Public social spending as share of GDP in Iceland
Iceland: Public social spending as share of GDP was 19.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public social spending as share of GDP in Iceland, 1990–2024
Source: OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public social spending as share of gdp in Iceland is 19.2%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public social spending as share of gdp in Iceland peaked at 23.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 1990.
That places Iceland 26th out of 42 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
Public social spending as share of GDP in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 13.3% | — |
| 1991 | 13.7% | +3.4% |
| 1992 | 14.3% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 14.6% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 14.4% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 14.7% | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 14.6% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 14.1% | -3.1% |
| 1998 | 14.2% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 14.4% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 14.5% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 14.5% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 15.8% | +9.2% |
| 2003 | 16.7% | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 16.5% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 15.6% | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 15.0% | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 15.8% | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 16.1% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 18.5% | +14.5% |
| 2010 | 17.7% | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 18.2% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 17.8% | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 17.4% | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 17.6% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 16.6% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 17.6% | +6.1% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 18.9% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 23.1% | +22.4% |
| 2021 | 22.7% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 19.6% | -13.8% |
| 2023 | 18.6% | -4.7% |
| 2024 | 19.2% | +3.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 19.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 22.3%, 86% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 19.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 23.0%, 84% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 14.2% | 13.3% | 14.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.9% | 14.5% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.6% | 16.6% | 18.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 18.6% | 23.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More reference data data for Iceland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0288 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0708 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.1854 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1854 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0964 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.062 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2576 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.7664 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0005 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public social spending as share of gdp in Iceland?
- Public social spending as share of gdp in Iceland was 19.2% in 2024, according to OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 23.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public social spending as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for public social spending as share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 26th out of 42 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025); OECD (1985); Lindert (2004) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Public social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided bt gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.