04× the university enrolment | 76.5%#35 of 145 · 2023 | 79.4%#27 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexIceland: 0.034 higher | 0.972#1 of 190 · 2023 | 0.938#16 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaAbout the same income per person | $89,220#4 of 185 · 2025 | $88,810#5 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPUnited States: 797× the economy | $38.58B2025 | $30.77T2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)United States: 1.08× the output per person | $83,431#11 of 184 · 2025 | $90,027#9 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthUnited States: 0.9 points higher | +1.3%#148 of 187 · 2025 | +2.2%#126 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationIceland: 1.2 points higher | +4.1%#52 of 176 · 2025 | +2.9%#92 of 176 · 2024 |
| UnemploymentUnited States: 1.17× the unemployment | 3.6%#119 of 178 · 2025 | 4.2%#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyUnited States: 11× the share in extreme poverty | 0.1%#126 of 149 · 2019 | 1.1%#82 of 149 · 2024 |
| Income inequality (Gini)United States: 15.0 higher | 26.8#136 of 149 · 2019 | 41.8#30 of 149 · 2024 |
| Jobs in agricultureIceland: 2.1 points higher | 3.6% of jobs#141 of 178 · 2025 | 1.5% of jobs#164 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryUnited States: 0.7 points higher | 18.2% of jobs#102 of 178 · 2025 | 18.9% of jobs#90 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesUnited States: 1.5 points higher | 78.1% of jobs#22 of 178 · 2025 | 79.6% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentUnited States: 3.2 points higher | -2.2% of GDP#176 of 184 · 2025 | 1.0% of GDP#126 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsIceland: 29.1 points higher | 40.1% of GDP#71 of 168 · 2025 | 11.0% of GDP#159 of 168 · 2024 |
| Military spending | 0.0% of GDP#153 of 155 · 2025 | 3.1% of GDP#27 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersIceland: 1.04× the share online | 98%#10 of 184 · 2024 | 95%#27 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsIceland: 1.07× the mobile subscriptions | 121 per 100#78 of 191 · 2024 | 113 per 100#102 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaUnited States: 56.3× the forest share | 1% of land#184 of 192 · 2024 | 34% of land#92 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personUnited States: 1.6× the CO₂ per person | 8.52 t a year#22 of 185 · 2024 | 13.6 t a year#13 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyIceland: 71.5 points higher | 82.4%#13 of 190 · 2021 | 10.9%#139 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)United States: 1.43× the air pollution | 4.9 µg/m³#183 of 191 · 2023 | 7.0 µg/m³#173 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landIceland: 8.0 points higher | 20.9% of land#80 of 191 · 2025 | 12.9% of land#131 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landUnited States: 15.4 points higher | 1.2% of land#170 of 190 · 2024 | 16.6% of land#64 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressUnited States: 70.5× the water stress | 0.4%#167 of 176 · 2022 | 28.2%#57 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationIceland: 2.71× the rain and snow | 1,940 mm#36 of 180 · 2022 | 715 mm#111 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityIceland: 1.62 higher | +1.32#10 of 193 · 2025 | −0.30#122 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionIceland: 0.95 higher | +1.82#11 of 193 · 2025 | +0.87#39 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateUnited States: 4.46× the homicide rate | 1.3 per 100,000#92 of 146 · 2023 | 5.8 per 100,000#46 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicunitary parliamentary republic | Presidential republicconstitutional federal republic |
| Member of | NATO, Schengen Area, OECD | NATO, OECD, G7, G20 |
| Capital | Reykjavik | Washington D.C. |
| Currency | Icelandic króna (ISK) | United States dollar (USD) |
| Official languages | Icelandic | English |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 · UTC−10 to UTC−5, 6 time zones |
| Calling code | +354 | +1 |
| Region | Northern Europe, Europe | Northern America, North America |
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; United States at 45° N is stretched to 1.98×. That difference is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it is next to United States. 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 United States?
- No. Iceland is 95.4 times smaller than United States. Iceland covers 103,004 km² and United States covers 9,826,675 km².
- How many times does Iceland fit into United States?
- About 95 times: United States has 95.4× the area of Iceland.
- Why do Iceland and United States 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 United States about 1.98×. That is why Iceland looks so much bigger than it really is next to United States. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iceland or United States?
- United States: 341,784,857 people against 392,404. Density: Iceland 3.8 per km², United States 35 per km².
- Which is richer, Iceland or United States?
- By gross national income per person, Iceland: $89,220 against $88,810 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.0× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Iceland or United States?
- In Iceland: life expectancy at birth is 82.8 years, against 78.9 — 3.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Iceland and United States have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Iceland: parliamentary republic; United States: presidential republic.