Central government debt, total in Iceland
Iceland: Central government debt, total was 80.1% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Central government debt, total in Iceland, 1990–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 80.1% for central government debt, total in 2023.
That represents a change of down 5.9% on the previous year and down 42.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, central government debt, total in Iceland peaked at 155.2% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 28.9%, in 1990.
Iceland ranks 17th of 83 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Central government debt, total in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 28.9% | — |
| 1991 | 30.3% | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 36.4% | +20.2% |
| 1993 | 41.6% | +14.4% |
| 1994 | 42.6% | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 44.8% | +5.1% |
| 1996 | 44.2% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 67.2% | +52.1% |
| 1998 | 62.2% | -7.4% |
| 1999 | 58.3% | -6.2% |
| 2000 | 57.5% | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 59.6% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 55.7% | -6.6% |
| 2003 | 53.8% | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 47.8% | -11.2% |
| 2005 | 83.3% | +74.2% |
| 2006 | 86.0% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 83.1% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 128.5% | +54.7% |
| 2009 | 145.1% | +12.9% |
| 2010 | 148.8% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 155.2% | +4.3% |
| 2012 | 150.8% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 139.9% | -7.2% |
| 2014 | 134.4% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 116.2% | -13.6% |
| 2016 | 101.9% | -12.2% |
| 2017 | 89.2% | -12.4% |
| 2018 | 80.7% | -9.6% |
| 2019 | 89.0% | +10.3% |
| 2020 | 98.5% | +10.6% |
| 2021 | 94.3% | -4.2% |
| 2022 | 85.1% | -9.8% |
| 2023 | 80.1% | -5.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 45.6% | 28.9% | 67.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.0% | 47.8% | 145.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 120.6% | 80.7% | 155.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.5% | 80.1% | 98.5% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More economy & growth data for Iceland
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.96 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.48 Percent per annum (2029)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 2.27 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 51.52 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 5.07 million current LCU per person (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 0.9908 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.274 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 26,937 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 15.75 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2666 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is central government debt, total in Iceland?
- Central government debt, total in Iceland was 80.1% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest central government debt, total recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 155.2% in 2011.
- What is the lowest central government debt, total recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 28.9% in 1990.
- How does Iceland rank for central government debt, total?
- Iceland ranks 17th out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
- Is central government debt, total rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 42.8%. 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 Central government debt, total (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. 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.