Iceland vs Norway: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Iceland
7.7%
in 2025
Norway
8.0%
in 2025
Iceland rank
18th
Norway rank
15th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Iceland
- Norway
How they compare
Norway currently reports 8.0% against 7.7% in Iceland, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 14 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Norway ahead.
Iceland ranks 18th and Norway ranks 15th of 59 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Iceland averaged higher in 3 and Norway in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iceland | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 2.6% | 0.2% | Norway |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 4.7% | 0.5% | Norway |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 5.6% | 0.2% | Iceland |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 6.3% | 0.1% | Iceland |
| 2000s | 7.2% | 6.9% | 0.2% | Iceland |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 7.9% | 1.3% | Norway |
| 2020s | 7.7% | 8.0% | 0.3% | Norway |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Iceland or Norway?
- Norway, at 8.0% against 7.7% in Iceland as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Iceland and Norway?
- 0.3%, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iceland and Norway?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Iceland and Norway rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 18th and Norway ranks 15th of 59 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Government health spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.