# Denmark and Iceland compared Denmark and Iceland side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 7 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/dnk-vs-isl Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Denmark: c. 965 — Harald Bluetooth's Denmark, declared on the Jelling stone - Iceland: c. 930 — The first Alþingi convenes at Þingvellir ## Economy | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $425 B | 2024 | $33 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $71,026 | 2024 | $86,041 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.5% | 2024 | -1.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 1.4% | 2024 | 5.9% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 131.8% | 2024 | 86.0% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 6.0 m | 2024 | 387,000 | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 82.3 yrs | 2024 | 82.8 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 88.7% | 2024 | 94.2% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.5 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 90.0 | 2024 | 81.8 | 2024 | | Political stability | 79.0 | 2024 | 86.5 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 88.5 | 2024 | 83.3 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 85.3 | 2024 | 75.8 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 91.5 | 2024 | 85.0 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 94.2 | 2024 | 84.9 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 9.4% | 2024 | 9.0% | 2024 | | Physicians | 4.50 | 2021 | 4.37 | 2023 | | Under-5 mortality | 4.0 | 2024 | 2.8 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 94.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 99.9% | 2024 | 100.0% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 6.4% | 2022 | 7.3% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 99.8% | 2024 | 98.2% | 2023 | | Secondary enrolment | 125.6% | 2024 | 108.9% | 2023 | | Tertiary enrolment | 79.0% | 2024 | 76.5% | 2023 | ## Technology | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.0% | 2023 | 2.6% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 8,838 | 2023 | 5,953 | 2023 | | Internet users | 99.8% | 2024 | 98.2% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 127 | 2024 | 121 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 17.6% | 2024 | 54.0% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 40,000 km² | 2023 | 100,830 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 15.8% | 2023 | 0.5% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 65.5% | 2023 | 16.2% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.3 | 2024 | 8.5 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 39.5% | 2021 | 82.4% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Denmark | Observed | Iceland | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.4% | 2024 | — | — | | Defense spending | $10.0 B | 2024 | $0 | 2024 | | Armed forces | 15,000 | 2020 | 0 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/DNK.md and https://terralore.co/country/ISL.md. ## Entangled histories (7 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 7 Nov 1550: **Execution of Bishop Jón Arason** — Jón Arason, bishop of Hólar and the last Catholic bishop in Iceland, was beheaded with his two sons at Skálholt for resisting the Danish-imposed Reformation, after which Iceland became fully Lutheran. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: Jón Arason; Iceland: History) - 1602–1786: **The Danish trade monopoly** — The Danish crown confined all Icelandic trade to a small group of licensed Danish merchants, depressing prices and returns and impoverishing the island for nearly two centuries. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: Iceland: History; History of Iceland, 1840s to the Second World War) - 14 Jan 1814: **Treaty of Kiel: the loss of Norway** — Defeated alongside Napoleon, Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden, ending a four-century union, while keeping Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. (from the Denmark chronicle; sources: Treaty of Kiel) - 1874: **Constitution on the settlement millennium** — On the thousandth anniversary of the settlement, Denmark granted Iceland a constitution and increased control over domestic affairs, though executive power remained with the crown. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: History of Iceland, 1840s to the Second World War; Þingvellir and the Independence Campaign) - 1 Dec 1918: **The Act of Union and the Kingdom of Iceland** — The Danish-Icelandic Act of Union made Iceland a sovereign state in personal union with the Danish crown, with Denmark retaining foreign affairs and the union open to termination after twenty-five years. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: Act of Union (Iceland, 1918); History of Iceland, 1840s to the Second World War) - May 1940: **British occupation of Iceland** — After Germany occupied Denmark, British forces occupied strategically vital Iceland in May 1940 to forestall a German move, severing Iceland's last constitutional ties to its monarch. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: History of Iceland from 1944; Iceland: History) - 17 Jun 1944: **Founding of the Republic at Þingvellir** — After an overwhelming referendum, Icelanders proclaimed a republic at Þingvellir, ending the union with Denmark; Sveinn Björnsson became the first president and 17 June became the national day. (from the Iceland chronicle; sources: Iceland Becomes a Republic; History of Iceland from 1944; Sveinn Björnsson) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/DNK/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/ISL/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Denmark and Iceland compared", terralore.co/compare/dnk-vs-isl, retrieved .