Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland
Iceland: Reduction in income inequality before and after tax was 35.7% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland, 2003–2019
Source: OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland is 35.7%, measured in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.0% on the previous year and up 17.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland peaked at 37.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 21.1%, in 2008.
That places Iceland 17th out of 39 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.1% | 21.1% | 30.9% | 7 |
| 2010s | 35.3% | 30.7% | 37.7% | 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)
- 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)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 35.6% (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.024 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 24.8% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.0701 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.0701 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.0858 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.1068 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland?
- Reduction in income inequality before and after tax in Iceland was 35.7% in 2019, according to OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 37.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest reduction in income inequality before and after tax recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.1% in 2008.
- How does Iceland rank for reduction in income inequality before and after tax?
- Iceland ranks 17th out of 39 countries with data for 2019.
- Is reduction in income inequality before and after tax rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Reduction in income inequality before and after tax. 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
This is the percentage difference between the Gini coefficient before taxes and benefits and the Gini coefficient after taxes and benefits.