Life expectancy in Iceland
Iceland: Life expectancy was 83.2 years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Iceland, 1961–2021
Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2021, life expectancy in Iceland stood at 83.2 years. That is the highest value across all 60 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Iceland peaked at 83.2 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 73 years, in 1963.
That places Iceland 6th out of 49 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 60 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 73.59 years | 73 years | 74 years | 9 |
| 1970s | 75.09 years | 73.5 years | 76.9 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 77.27 years | 76.4 years | 78.2 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.8 years | 78 years | 79.7 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 81.07 years | 79.7 years | 81.8 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.57 years | 81.9 years | 83.2 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.15 years | 83.1 years | 83.2 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More health data for Iceland
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,358 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 0 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 2,836 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 2,804 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 2,804 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 2,697 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 2,653 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 2,582 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Iceland?
- Life expectancy in Iceland was 83.2 years in 2021, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 83.2 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 73 years in 1963.
- How does Iceland rank for life expectancy?
- Iceland ranks 6th out of 49 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.