In 2006 1,901 persons died in Iceland, 959 men and 942 women. The crude death rate was 6.2 per 1,000 population. Mean life expectancy for Icelandic women is now 83.0 years, 79.4 years for men. Icelandic men can now expect to live longer than men in any other country. In the case of women, life expectancy is highest in Japan (84.9). A few European societies have higher life expectancy for women than Iceland, in particular Spain (83.8) and Switzerland (83.6).

Infant mortality in Iceland is now lower than in any other country of the world. The average of 2001-2006 reveals infant mortality of 2.4 per 1,000 live births. In the other Nordic countries infant mortality is slightly higher than in Iceland, but low in a European perspective. On the global level Japan and Sweden come closest to Iceland with an infant mortality rate of 3.0 and 3.1 (in 2004).