Government health spending as a share of GDP in Iceland
Iceland: Government health spending as a share of GDP was 7.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
7.7%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
18th
of 59 countries
All-time high
8.0%
in 2021
All-time low
1.6%
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Government health spending as a share of GDP in Iceland, 1960–2025
Source: OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government health spending as a share of gdp in Iceland is 7.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 18.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government health spending as a share of gdp in Iceland peaked at 8.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 1960.
Iceland ranks 18th of 59 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Government health spending as a share of GDP in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 1.6% | — |
| 1961 | 2.1% | +30.1% |
| 1962 | 2.4% | +11.7% |
| 1963 | 2.0% | -15.8% |
| 1964 | 2.3% | +18.5% |
| 1965 | 2.2% | -4.5% |
| 1966 | 2.4% | +7.1% |
| 1967 | 2.9% | +20.8% |
| 1968 | 3.2% | +9.8% |
| 1969 | 3.1% | -1.2% |
| 1970 | 3.0% | -5.3% |
| 1971 | 3.3% | +9.9% |
| 1972 | 3.9% | +20.2% |
| 1973 | 3.6% | -7.8% |
| 1974 | 4.4% | +21.6% |
| 1975 | 4.8% | +7.6% |
| 1976 | 4.4% | -6.4% |
| 1977 | 4.4% | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 4.9% | +10.5% |
| 1979 | 5.5% | +12.9% |
| 1980 | 5.0% | -9.3% |
| 1981 | 5.1% | +2.8% |
| 1982 | 5.4% | +5.1% |
| 1983 | 6.0% | +10.3% |
| 1984 | 5.4% | -8.6% |
| 1985 | 5.6% | +3.6% |
| 1986 | 6.0% | +6.2% |
| 1987 | 6.2% | +3.4% |
| 1988 | 6.7% | +7.7% |
| 1989 | 6.5% | -2.9% |
| 1990 | 6.2% | -4.3% |
| 1991 | 6.3% | +2.4% |
| 1992 | 6.4% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 6.3% | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 6.2% | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 6.3% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 6.2% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 6.7% | +7.0% |
| 1999 | 7.1% | +6.3% |
| 2000 | 7.1% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 7.0% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 7.6% | +8.4% |
| 2003 | 7.8% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 7.5% | -4.4% |
| 2005 | 7.1% | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 6.9% | -3.1% |
| 2007 | 6.8% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 7.1% | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 6.6% | -7.5% |
| 2011 | 6.5% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 6.5% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 6.6% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 6.6% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.6% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 6.9% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 7.1% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 7.9% | +11.7% |
| 2021 | 8.0% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 7.6% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 7.2% | -4.3% |
| 2024 | 7.7% | +6.3% |
| 2025 | 7.7% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 1.6% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.2% | 3.0% | 5.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 5.8% | 5.0% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.4% | 6.2% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.2% | 6.8% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 6.5% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.7% | 7.2% | 8.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More health data for Iceland
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -100 % change on previous year (2085)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4982 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,358 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 0 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.03 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.085 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.2125 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.0901 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government health spending as a share of gdp in Iceland?
- Government health spending as a share of gdp in Iceland was 7.7% in 2025, according to OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 8.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest government health spending as a share of gdp recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 1960.
- How does Iceland rank for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Iceland ranks 18th out of 59 countries with data for 2025.
- Is government health spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government health spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.