Share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland
Iceland: Share of population living below national poverty lines was 8.8% in 2017. ▼ Falling
Share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland, 2003–2017
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland is 8.8%, measured in 2017.
The figure is down 12.9% on the previous year and down 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland peaked at 10.2% in 2008 and was at its lowest, 7.9%, in 2011.
That places Iceland 59th out of 70 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living below 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 share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland?
- Share of population living below national poverty lines in Iceland was 8.8% in 2017, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 10.2% in 2008.
- What is the lowest share of population living below national poverty lines recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.9% in 2011.
- How does Iceland rank for share of population living below national poverty lines?
- Iceland ranks 59th out of 70 countries with data for 2017.
- Is share of population living below 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 (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living below national poverty lines. 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
National poverty headcount ratio is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty lines. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys.