Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax (Luxembourg) in Iceland
Iceland: Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax (Luxembourg) was 0.2506 in 2017. ▼ Falling
Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax in Iceland, 2003–2017
Source: Luxembourg Income Study (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2017, income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax in Iceland stood at 0.2506.
The figure is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 16.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax in Iceland peaked at 0.3138 in 2008 and was at its lowest, 0.2489, in 2013.
Iceland ranks 45th of 48 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax (Luxembourg) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 0.2524 | — |
| 2004 | 0.2606 | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 0.2891 | +10.9% |
| 2006 | 0.3067 | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 0.2983 | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 0.3138 | +5.2% |
| 2009 | 0.2757 | -12.1% |
| 2010 | 0.2613 | -5.2% |
| 2011 | 0.2501 | -4.3% |
| 2012 | 0.261 | +4.4% |
| 2013 | 0.2489 | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 0.2737 | +10.0% |
| 2015 | 0.2614 | -4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.2652 | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 0.2506 | -5.5% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 0.2506 is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.2989, 84% of the median. (36 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 0.2506 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.2895, 87% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.2852 | 0.2524 | 0.3138 | 7 |
| 2010s | 0.259 | 0.2489 | 0.2737 | 8 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More poverty & inequality data for Iceland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 4 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.54 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,430 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -18.09 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 35.57 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 35.6% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax in Iceland?
- Income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax in Iceland was 0.2506 in 2017, according to Luxembourg Income Study (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3138 in 2008.
- What is the lowest income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2489 in 2013.
- How does Iceland rank for income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax?
- Iceland ranks 45th out of 48 countries with data for 2017.
- Is income inequality: gini coefficient before and after tax rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from Luxembourg Income Study (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income inequality: Gini coefficient before and after tax. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The Gini coefficient measures inequality on a scale from 0 to 1. Higher values indicate higher inequality. Inequality is measured here in terms of income after taxes and benefits.