Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland
Iceland: Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines was 8.8% in 2017. ▼ Falling
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland, 2003–2017
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines., World Bank (W. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 8.8% for poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in 2017.
That represents a change of down 12.9% on the previous year and down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland peaked at 10.2% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2011.
Iceland ranks 59th of 70 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 10.0% | — |
| 2004 | 9.7% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 9.6% | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 10.1% | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 10.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 10.2% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 9.8% | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 9.2% | -6.1% |
| 2011 | 7.9% | -14.1% |
| 2012 | 9.3% | +17.7% |
| 2013 | 7.9% | -15.1% |
| 2014 | 9.2% | +16.5% |
| 2015 | 8.8% | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 10.1% | +14.8% |
| 2017 | 8.8% | -12.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.9% | 9.6% | 10.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 8.9% | 7.9% | 10.1% | 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 poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland?
- Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines in Iceland was 8.8% in 2017, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines., World Bank (W.
- What is the highest poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 10.2% in 2008.
- What is the lowest poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2011.
- How does Iceland rank for poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines?
- Iceland ranks 59th out of 70 countries with data for 2017.
- Is poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are compiled from official government sources or are computed by World Bank staff using national (i.e. country–specific) poverty lines., World Bank (W, published as part of Poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line(s). National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. For economies for which the data are from EU-SILC, the reported year is the income reference year, which is the year before the survey year.