Tax revenue as share of GDP in Iceland
Iceland: Tax revenue as share of GDP was 35.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
35.6%
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
20th
of 187 countries
All-time high
50.3%
in 2016
All-time low
27.5%
in 1985
Years of data
44
1980–2023
Tax revenue as share of GDP in Iceland, 1980–2023
Source: UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2023, tax revenue as share of gdp in Iceland stood at 35.6%.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, tax revenue as share of gdp in Iceland peaked at 50.3% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 27.5%, in 1985.
Iceland ranks 20th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Tax revenue as share of GDP in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 28.7% | — |
| 1981 | 29.9% | +4.0% |
| 1982 | 30.1% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 27.7% | -8.2% |
| 1984 | 28.9% | +4.4% |
| 1985 | 27.5% | -4.7% |
| 1986 | 27.8% | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 28.1% | +1.0% |
| 1988 | 30.6% | +9.1% |
| 1989 | 30.8% | +0.5% |
| 1990 | 30.3% | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 30.7% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 31.6% | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 30.6% | -3.1% |
| 1994 | 30.1% | -1.4% |
| 1995 | 30.7% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 31.9% | +3.8% |
| 1997 | 31.6% | -0.9% |
| 1998 | 33.6% | +6.4% |
| 1999 | 35.9% | +6.8% |
| 2000 | 35.9% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 34.1% | -5.1% |
| 2002 | 33.8% | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 35.3% | +4.4% |
| 2004 | 36.3% | +3.0% |
| 2005 | 39.3% | +8.2% |
| 2006 | 39.6% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 38.3% | -3.1% |
| 2008 | 34.2% | -10.8% |
| 2009 | 31.2% | -8.8% |
| 2010 | 32.1% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 33.2% | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 34.0% | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 34.3% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 37.1% | +8.1% |
| 2015 | 35.1% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 50.3% | +43.1% |
| 2017 | 37.1% | -26.2% |
| 2018 | 36.5% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 35.1% | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 36.2% | +3.2% |
| 2021 | 34.8% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 35.1% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 35.6% | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 29.0% | 27.5% | 30.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 31.7% | 30.1% | 35.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.8% | 31.2% | 39.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.5% | 32.1% | 50.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.4% | 34.8% | 36.2% | 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)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -851.71 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0221 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -2,170 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -201.70 million BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual -107.12 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0052 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -514.02 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 20.76 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is tax revenue as share of gdp in Iceland?
- Tax revenue as share of gdp in Iceland was 35.6% in 2023, according to UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest tax revenue as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 50.3% in 2016.
- What is the lowest tax revenue as share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 27.5% in 1985.
- How does Iceland rank for tax revenue as share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 20th out of 187 countries with data for 2023.
- Is tax revenue as share of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from UNU-WIDER Government Revenue Dataset (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Tax revenue as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Direct and indirect taxes as well as social contributions included.