Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland
Iceland: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 16.6% in 2019. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland, 2003–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland is 16.6%, measured in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.3% on the previous year and down 38.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland peaked at 33.8% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 14.0%, in 2017.
That places Iceland 114th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 33.8% | — |
| 2004 | 33.5% | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 31.6% | -5.5% |
| 2006 | 22.5% | -28.8% |
| 2007 | 19.2% | -14.9% |
| 2008 | 19.7% | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 26.9% | +36.5% |
| 2010 | 32.1% | +19.5% |
| 2011 | 33.6% | +4.6% |
| 2012 | 31.4% | -6.7% |
| 2013 | 28.7% | -8.5% |
| 2014 | 27.9% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 21.3% | -23.4% |
| 2016 | 17.8% | -16.8% |
| 2017 | 14.0% | -20.9% |
| 2018 | 19.4% | +38.1% |
| 2019 | 16.6% | -14.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 26.7% | 19.2% | 33.8% | 7 |
| 2010s | 24.3% | 14.0% | 33.6% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More poverty & inequality data for Iceland
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 4 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Iceland was 16.6% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 33.8% in 2003.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.0% in 2017.
- How does Iceland rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Iceland ranks 114th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.1%. 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 (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.