Transparent laws in Iceland

Iceland: Transparent laws was 1 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
1
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 176 countries
All-time high
1
in 1905
All-time low
0
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Transparent laws in Iceland, 1900–2025

00.20.40.60.81190019622025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Iceland recorded 1 for transparent laws in 2025. That is the highest value across all 126 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, transparent laws in Iceland peaked at 1 in 1905 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.

Iceland ranks 1st of 176 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.5 0 1 10
1910s 1 1 1 10
1920s 1 1 1 10
1930s 0 0 0 10
1940s 0.6 0 1 10
1950s 1 1 1 10
1960s 1 1 1 10
1970s 1 1 1 10
1980s 1 1 1 10
1990s 1 1 1 10
2000s 1 1 1 10
2010s 1 1 1 10
2020s 1 1 1 6

Countries ranked near Iceland

  1. 1 Australia 1 compare
  2. 1 Austria 1 compare
  3. 1 Barbados 1 compare
  4. 1 Belgium 1 compare
  5. 1 Botswana 1 compare
  6. 1 Brazil 1 compare
  7. 1 Canada 1 compare
  8. 1 Chile 1 compare
  9. 1 Costa Rica 1 compare
  10. 1 Cyprus 1 compare
  11. 1 Czechia 1 compare
  12. 1 Denmark 1 compare
  13. 1 Estonia 1 compare
  14. 1 Finland 1 compare
  15. 1 France 1 compare
  16. 1 Gabon 1 compare
  17. 1 Germany 1 compare
  18. 1 Ghana 1 compare
  19. 1 Italy 1 compare
  20. 1 Jamaica 1 compare
  21. 1 Japan 1 compare
  22. 1 Latvia 1 compare
  23. 1 Lithuania 1 compare
  24. 1 Malawi 1 compare
  25. 1 Namibia 1 compare
  26. 1 Netherlands 1 compare
  27. 1 New Zealand 1 compare
  28. 1 Norway 1 compare
  29. 1 Senegal 1 compare
  30. 1 Seychelles 1 compare
  31. 1 Singapore 1 compare
  32. 1 South Africa 1 compare
  33. 1 South Korea 1 compare
  34. 1 Spain 1 compare
  35. 1 Sweden 1 compare
  36. 1 Switzerland 1 compare
  37. 1 Taiwan 1 compare
  38. 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1 compare
  39. 1 United Arab Emirates 1 compare
  40. 1 Uruguay 1 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Iceland

All data for Iceland →

Frequently asked questions

What is transparent laws in Iceland?
Transparent laws in Iceland was 1 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest transparent laws recorded in Iceland?
The highest recorded value was 1 in 1905.
What is the lowest transparent laws recorded in Iceland?
The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
How does Iceland rank for transparent laws?
Iceland ranks 1st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is transparent laws rising or falling in Iceland?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iceland data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Transparent laws. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Transparent laws
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,229 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of whether laws are transparent, coherent, and relatively stable, and their enforcement predictable.