Tax revenue in Iceland
Iceland: Tax revenue was 23.2% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Tax revenue in Iceland, 1972–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 23.2% for tax revenue in 2023.
The figure is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue in Iceland peaked at 37.1% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 19.4%, in 1985.
Iceland ranks 29th of 157 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Tax revenue in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 22.0% | — |
| 1973 | 22.1% | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 23.0% | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 22.1% | -3.7% |
| 1976 | 21.0% | -4.9% |
| 1977 | 20.0% | -4.7% |
| 1978 | 20.4% | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 21.2% | +3.5% |
| 1980 | 20.5% | -3.1% |
| 1981 | 21.8% | +6.3% |
| 1982 | 22.2% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 19.9% | -10.4% |
| 1984 | 20.2% | +1.8% |
| 1985 | 19.4% | -4.0% |
| 1986 | 19.6% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 20.0% | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 21.6% | +7.8% |
| 1989 | 22.6% | +5.1% |
| 1990 | 22.7% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 22.1% | -2.8% |
| 1992 | 22.4% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 21.7% | -2.8% |
| 1994 | 21.5% | -1.1% |
| 1995 | 21.8% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 22.7% | +4.1% |
| 1997 | 21.6% | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 23.6% | +9.3% |
| 1999 | 25.5% | +8.1% |
| 2000 | 24.8% | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 22.5% | -9.2% |
| 2002 | 22.4% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 23.4% | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 24.5% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 26.8% | +9.2% |
| 2006 | 26.6% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 25.6% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 22.6% | -11.8% |
| 2009 | 19.8% | -12.1% |
| 2010 | 20.0% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 20.4% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 21.2% | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 21.5% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 24.2% | +12.8% |
| 2015 | 22.5% | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 37.1% | +65.2% |
| 2017 | 23.6% | -36.4% |
| 2018 | 22.6% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 21.7% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 22.0% | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 21.1% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 22.2% | +5.2% |
| 2023 | 23.2% | +4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.5% | 20.0% | 23.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 20.8% | 19.4% | 22.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.5% | 21.5% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 23.9% | 19.8% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.5% | 20.0% | 37.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 22.1% | 21.1% | 23.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More public sector data for Iceland
- Military expenditure (current USD), per capita 0 current USD per person (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per unit of GDP 0 current USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), gaps filled 0 current USD (2024)
- Military expenditure (current USD), per square kilometre 0 current USD per square kilometre (2023)
- Capital stock, General government, Current prices, Domestic currency 1,595 (2019)
- Taxes on income, profits and capital gains 34.6% (2023)
- Capital stock, General government, Constant prices, Percent of GDP 51.25 (2019)
- Capital stock, General government, Constant prices, Purchasing power 10.26 (2019)
- Taxes on goods and services 35.2% (2023)
- Net investment in nonfinancial assets 2.3% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue in Iceland?
- Tax revenue in Iceland was 23.2% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest tax revenue recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 37.1% in 2016.
- What is the lowest tax revenue recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.4% in 1985.
- How does Iceland rank for tax revenue?
- Iceland ranks 29th out of 157 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Tax revenue (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Taxes are compulsory, unrequited payments, in cash or in kind, made by institutional units to government units. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.