In 2005 1,836 persons died in Iceland, 945 males and 891 females. The crude death rate was 6.4 per 1,000 inhabitants. Mean life expectancy for Icelandic women is 82.8 years and 78.9 years for men (2001-2005).  

There has been a sharp decline in infant mortality in recent decades. Infant mortality rate is now 2.5 per 1,000 live births (2001-2005). This is a lower rate than in any other country of the world. In other Nordic countries infant mortality is slightly higher than in Iceland, 3.1 per 1,000 live births in Denmark and Finland, 3.5 in Norway and 4.4 in Denmark.