Social spending as share of GDP in Iceland
Iceland: Social spending as share of GDP was 1.0% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Social spending as share of GDP in Iceland, 1990–2021
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for social spending as share of gdp in Iceland is 1.0%, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% on the previous year and up 63.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Iceland peaked at 1.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2006.
That places Iceland 9th out of 42 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Social spending as share of GDP in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.4% | — |
| 1991 | 0.4% | +8.4% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -8.8% |
| 1993 | 0.5% | +26.4% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -0.6% |
| 1995 | 0.5% | +2.6% |
| 1996 | 0.5% | -6.0% |
| 1997 | 0.5% | -7.4% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -12.2% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | +7.3% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -8.5% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +4.4% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | +25.6% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | +9.9% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | -15.7% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -20.0% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | +47.2% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -4.6% |
| 2009 | 0.7% | +26.5% |
| 2010 | 0.7% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -14.2% |
| 2012 | 0.5% | -7.8% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +21.2% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -9.5% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | +14.5% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +28.2% |
| 2021 | 1.0% | +3.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 2 |
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 social spending as share of gdp in Iceland?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Iceland was 1.0% in 2021, according to OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2006.
- How does Iceland rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 9th out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Public social expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage. Includes both in-cash and in-kind benefits in other social policy programs.