Iceland recorded lower mortality during the Covid pandemic
Tuesday 20th October 2026 on 02:01 in
Iceland
Iceland came through the Covid-19 pandemic relatively well, with low overall mortality, less stringent restrictions than in many other countries and high vaccination uptake, according to international data cited by mbl.is.
The findings were discussed by Karl G. Kristinsson, professor emeritus and chief physician in the infectious diseases and virology department at Landspítali hospital. In an article published in Morgunblaðið on October 16, he compared pandemic outcomes across countries.
Age-standardised mortality in Iceland from 2020 to 2022 was 3.9 per cent lower than the average for 2015 to 2019. Karl told mbl.is that the decrease was largely due to fewer infections from other respiratory illnesses, which became more common again after the pandemic.
He also pointed to specialist expertise, public and government trust in that expertise, and timely decisions based on specialists’ advice. Icelandic experts had a good overview of the spread of Covid-19 early on, he said.
Portugal, the United States, the Netherlands and Italy did not fare as well as Iceland, despite having more extensive restrictions. Portugal had among the strictest measures and highest vaccination uptake, yet its mortality rate rose by 13.1 per cent during the period, the largest increase among the countries compared.
Karl said the figures do not show a direct link between the severity of restrictions and mortality. He suggested some countries may have lacked enough information to act in time, and that more extensive measures and high vaccination uptake may have followed increases in deaths. The figures measure the extent of restrictions, he noted, not how closely the public followed them.
Despite Iceland’s comparative results, Karl described the experience as an opportunity to learn, saying that little was known about the disease and how it spread, particularly at the outset. He also said that since the pandemic, opponents of vaccination have received more attention than experts. Research has shown that Covid-19 vaccination was followed by fewer hospital admissions and deaths, he said.