Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland
Iceland: Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) was 29.3% in 2016. ▼ Falling
Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland, 1991–2016
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iceland recorded 29.3% for income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in 2016.
That represents a change of down 1.1% on the previous year and down 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland peaked at 35.3% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 26.8%, in 2010.
Iceland ranks 111th of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 29.9% | — |
| 1992 | 30.0% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 30.1% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 30.2% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 30.2% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 30.2% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 30.3% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 30.4% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 30.6% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 30.6% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 32.3% | +5.4% |
| 2002 | 33.0% | +2.2% |
| 2003 | 32.4% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 30.9% | -4.7% |
| 2005 | 31.0% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 32.0% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 35.3% | +10.4% |
| 2008 | 28.9% | -18.0% |
| 2009 | 27.6% | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 26.8% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 27.4% | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 27.8% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 29.8% | +7.3% |
| 2014 | 29.7% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 29.6% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 29.3% | -1.1% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 29.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 35.3%, 83% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 29.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 34.7%, 84% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 30.2% | 29.9% | 30.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 31.4% | 27.6% | 35.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.6% | 26.8% | 29.8% | 7 |
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 share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland?
- Income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) in Iceland was 29.3% in 2016, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 35.3% in 2007.
- What is the lowest income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.8% in 2010.
- How does Iceland rank for income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax)?
- Iceland ranks 111th out of 113 countries with data for 2016.
- Is income share of the richest 10% vs. gini coefficient (before tax) rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 10% vs. Gini coefficient (before tax). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of income received by the richest 10% of the population. Income here is measured before taxes and benefits.