Iceland vs Japan: Potential years of life lost

Iceland
3,267 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2024
Japan
3,069 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2023
Iceland rank
30th
Japan rank
32nd

Potential years of life lost over time

  • Iceland
  • Japan
2.5k5.0k7.5k10.0k12.5k15.0k196019922024

How they compare

Iceland currently reports 3,267 Years per 100 000 persons against 3,069 Years per 100 000 persons in Japan, a difference of 198 Years per 100 000 persons.

That makes Iceland's figure about 1.1 times Japan's.

The two have swapped places 15 times across 64 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Japan ahead.

Iceland ranks 30th and Japan ranks 32nd of 36 countries.

Across the 7 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 4 and Japan in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade Iceland Japan Difference Ahead
1960s 9,404 Years per 100 000 persons 12,082 Years per 100 000 persons 2,679 Years per 100 000 persons Japan
1970s 8,418 Years per 100 000 persons 8,137 Years per 100 000 persons 281.17 Years per 100 000 persons Iceland
1980s 6,445 Years per 100 000 persons 5,769 Years per 100 000 persons 676.66 Years per 100 000 persons Iceland
1990s 5,158 Years per 100 000 persons 4,819 Years per 100 000 persons 338.57 Years per 100 000 persons Iceland
2000s 3,928 Years per 100 000 persons 4,063 Years per 100 000 persons 135.01 Years per 100 000 persons Japan
2010s 3,258 Years per 100 000 persons 3,325 Years per 100 000 persons 66.94 Years per 100 000 persons Japan
2020s 3,458 Years per 100 000 persons 3,011 Years per 100 000 persons 447.35 Years per 100 000 persons Iceland

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher potential years of life lost, Iceland or Japan?
Iceland, at 3,267 Years per 100 000 persons against 3,069 Years per 100 000 persons in Japan as of 2024.
What is the difference in potential years of life lost between Iceland and Japan?
198 Years per 100 000 persons, with Iceland ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Japan?
64 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2023.
How do Iceland and Japan rank globally for potential years of life lost?
Iceland ranks 30th and Japan ranks 32nd of 36 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Potential years of life lost. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Iceland vs Japan: Potential years of life lost. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/potential-years-of-life-lost/iceland/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Potential years of life lost
Unit
Years per 100 000 persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 2,490 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) is a summary measure of premature mortality which provides an explicit way of weighting deaths occurring at younger ages, which are, a priori, preventable. The calculation of PYLL involves summing up deaths occurring at each age and multiplying this with the number of remaining years to live up to a selected age limit. The limit of 75 years has been chosen for the calculations in OECD Health Statistics. The selected ICD categories presented in the OECD Health Statistics database are detailed in an Excel file available for download, with codes according to the Tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) along with codes from other ICD revisions used in the WHO Mortality Database. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.