Which has higher life expectancy by sex, Finland or Iceland?

Finland, at 84.66 years against 84.51 years in Iceland as of 2023.

What is the difference in life expectancy by sex between Finland and Iceland?

0.15 years, with Finland ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Iceland?

146 years are reported by both, from 1878 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Finland vs Iceland: Life expectancy by sex

Finland

84.66 years

in 2023

Iceland

84.51 years

in 2023

Finland rank

30th

Iceland rank

32nd

Life expectancy by sex over time

Finland
Iceland

How they compare

Finland currently reports 84.66 years against 84.51 years in Iceland, a difference of 0.15 years.

The two have swapped places 17 times across 146 shared years of data; in 1878 it was Iceland ahead.

Finland ranks 30th and Iceland ranks 32nd of 236 countries.

Across the 16 decades both report, Finland averaged higher in 3 and Iceland in 13.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Finland	Iceland	Difference	Ahead
1870s	43.17 years	44.62 years	1.45 years	Iceland
1880s	43.5 years	42.47 years	1.03 years	Finland
1890s	46.43 years	50.95 years	4.52 years	Iceland
1900s	47.42 years	52.93 years	5.51 years	Iceland
1910s	49.14 years	57.83 years	8.69 years	Iceland
1920s	54.32 years	59.98 years	5.66 years	Iceland
1930s	58.7 years	64.85 years	6.15 years	Iceland
1940s	62.34 years	69.35 years	7.01 years	Iceland
1950s	70.3 years	74.79 years	4.5 years	Iceland
1960s	72.93 years	76.22 years	3.29 years	Iceland
1970s	75.94 years	78.18 years	2.24 years	Iceland
1980s	78.53 years	79.86 years	1.34 years	Iceland
1990s	80.04 years	80.8 years	0.757 years	Iceland
2000s	82.23 years	82.61 years	0.3838 years	Iceland
2010s	83.92 years	83.76 years	0.1611 years	Finland
2020s	84.48 years	84.28 years	0.2015 years	Finland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher life expectancy by sex, Finland or Iceland?: Finland, at 84.66 years against 84.51 years in Iceland as of 2023.
What is the difference in life expectancy by sex between Finland and Iceland?: 0.15 years, with Finland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Iceland?: 146 years are reported by both, from 1878 to 2023.
How do Finland and Iceland rank globally for life expectancy by sex?: Finland ranks 30th and Iceland ranks 32nd of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Finland vs Iceland: Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid, drawing on Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/life-expectation-at-birth-by-sex/finland/iceland/

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<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/compare/life-expectation-at-birth-by-sex/finland/iceland/">Finland vs Iceland: Life expectancy by sex</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy by sex
Unit: years
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 18,722 data points, 1751–2023
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.