Compare
Canada vs Iran
How Canada and Iran compare on 38 measures, from 1820 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Canada was higher: 82.6 years against 77.7 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Canada was higher: $45,420 against $5,617
- Population · In 2023, Iran was higher: 90.6 million people against 39.3 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Iran was higher: 2.09% of GDP against 1.63% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Canada was higher: 14.01 tonnes against 9.05 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyCanada: 82.6 years in 2023Iran: 77.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityCanada: 0.5 per 100 live births in 2024Iran: 1.1 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityCanada: 4.3 per 1,000 live births in 2023Iran: 9.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterCanada: 99% in 2022Iran: 94.2% in 2022
- DepressionCanada: 3.99% in 2017Iran: 5.12% in 2017
- Suicide rateCanada: 10.9 per 100,000 people in 2017Iran: 5.4 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationCanada: 39.3 million people in 2023Iran: 90.6 million people in 2023
- Population growthCanada: 1.22% a year in 2023Iran: 1.12% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateCanada: 1.35 births per woman in 2023Iran: 1.7 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationCanada: 82.9% in 2025Iran: 77.4% in 2025
- Median ageCanada: 40.3 years in 2023Iran: 32.9 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overCanada: 19.4% in 2023Iran: 7.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateCanada: 11 per 1,000 people in 2023Iran: 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingCanada: 1.63% of GDP in 2025Iran: 2.09% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsCanada: $37.5B in 2025Iran: $7.45B in 2025
- Military spending per personCanada: $939 in 2025Iran: $80 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingCanada: 3.7% of government spending in 2025Iran: 11.2% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelCanada: 72,000 people in 2020Iran: 650,000 people in 2020
- National powerCanada: 0.81% of world capability in 2022Iran: 1.64% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersCanada: 0.35% of the labour force in 2020Iran: 2.35% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsCanada: 83 million TIV in 2025Iran: 42 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsCanada: 312 million TIV in 2025Iran: 80 million TIV in 2025
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, WHO/UNICEF, IHME, World Bank, IMF, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time