Transport and infrastructure in Iceland
Our listing of the primary kinds of transport compares the infrastructure of Iceland with the average of all countries in Europe. Overall, the traffic routes are above average and in good condition.› Airports in Iceland
Back to overview: Iceland
Road traffic
The network of roads and highways has a total length of 12,898 km. For each of the country's 366,425 inhabitants, this corresponds to 35.20 meters. This puts Iceland in 12th place in the global ranking. However, it is also important to note the country's population density, which is very low at around 4 inhabitants per km². Like this, disproportionately long distances generally have to be covered to reach the more remote parts of the country.With an average of 15 traffic fatalities per year (2012 - 2019), road traffic in Iceland is considered very safe. This corresponds to around 4.3 accident fatalities per 4.5 inhabitants per year. By comparison, this figure is 5.9 in the European Union as a whole and 17.1 worldwide.
In Iceland, traffic drives on the right-hand side of the road, i.e. people drive in the right-hand lane and overtake on the left. Oncoming traffic comes toward you on the left side. This rule was introduced at the end of the 18th century during the Napoleonic Wars. Here you can also find an overview of all countries with left-hand traffic.
Iceland | |||
total | per 1 mio inhabitants | per km² | |
---|---|---|---|
Roadways | 12,900 km | 35,199.56 km | 125.22 m |
Railroads | 0 km | 0.00 km | 0.00 m |
Waterways | 0 km | 0.00 km | 0.00 m |
Commercial harbors | 41 | 111.89 | 0.000 |
Airports | 96 | 261.99 | 0.932 |
Europe | |||
total | per 1 mio inhabitants | per km² | |
---|---|---|---|
Roadways | 6,708,300 km | 11,136.37 km | 1,111.61 m |
Railroads | 258,600 km | 429.31 km | 42.85 m |
Waterways | 53,100 km | 88.21 km | 8.81 m |
Commercial harbors | 15,291 | 25.38 | 0.003 |
Airports | 3,737 | 6.20 | 0.001 |
Data sources used
• Global Health Observatory Data Repository (World Health Organization)• UNCTAD
• Internation Union of Railways (UIC)
• CIA Factbook
• OECD Statistics
• Wikipedia (german)